An Intro to Metadata and Taxonomies

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by Christine Benson on March 29th, 2012

As the structured/adaptive content conversation progresses, metadata and taxonomies will also become more and more important. To participate in the conversation, you don’t need to know everything—but you do need to understand the essential foundations so you can ask the right questions.

For the record, I’m no expert. At the end of the post, I’ve listed a series of resources from some super-smart people who are.

The goal of this post is to provide an introduction to the concepts, so you can get a general understanding and feel comfortable digging into more information.

Now, this conversation gets big in a hurry—but don’t be intimidated. These terms have been around much longer than the Web, and can be applied in a wide variety of contexts. In the hopes of making this post a bit more approachable, I’m going to fast-forward through the structured content conversation with the diagram below.



Simple enough, right? I’ll be skipping past why and how to break your content up into components, and instead focus on how metadata and taxonomies get applied to content components.

Metadata first

The information provided in metadata makes the content findable and understandable to either a human or a computer. There are lots of definitions out there, but when it comes to metadata, I look to Rachel Lovinger, the metadata guru. She defines metadata as “information about the content that provides structure, context, and meaning.”

There are three main types of metadata:

• Structural: Defines the metadata elements that need to be collected; labels like title, author, date created, subject, purpose, etc. Defining these structural elements is typically based on a mix of organizational and system needs, along with standard schemas like Dublin Core.
• Administrative: Often created automatically when content is entered into the CMS, these values are used to manage the content. Administrative metadata includes things like date created or author. They can sometimes include sub-elements about rights-management or preservation.
• Descriptive: These values describe aspects specific to each content component, like title, subject, audience, and/or purpose.

Some of each of the three types of metadata is likely to be used on a typical piece of content, but how and when they get defined is very different. The structural metadata gets identified as part of your system requirements. Administrative and descriptive metadata are identified during the creation or curation of specific content. If you think of it like a form, the structural metadata supports which information needs to be collected (fields on the page), and the descriptive and administrative metadata provide the values for those form fields.

Here’s how they work together:

Taxonomy, shmaxonomy

The term taxonomy gets applied across a range of contexts. In the biology world, it means grouping organisms into hierarchical groups (e.g., kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species).
The web/digital world typically applies it to any kind of structure that organizes information. Information science people sometimes say “controlled vocabularies” instead of taxonomies.

Regardless of the term, the underlying goals are to create some level of consistency and control over the information used to describe a content component, and clarify relationships between them.
Common types include:

• Term list: A standardized list of terms created to insure consistent tagging and indexing. Think of it as a list of “preferred language.” Term lists typically provide a series of metadata values to pick from for elements like format or content type.
• Hierarchies: Often called a “taxonomy,” a hierarchy defines the structural framework used to classify terms into parent/child or broad-to-narrow relationships. Hierarchies are specifically used to support layered groups of information and not simply for the convenience of creating groupings—although each level of a hierarchy is commonly referred to as a “category.”
• Thesauri: A thesaurus translates conceptual relationships between the content, often made naturally by humans, into something a computer can understand. Thesauri typically address three types of relationships: equivalent (synonyms), hierarchical (broad-to-narrow terms), and/or associative (related terms).

Let’s get together, yeah yeah yeah

At its simplest, a taxonomy organizes information, and metadata describes it. For the taxonomy to be able to organize the information, terms need to be stored as metadata. It all works together to make the content findable, recognizable, and useful.

An example:



Not every site needs every one of these things, but this diagram illustrates how these elements can feed into each other and how they help display content to the user.

What’s next?

Admittedly, I’ve over-simplified these concepts to make them easier to understand. If you’re interested in learning more about metadata, taxonomies, and structured content, there’s no end to the list of resources out there.

Here are a few to get you started:

• Rachel Lovinger’s Metadata Workshop from Content Strategy Applied 2012
• “Taxonomies and controlled vocabularies best practices for metadata” by Heather Hedden, Journal of Digital Asset Management
• The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) provides a wealth of information related to both traditional and new technologies in the publications section of their site
• Rachel Lovinger’s blog, Meaningful Data
• The Rockley Group’s blog
• Joe Gollner’s blog, The Content Philosopher
• Karen McGrane’s blog
• Earley & Associates knowledge center

Survey: 21% of users on Pinterest have purchased an item that they found on the site

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28th March 2012 by Drew Olanoff

There’s no doubt that Pinterest continues to gain traction in for users who enjoy creating collections of things to share with others. We know that businesses are seeing tons of traffic to their sites from Pinterest users as well, showing that the premise of curated collections on a social network could actually generate sales.

