As mentioned recently, I've been trying Scuttle, and I'm quite happy with it thus far. However, I'm using it as a personal online bookmarks repository, not a directory of the web. Put simply, I don't use that many bookmarks, but the ones I do have I'd like to be able to access, no matter which computer or device I'm using. Scuttle gives me that option, plus it's on my server so I have the data where I can get to it, back it up, change it, tweak it or whatever.
While I like the tagging feature of del.icio.us, I don't like that the service isn't available many times when I need it, and there's not an easy way to update/backup/restore the information.
But what I really don't get is the "social" aspect of services such as del.icio.us. I have perhaps once or twice gone browsing tags to see what other people have in their bookmarks, but let's face it, without a standardized tagging structure, it really isn't that useful. I might tag something with mt, while someone else might use Movable Type, a third person will use MovableType and a fourth Moveable Type (sic). The variations are literally endless.
So I end up searching for things where I need an answer, and more often than not, that isn't in my bookmarks. My bookmarks contain things that I'll need to look up because they sounded interesting when I came across them, and I haven't been able to go back as yet. Recipes for instance. Places that I'd like to visit. Pages accessed with some frequency (the school calendar is an example of this one).
In the end, I'm not making an index of the web - I'm making a repository of information that I'll use. Want to use it too? Help yourself - but I don't frequently find myself looking for a reason to go look at other people's repositories. If I want to find something specific, I'll search. I haven't truly "browsed" in years, so perhaps, as with so many other things, I just don't get it.
