Elliott C. Back: In Aere Aedificare

I was browsing Amazon for Christmas gifts and I came across their tagging system, which allows you to arbitrarily add a tag to some product item and then see what else has been similarly tagged. Their AJAX system for adding tags to products is slick and responsive: just start typing and it brings up a drop-down list of popular tags:

As you can see, tags that are not in the “popular” tags database, like elliottxi are permissable, while swear words or even the word sex is not allowable. What happens then if there’s a product that has something to do with sex, or the etymology of the word fuck:

Clicking on one of these tags takes you to a tag perma page:

This is not that interesting. What is interesting is the URL they use to pull their tag results:

…?appID=retail&key=elliottxi

If you visit this URL without the appropriate tag key, you get a lot of entries of the form:

[new TaggingSuggestion(’3′, 327), new TaggingSuggestion(’Music’, 323) … ]

The tags are stored as tag/popularity pairs, so as you can see we can poll for the top 1000 most popular tags, which are:

1, 2, Mom, me, mom, gift, 1-must, to_read, 3, Music, Dad, dad, -F-R-E-E-, Me, meghan, 2buy, to_listen, Mysteries and Thrillers, Book, Danged Good Fiction, xmas, mom christmas, electronic, 4, Drama Films, Sparkledoll, Interesting, –NEW–, Mom Christmas, music, Ngagi, BellaOnline Recommends, maybe, kids, dad christmas, want, Poetry Collection, Thrillers, skinny puppy, Poetry, dvd, programming, DVD, Scary Stories, books, work, germany, scifi, Goddess, Cookbook Collection, Movie Night, camera, indie, Dad Christmas, 5, Michael, Sarah, Chris, cd, Alex, jazz, Christmas, History, Jacob, kerri, frank, kexp, Skincare Secrets, Fiction, watch, BF 78, good read, sell, gift idea, Matt, zach, jason, Nick, Tyler, Katie, Brandon, FREE, Jason, fantasy, Ben, fiction, Sam, Spine-Chillers, christmas, kyle, John, matt, oreilly, self-help, Jeff, Ryan, for me, Gift, 3y, Emily, Joe, Ocean Waves and Beaches, cooking, ipod, mac, 6, David, wish list, marketing, Dan Cunningham, Jordan, Metal, own it, own, kitchen, Daniel, Parenting, Travel, mikey, LyricVault com, writing, tyler, Beauty, consciousness, history, sam, boys, Andrew, Brian, Jewelry, Literature in English, Mark, Natural Remedies, Lauren, Hannah, Christmas Gifts, meditation, photography, unsupported, mike, chris, Bath Bliss, Beautiful Books for Children, Jolissa, Josh, Kitchen Secrets, collection, isaac, amy, katie, Jahsonic, Justin, alex, industrial, interesting, nick, Jesaray, Kitchen Essentials, bizarro, graphics, matthew, mine, epic, fun, 10, cool, girls, Good and Scary, Life Balance, ryan, Matthew, Jake, Ashley, justin, post-rock, jake, Jen, phone, michael, To Read List, UniversityChic DOT Com, tv, sarah, jacob, wanted, Dylan Covers, Eric, home, intuition, shoes, Jessica, aaron, Music Collection, gaming, 24m, Health, Southern Hip Hop, love, Spencer, Aaron, Classic Film Noir, Kitchen Wishes, Personal Care Products, Spiritual, Xmas, clarke, soundtracks, jack, Mike, BellaOnline Recommended, Romantic Love, ben, emily, susan, jeff, Books, Drew, Luke, Rachel, Spiritual Guides, world, Connor, MetalMike, Tea Party, cd library, john, rachel, Antiaging Secrets, Corrina, Megan, bookmark, brillnewbooks1206, Adam, maybe kitchen, science fiction, Pesach, Abby, Heather, Humor, tools, Passover, Chad, Erin, Joshua, Math, Scott, anthony, entertainment, listen, travel, funny, taylor, Jim, Lisa, Peter, Skyla, abby, politics, printer, review, space, gps, BFT, Kelsey, Kyle, ME, Photography, business, success, game, Owen, Favorite, Tom, mark, david, Girls, Kevin, Kim, Meghan, Morgan, Olivia, Psychology, tom, will, xwatches, art, BF 77, Mary, Nate, Understanding Men, UniversityChic com, bob, dylan, Funky Funky 1981, RPG, Andrea, History and Biography Books, Maddie, anyshka, brian, cds, creativity, digital