Using the web to do my research, I often find the most interesting PDF resources and nick-nacks second hand. That is, from following posted links on the web pages I’m currently browsing at the time. This can become a long “six degrees of separation”, with its many twists and turns (thank goodness for the browser history). But this can also become easier when you find them linked on social bookmarking websites, such as del.icio.us.


If you’re familiar with the site, then you already know that all you need to do is set up an account to start bookmarking and organizing your favourite sites under a customized system of tags. The beauty about this is that it’s a network. You also get to see how many other users are bookmarking the same content as you are. On this social scene, networking means that you can branch off and check out other users’ bookmarks, or send and receive them from members in your network. You can even say that it’s a place where you can create a personalized web search engine, all linked and tagged to different pages you frequently visit.


And amidst the tagging clouds and bookmarking users, you can find numerous links to web content regarding the PDF. From related PDF products and websites to tutorials and books, Adobe has its own del.icio.us page, which makes it easier for you to look for Adobe content and PDF information. The page is choked with helpful links and user resources gathered from all over the web. The page is maintained by the Design Center editors of Adobe, and is set up for anyone looking for everything and anything Adobe and PDF.


And another helpful tip for aspiring bookmark worms: think PDF next time you post a web page to del.icio.us. From my experience and from searching other user pages, online PDF files containing URLs can be bookmarked. This comes in real handy if you need to quickly reference manuals and forms from a different computer. However, keep in mind that you may need to bookmark the gateway page instead as the file may be moved or the link may be deleted altogether overtime.


That’s it for this week. In the meantime, happy bookmarking!