Metadata for Content Management

Metadata for Content Management is now available. I wrote it for those who are looking for creative ways to make better use of metadata, taxonomy, policy and workflow in their content systems. The book contains no academic discussions because, well, I’m not an academic. Instead, it’s all about how those topics apply to the management of content using digital systems.

Digital asset management fans might be thrown by the title, but rest assured, this book is for you too. As I mention in the first chapter, we’ve splintered and redefined the terms digital asset management, media asset management, enterprise content management, content management, etc., so often, that they are now meaningless.

It’s all about the management of content. And the systems that do that are, as far as I’m concerned, content management systems. Yes, I know this is what we call WordPress, Drupal and other software in that class. But these systems are about Web publishing, not content management. They’ve enjoyed the moniker content management long enough. It’s time we take that term and apply it to software that is actually capable of managing content.

Readers of DAM Survival Guide should find the new book to be a nice continuation of that discussion, with more emphasis on practical applications than conceptual topics.

Though DAM Survival Guide is not required reading before you can get into Metadata for Content Management, the new book does presume the reader has at least some basic understanding of the goals behind content management.

The groovy people on the cover are my parents. I thought long and hard about what image was most appropriate for a book like this. It occurred to me that because all this content management stuff was about the preservation of the content we value most, I figured a photo of these two wonderful people was suitable.

I hope you enjoy the new book! You can buy it now from Amazon »

Taxonomy vs. Controlled Vocabulary

With the recent announcement of “DAM and the Tao of Taxonomy,” which is the next webinar I’ll be hosting, I’ve been getting questions about my take on the differences between taxonomies and controlled vocabularies. I’ll offer below the most basic distinction I can muster, but for much more detailed information from a true authority on this subject, please join me for “DAM and the Tao of Taxonomy” on August 29, 2012. My guest will be David Riecks of ControlledVocabulary.com. David has won a US Library of Congress “Pioneer of Digital Preservation” award and he’s also a judge for Createasphere’s annual DAMMY Awards.

I’ve been impressed by David’s knowledge and DAM common sense since the first time I spoke with him years ago. There’s no way you won’t come away from this webinar without learning. We love David.

Okay, let me put Taxonomy vs. Controlled Vocabulary in simple terms: When I think of taxonomy, I think of structure, organization and hierarchical “place.” In other words, if my digital asset was a physical object, my “taxonomy” would describe where I might store that object. Example:

• Home
  • Kitchen
    • Pantry
    • Junk drawer (we all have one, right?)
    • Refrigerator
  • Bedroom
    • Closet
    • Under the bed
    • Secret location that’s none of your business and you’ll never find it
• Work
  • My office
    • File cabinet
    • Bookshelf
  • Conference room
    • Storage cabinet
    • Center of the big shiny table

The taxonomy of my life’s structure would help me decide where the object belongs. For example, there is no entry in the hierarchy for “Airplane,” and that’s because DAM Survival Guide needs to sell a few more copies before that will be added.

Keep in mind that in the digital world, an “object” can fit in many different locations, so we assign it everywhere it fits. The point to our chosen taxonomy is that there is a pre-defined structure that we use consistently across our organizations or industries. After all, one person’s “secret location that’s none of your business and you’ll never find it,” might be another person’s “place I should have hid better from the kids.”

By this time you might have correctly guessed that my “controlled vocabulary” is the list of keywords I use to describe the objects of my life. (Taxonomy is where they go; keywords are what they are.) A “controlled vocabulary” is just some technological way of limiting your keyword choices to only those previously approved for use. This way, your metadata editors and users don’t have to guess whether you were thinking of an “airplane,” “aircraft,” “jet” or “big flying thing.”

When used together, taxonomies and controlled vocabularies enable you to design a killer, well-organized DAM that will be so much easier to use and maintain.

Keep in mind, this is how I see the differences. Others use taxonomy structure no differently than they do keywords.

Join David and me for the “DAM and the Tao of Taxonomy” webinar and find how why my explanation above only scratches the surface of possibilities for these methodologies and technologies.

#DAMTIP: Taxonomies

#DAMTIP: Don’t let your DAM become a thesaurus. Offer controlled vocabularies so that users won’t have to guess.