Topics and Tags are shown in the byline and sidebar of all these thinkology notes. They are used through many Concrete CMS sites for news, blogs and more. The same terms are used widely throughout the web. The terms Topics and Tags are often used together or interchangeably, but there are subtle differences.

Topics

Topics are predefined hierarchy of categories configured in the dashboard. They provide structure and consistency across a site.

Advantages

• Clear, stable organization

Disadvantages

• Rigid - new subjects may not fit neatly
• Requires admin effort to add or change
• Can be over constraining

Tags

Tags are free form keywords added as we go. Tags evolve with content and with the thoughts of the writer on the day.

Advantages

• Easily extensible, no setup needed

Disadvantages

• Requires discipline to avoid sprawl and duplication
• Unconstrained use can result in tag diarrhea

Topics and Tags here

It was only when writing this note that I realised I had created a self fulfilling example. I didn't have any Topic to classify this note. But I could easily add some Tags for this note!