The Diigo Versus Scoop.it Debate!

I have recently learned about the use of internet tools such as Diigo and Scoop.it for social bookmarking and curating. I signed up and started an account using both of these tools. In general, they are both great resources for keeping a collection of websites that can be accessed from anywhere. They definitely show marked improvement from the use of the favorites or bookmark toolbar. I have at least sixty different websites in my favorites and it is nothing but disorganized chaos that I cannot even access from anywhere but my own computer using a specific browser. This is nothing but aggravating! Diigo and Scoop.it are both great options to resolve these problems and keep organized collections of useful websites.

One of my favorite features of both of these tools is the ability to follow other people's accounts and share information with one another over the web. It allows me to connect with people who have the same interests and therefore locate even more resources than only the ones that I have found. Both sites also allow its users to use multiple tags. This allows the websites to be sorted and organized under keywords for easy finding later.

However, there are various benefits that are unique only to each tool. For example, Diigo allows its users to highlight, capture, and annotate specific parts of the website for followers to see. This is one of my absolute favorite aspects of this site and something that I would use all the time. It is a great way to take notes and emphasize specific elements of the website for others to see. This would be extremely beneficial to my students when they decide to read online. Most importantly, it is a very interactive and engaging element for its users. Although this is an extremely useful tool, there are some limitations to Diigo that Scoop.it takes advantage of.

When using Scoop.it, the users can comment on the scoops of one another. This is great because not only can the user follow other people but they can also communicate through comments to expand their thoughts and ideas. This internet tool also provides suggestions for related articles which is extremely helpful when trying to expand your collection.

Now, in my opinion, there is a major difference when just simply looking at each site. Diigo seems to be slightly boring and does not look very appealing. On the other hand, Scoop.it has a lot of colors and pictures right from the start. It looks very engaging and interactive. Personally, I think Scoop.it looks much more approachable and friendly, especially to students who will most likely enjoy the flashy design.

Overall, if I had to choose to use one over the other it would be a very difficult decision. The highlighting, capturing, and annotating aspects of Diigo are extremely useful. However, Scoop.it is much more visually pleasing, suggests articles, and provides the ability to comment on each others scoops. I wish there was a tool that would combine each of these elements together. In the meantime, I guess I will be using Diigo for my annotating and highlighting needs while I will use Scoop.it for its design, comments, and suggested articles. However, I am sure it will not be too long before someone creates a tool that has all of these features since technology is changing and improving all the time!