camera, hannah, sue, Laura, twins, Emma, Lee, Yoga, adam, apple, cameron, emma, ring, 13 ways, Anna, Austin, Billy, Comedy Films, Ethan, Recommended by BellaOnline, eric, great movie, inspiration, japan, metal, musicians, Amanda, food, 4 of them, Braves Fanatic, Greek Text, RW, West Siiiiiiide, anna, baby, classic, comics, folk, gifts, grace, manifestation, math, motherhood, software, spiritual, lauren, Ian, Chocolate, Grace, Jack, MOM, Noah, Relaxation, Tim, dave, fj, french, good, pink, psychic, xbox 360, yes, The Year Disco Died, Karen, 7, Anthony, Aubri, Brittany, Camera, Hailey, Jon, Kayla, Nicole, REAL Classic Rock, Wrestling Editor BellaOnline Recommends, asimov, aubri, auras, connor, good book, mystery, paperback, s mengel, spanish, Dylan, must have, games, 8, Art, Bryce, Essential Oil Dreams, Lord of the Rings, My Collection, Reenactment, The Wonders Of 1982, Today Show Book Club, Treats, Understanding Women, Will, alternative, brandon, cat 3, josh, kevin, madison, mp3, music business, shelby, uk, xbox, headphones, 2-wish, Cameron, IETA ONE, Music From 1978, Music I Was Born By In 1980, X-mas, book, down tempo, electronics, fantasy favorites, gabby, health, humor, library, space exploration, tim, Joey, Christmas 2005, Riley, Dad christmas, Jay, Taylor, Thriller-Suspense Films, andrew, buy later, kates library, krautrock, lies, buy, Alyssa, Nicholas, joe, Beautiful Voices, Brooke, China, Computer Science, Family, Jeremy, Krystal, Landen, Paul, Rob, Tolkien, WHEN ON DVD, Workouts, awesome, beanie, cheryl, coffee, dog, great game, jessica, listen to, mommy, owen, reading list, Bill, steve, What To Be In 1983, Sean, John - Christmas, jesse, Action Movies, Henry, J R R Tolkien, James Bond, Liz, Patterns, Statistics, Steve, Tanakh, Typography, Writer Resource, a, kids christmas, later, lisa, liz, looks interesting, makeup, rpg, scott, sharonbrit, web design, wishlist, Grooving In 1977, to buy, steph, Jennifer, AJ, Andrew Christmas, Bob, Christopher, Dayna, Evolution, HUNTER, Julia, Kristin, Life Purpose, Love it, Miranda, Must Have, Rick, SGM, Stephen, architecture, beth, family, k, objectivism, relationships, tonio, trading, webcam, 1-9-8-4, Amy, 12, 9, DE-PA, For Dad, Guitar, JT, James, Jewish holidays, Kids, Maybe, Patrick Lee, Reference Books, Robert, TRAVIS, The Funky Spirit Of 76, Thomas, aiden, chinese lit, good jazz, ken, missing manual, mp3 player, qi qong, rock, samantha, webbscreek, xmas 05, comedy, Bram Stokers Dracula, Business Startup, Carol, Creative Minds, Engineering Management, Hunter, Jimmy, Kylie, Lindsay, Marriage, Mike X-Mas, Mine, Moon, afterlife, bill, bonnie, compilation, considering, joshua, kim, leah, radio, sean, want this, x, zachary, Ari, Linda, Amber, jim, michelle, Christian, Comedy, Documentary Films, For Mom, Foreign Language Films, Jackson, Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, Johnny, LOVE, Marcalie, Masonic, Melissa, ModeLike, Sample Sizes, TV, andy, cat 1, christmas gifts, cole, erin, gospel, great gift, hmm, house, jordan, laptop, martial arts, media, movies, origami, paid propaganda, photo, sp, wedding, wow, Allison, melissa, Jewish preschooler, Alexis, BF 76, Beth, CCR Fan, DJ, Daddy, Decorating Ideas, Difficult To Find Books I want Part II, Great Album, Naughty, Office, PirateBooks, Quinn, Seasonal, Software Engineering, Terrys Wish List, Zach, africa, athena, audio, ed, good game, indie pop, jm, krystjan, linda, r2005, rootkit, science, soundtrack, 20, nate, gavin, Anne, Andy, Christmas Music, DFA, FledglingStudio_Com Recommends, Fwoosh, Lies, Massage, Own, Pet Parenting, Real Roots, Sumer, Tony, bathroom, bluetooth, cds i have, clock, computer, daniel, diet, electronica, giusiana, hacks, henry, idm, james, manda, nieces_and_nephews, physics, poetry, pregnancy, sde development, tag, No One Is Left Alive In 1985, kerry, A, About Birds, Art Appreciation, CDs to get, Chloe, Comfort, ELI, Favorite