Daily deals site Fab.com even noticed that Pinterest has started generating more traffic to it than sites like Twitter.

Other than the much-discussed fact that most Pinterest users happen to be women, we don’t know much more than that about the fanatical “pinners”. With a sizable sample of U.S. consumers, PriceGrabber has released some interesting survey results about people who use the site regularly.

Return users who cook and buy

By far, the most popular interest for the people who took the survey is cooking, followed up by home decorating, crafting, fashion, entertainment, and gardening. A whopping 70% of them said that cooking inspiration and recipes were their number one interest on Pinterest.

How often do they use the site? 37% of people surveyed log in a few times a week, with only 10% saying that they use the site a few times a day. Surprisingly, these folks are all active on the site, having created anywhere from 1-10 “Pinboards” themselves, which shows that people aren’t just consuming on Pinterest, they’re actively creating and re-sharing. Still though, Pinterest hasn’t replaced the usage for Twitter and Facebook, so appears that the site is a complimentary experience for the time being.



The super interesting part about Pinterest to me is that businesses could actually start generating quite a bit of sales from the people who are visiting from the site. By sharing their own products or making sure that they have “Pin” buttons on their site, Pinterest could easily start turning a small online boutique into a hot property in just a few weeks.

The difference between sharing things on Twitter and Pinterest is that people get to see exactly what the item is before they click on it. If businesses make sure that they’re posting great photographs of their items online, the sky is the limit for what Pinterest can do for them.

And Pinterest people aren’t just clicking, they’re buying. Out of the people who were surveyed who had an account on the site, an astonishing 21% of them have actually purchased items that they found on someone’s Pinboard. The most popular products fall in line with the interests I told you about above. That means that people are buying cooking utensils, things to make arts and crafts, and of course clothing.

Spammers are hip to the money they can make from Pinterest to, as illustrated by an interview with one such spammer on The Daily Dot. In the interview, “Steve” says that he’s making over $1,000 a day just from affiliate links he’s adding on Pinterest through bots. When spammers start using a service as heavily as this, and making money, the service is usually primed for stardom.

Pinterest definitely has to clean up the spam and figure out how it can make some money for itself, but in the interim, the users appear to be happy and businesses are finding new customers from a place that didn’t exist until a few months ago. Isn’t the Internet grand?

Setting a context for a content strategy vocabulary

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March 30, 2012 · 

 

The problem with building a glossary is that the definitions need to exist within a context. In my last post, I alluded to the ubiquitous term “template”, which has different meanings within different contexts, and Noz pointed out the word “format”, which has the same problem. The content strategy field is developing its own context, and this framework is offered as a starting point from which we can build a common vocabulary. Consider this a starter kit toward the glossary that Noz and I will post, likely in a neutral spot where we can accommodate multiple contributors.

The framework used here can be depicted as:


 
Content design
The cumulative effect of activities that form strategic approach to content, to achieve a business or social goal. This includes the decisions from both the content architecture and content development sides. (A Wikipedia definition for design is “…a roadmap or a strategic approach for someone to achieve a unique expectation. It defines the specifications, plans, parameters, costs, activities, processes and how and what to do within legal, political, social, environmental, safety and economic constraints in achieving that objective.”

Content architecture
The construction of content to allow content to function within a technological framework. Content architcture is the cumulative effect of activities and decisions in specifying the implementation of content types, content flows, and content models.


 
Content type
A set of building blocks that create semantic context for a specific unit of content, describing a technical structure and associated behaviours of those elements that allows reliable processing by computers.


 
Content flow
The representation of the elements of a content type into the various outputs within a presentation, plus the technical specifications that allow the implementation of business rules. Assumes the technical specifications are described from the perspective of the content type within some sort of content management system.


 
Content model
A representation of the aggregation of all the content types used in a specific project, plus the technical specifications that allow the implementation of business rules. Assumes the technical specifications are described from the perspective of the presentation within some sort of content management system.



 
Content development
The construction of content to allow content to function within an editorial framework. Content development is the cumulative effect of activities and decisions in specifying the implementation of editorial quality, editorial structures, and content genres.

Content genre
A set of building blocks that create social context for a specific unit of content, describing an editorial structure.

Content genres signify predictable reading flow. Examples of content genres are procedures, white papers, case studies, agendas, minutes, business cards. Readers predice that a business card has a name, position, company name, company address, and one or more telephone numbers.

Editorial structure
A socially-enforced structuring of elements with a unit of content.

