Introduction to Metadata

What is Metadata

The normal description of metadata – “Data about data” – is both opaque and generally  unhelpful. In the metadata world we have two things: the ‘essence’ – the thing we’re actually describing; and metadata – everything we know about the essence. More…

Implicit and Explicit Metadata

There are many ways to view metadata: by how we gather it, or what we use it for. Obviously, the easiest way to gather metadata is automatically, without requiring any human intervention. That’s Implicit metadata. If you have to specifically act to add metadata, that’s Explicit metadata. More…

Technical, Content and Distribution Metadata

While there are many ways to dissect metadata for close examination, the structure that makes most sense for me is to divide into technical, content and distribution metadata. More…

Metadata and the Wider World

Metadata has application and use way beyond the production world. It’s likely you’ve heard mention of phone call metadata in the news. While different, this type of metadata is related, and valuable. More…