Magazines, Gardening, Gwen, International, LSAT, Language, Logan, MEGAN, Mackenzie, Must Order, Nathan, Nintendo DS, Ronnie Montrose, Steven, adventure, ambient, classical, ethan, experimental, gregory, hist env, jess, jingoism, maggie, mom xmas, momoir, myself, nicholas, reminder, want it, yuck, The Diverse Music Of 1975, patrick, kristen, Ryan - Christmas, 18m, 01, 80s, Aidan, Annie, Ashlyn, Boys, Calendrics, Comics, Dan, East Coast, Eugenics, Evan X-Mas, KAITLYN, Keith, Kelly, Madison, Memories from Childhood, Mythology, Nona Fun, Philosophy, RastaSam, Seth, Wow-I own it, ajax, brillnewbooks1115, c basinet, cool stuff, dvds, jingoist, julie, kathy, kls, literature, lou, mel, pop, rob, vacuum, favorite, Diane, Earth Wind And Fire From Year One, Emily for Christmas, Social, logan, Amy Christmas, Apollo, Bobby, Design, Gifts, Jamie, Julie, Lady of Long Lake, Liam, PS3, Patrick, Tori, Trevor, Tristan, Vitamin Circle, Wes, Zoe, bedding, camping, chakras, dark complex epic fantasy, doug, dragon, for me for xmas, genius, get, gift for grandchild, gift for me, great, homeschool, kayla, keith, kelly, melville class, mp, olivia, parenting, philosophy, self, swing, thriller, v, GPS, nice, ipod accessories, paranormal, becky, grandma, Laurel, Brendan, Alec, Ancient Near East, Armstrong, Ashlynn, Awesome - Get DEUCE by Keith Norris too, Books I wrote, Brandi, Brenda, Buy, Coffee, DAD, DVDs I want, Development, Devin, Ella, Ellie, Evelyn, FLATS, Finance, For da Weed Smokaz, Gabe, Grandma, Hot, JJ, Joan Sutherland, Lori, Lucas, Nin Studies, SQs, Sex, Soul, abbi, alternate history, both, cell, consumables, dale, evan, favorites, hayden, hn, ink, jenna, jews celebrating christmas, love this, luke, mary, noah, paul, ps2, star wars, to read, tobuy, unix, vits, vocal jazz, grandpa, tina, To Purchase, Twins, Paige, Mason, Alexa, Bella, Best Prints SNAPFISH COM, Brett, Brianna, Buddha-Bar Series, Business, Caroline, Consulting, DVD Wishlist, Difficult to find books I want Part I, Evolutionary theory, Haley, Jenna, Kenny, MO, Maybe Books Spiritual, Michelle, Ministry, Mom and Dad, Noelle, Sydney, XL Recordings, alexis, alt country, canon, cheri, chloe, css, dan, dee, discworld, hunter, jen, kat, kelsey, magic, mitch, nathan christmas, possible, psp, psychology, seattle, pants, Cole, haggadah, lori, m, hair, latin, cam, 0, 083202jb, 2006 calendar, Alan, Allison Christmas, BEST OF 2005, Blake, CDs, Cherry, Damien, ERB, Entry Benches, Harry Potter, Horror Films, Isabella, Joan, Katelyn, Kurt, LOTR, Lydia, Monica, Moods, Must Read, Nana, Natalie, OK, Oh Brother, Ovid, Peace, Pilates, RMontrose, Samantha, Sara, Soundtrack, Sports, T, Todd, Vanilla, Visit www UniversityChic com, William, Work, african, anime, annie, beds, best, brad, canada, carrie, chad, christian, cyberpunk, danielle, danny, design, digital photography

Very interesting! I hope someone will tag their tag/popularity pairs and build a rogue application on top! As a footnote, here’s their Tag team’s press release:

We have another new feature for you today: tags. By the end of the day today, about 50% of you will see tags.
Tags provide an easy way for you to “remember” and classify any item on the Amazon site for later recall. For example, you might be shopping for holiday gifts and tag items with the names of the people on your shopping list. At any time, you can review the items you’ve tagged and make final gift decisions. You can add tags from the detail page for any product, and the items you’ve tagged and tags you’ve used are displayed on Your Profile.

2 Responses to 'Hacking Amazon.com Tags'

1. Susan said:

   on December 15th, 2005 at 3:03 am

   Amazing! Such a monster as Amazon… shame on you.
   That’s something like XSS i think…

2. c. basinet said:

   on September 27th, 2006 at 12:57 am

   Tag… you’re it.

   “Hurry, down the chimney tonite…”

   ;-)

   c.

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