Metadata can make or break any system, but it’s even more critical for digital asset management (DAM) systems (which are often light on textual assets) to have good, robust metadata that supports business needs.
Too little metadata and search is powerless, asset administration is near impossible, and users complain that the system is useless. But build in too much metadata (or overly complex schemas), and nobody wants to tag assets, resulting in bad findability, disengaged users, and impact to overall DAM adoption. Finding the perfect middle ground between simple systems and basic tags, and complex multifunctional and multidimensional metadata management is challenging.
You’re DAMed if you do… you knew that one was coming.
Creating elegant metadata means designing solutions that balance complex needs in a simple yet powerful way, thus making them more effective. To help DAM managers understand the “special sauce” in crafting good metadata, I have written a paper for the Journal of Digital Media Management providing a framework of best practices in metadata design for modern DAMs. Along with my co-author, DAM consultant Romney Whitehead, we discuss the ways in which metadata can be made elegant, and in turn become a valuable tool for users and business, and how to avoid common pitfalls associated with the creation of metadata.
Download your free copy of the article, courtesy of Henry Stewart Publications:
Designing Elegant Metadata Article
Journal of Digital Media Management Volume 11 Number 1, 2022.
Henry Stewart Publications
You can access the full issue at https://www.henrystewartpublications.com/jdmm/v11