The structure is social because there are no technology constraints to enforce the structure; there is a social agreement to use elements in a particular way. For example, writers may agree that business card elements should always appear in a particular order: name, position, company name, company address, the direct number for a landline, followed by a mobile telephone number.

Editorial standards
Editorial standards refers to the quality standards of the content.

Editorial standards can include mechanisms such as style guides, branding guidelines, or writing conventions, such as writing for accessibility or search engine optimization. Editorial standards are generally enforced by policy, though can be enforced through technology such as spell-checkers and content quality software.

Use Professional or User-Generated Video? New Survey Says ‘Both.’

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By Christine Dunn | Published: March 30, 2012

The use of videos in content marketing is growing as more companies try to incorporate visual elements in their content marketing campaigns instead of relying solely on text-based initiatives. Oftentimes, businesses weigh the option of user-generated videos over professionally produced ones. A new study by comScore and EXPO found that the best method is to combine both.

The study analyzed an actual video campaign that included a professionally made “how to” video and a user-generated product video that was created and submitted by an actual product user.


“What we found was strong evidence of incremental benefit with exposure to both forms of media,” Frank Findley, Vice President, Research and Development at comScore, said in a statement.

“Professionally produced content and product videos drove strikingly higher lifts when used together than when either was used individually. While marketers may already be familiar with the effectiveness of professional video content alone, these results suggest that even greater returns can be had by combining their use with authentic, user-generated content.”

Professional videos are important tools in helping viewers understand the importance of the key messages presented by a company or brand. Consumers were more apt to understand the described benefits and features of the products in professionally produced content, the comScore/EXPO study found.

User-generated videos, on the other hand, are easier to relate to, perceived as being unbiased, and were considered more believable about verifying specific product claims, such as superiority and convenience. They generate an emotional intensity about a product, and in doing so help drive communication about a company’s key messages.

Filling in the Gaps

“When used together, all of the perceived gaps get filled in and consumers become more confident in their purchase decision, resulting in better sales effectiveness,” said Jessica Thorpe, Vice President of Marketing at EXPO.

The first group of consumers participated in a veiled exercise in order to determine the sales effectiveness of the professionally produced content, the user-generated content, and both together.
The study found that the professional videos generated a 24.7 point lift in Share of Choice for the featured product and a 16 point lift for the brand’s total line. User-generated videos drove an 18.7 point lift in Share of Choice for the featured product compared to a 10 point lift for the brand’s total line. When exposed to both professional content and user-generated product videos, lift in Share of Choice for the featured product jumped to 35.3 points for the featured product and 28 points for the brand’s total line. This demonstrates the powerful combination when used together, the study said.

Lifts in Share of Choice After Veiled Exposure to Video Content March 2012 Total U.S. Source: comScore, Inc.
	Professionally-Produced	User-Generated	PP & UG Together
Featured Product	+24.7	+18.7	+35.3
Brand’s Total Line	+16.0	+10.0	+28.0

A second group of consumers participated in a cued exposure exercise and were surveyed after being directly exposed to the content. On its own, the professional video content resulted in a higher percentage of respondents understanding the importance of the key message presented than user-generated content. The user-generated product videos were more successful at producing emotional intensity.

When exposed to both types of videos, the combined increases were greater than for either of the individual media exposures.

Percent of Audience Exhibiting Specified Responses to Video Content March 2012 Total U.S. Source: comScore, Inc.
	Professionally-Produced	User-Generated	PP & UG Together
Emotional intensity	77%	84%	85%
Key message communication	55%	60%	65%
Easy to relate to	79%	83%	87%
Importance of key message	84%	80%	89%

comScore and EXPO will be conducting a webinar on Tuesday, April 3rd at 2 p.m. EDT to further explain the methodology and results of the study.
Video image via Shutterstock.

How to Use Opinions to Create Powerful Content

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By Carl Friesen | Published: March 30, 2012

They’re a staple of courtroom dramas everywhere — expert witnesses. These are individuals whose professional opinion is so valued that it can help sway, or even decide, the outcome of a court case. Clearly, informed opinion from appropriately qualified people has value in our society.

It’s something that also has value from a content marketing perspective. Opinion-oriented content can be fun to read, as well as informative, so it collects eyeballs. It can be a tremendously valuable source of information for anyone in decision-making mode — such as someone deciding on a new car, trying to find a lawyer specializing in intellectual property, or looking for guidance on how to vote.

It positions the author as a thought leader; someone who is invested enough in the topic to have a viewpoint and take a stand. It’s most useful if it’s a skilled individual who’s the “product” being marketed, making it ideal for marketing professional services.

Even better: Opinion content can be in written form, or in video, a podcast, or any other medium.
Take, for example, a mining engineer client I’ll call Hussein, who believes that mining companies must do more to manage the environmental effects of their mines after they’re closed. Water leaching through the mine waste and through the mine itself can pick up contaminants such as acids and metals, causing huge issues for ecosystems downstream.

Let’s look at ways opinion content can help Hussein show his expertise to members of the mining industry — potential clients for his skills in managing the water impacts of mining.

Stand-alone opinions

In working with Hussein, the first form of content I created was an article for a mining industry trade magazine. I interviewed Hussein about the issues he wanted to speak about, and studied the text of a keynote speech he had recently given at a conference on mine closure to gather enough information to (ghost) write an article for his byline.

This is an example of what I call stand-alone content in that this article wasn’t based on a previous development (as would be the case with “Review” or “Comment” content, described below).
Also, it was stand-alone in that there wasn’t a specific news hook or other event to hang the article on — like a mine whose tailings dam had burst recently, flooding contaminants downstream, for example. So, I had to put in some words up front, explaining why the issue is important to the industry’s financial and legal future.

For stand-alone content, it’s always best if you can find a news hook, so that when you include the right keywords and phrases, your content will get a ride on that event. For example, if your company offers solutions for cruise ship safety issues, now might be a good time to generate some opinion content on that, given recent news stories on cruise ship problems.
How to structure stand-alone content:

• Explain the issue you’re commenting on, and why it’s important to the content user.
• Give your viewpoint.
• Explain the reasons you support that viewpoint, acknowledging and dealing with counter-arguments.
• Along the way, you must state why your opinion matters — offer information on your relevant experience, your qualifications, or what your familiarity with the issues is based on.

Reviews

Content that analyzes or reviews recently-released books, movies, music albums, and the like has a long history. Now, we often see reviews of software, information technology, video games, social networking platforms, and other products that are written by traditional journalists, as well as by bloggers. But anyone can write a review, including subject-matter experts like Hussein.

A review draws strength from a content point of view in that it’s “news” (at least while the subject of the review is new). It can get a search engine boost just from being associated with a hot or trending topic (for example, the new iPad, or the first line of OLED television sets that hit the market).
A review positions the writer as being up to date with developments in her or his field.

In Hussein’s case, I might consider writing a review of a new technology for removing contaminants from water flowing out of a closed mine, or maybe a review of new mine closure legislation, such as that in the state of Western Australia.

Review-oriented content needs to cover these points (not necessarily in this order):

• A description of the product
• Comparison with its predecessor, and competing products
• What’s new about it
• Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the product
• Potential applications of the product — as well as where its use should be avoided

Comments

If stand-alone opinion content has its origins in op-ed articles in newspapers, and reviews go back to literary book reviews, comments are rooted in letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines.
A comment is based on content generated by someone else. Like the review, it positions the author as being up to date with current developments — particularly if the comment is posted soon after the original article.

With the tendency for many online news media to have space for comments after each article, there has been a huge outpouring of this kind of content, much of it not worth the pixels and server space. A quick look through some entertainment-oriented sites like “OMG” will find thought-free gems such as “I think J-Lo looks fat in that dress.”

So, where to comment? Choose venues that are:

• Monitored to keep out the spam, name-calling, and personal attacks
• Frequented by the kinds of people you want to reach
• Able to generate content on which you can usefully comment

Of the three types of content, the comment is likely to be the shortest — maybe just a few sentences. So just like composing an effective tweet on Twitter, an effective comment must say a lot, but should do so in as few words as possible. Most importantly, though, is that the comment must include the author’s name (otherwise, what’s the point?) and give her or his credentials. A comment on J-Lo’s fashion choices by someone signing off as “Snooki” would presumably have less weight than that of the editor of “Vogue.” Similarly, mining engineer Hussein might reasonably comment on an article on mine closure in a publication, website, blog, or other medium.

Comments are a quick and easy way to stay top of mind for the people you want to reach. But when contributing this type of content, be sure to protect your brand by posting only thoughtful, informative comments.

What I call “value-added tweeting” falls into the comment category. Rather than just an RT, your tweet should add your comments to the information being passed along — remembering to give credit to the original source of the information you are re-tweeting (using an “@sourcesname” attribution).

Review content needs to include these elements:

• The reviewer’s opinion on the content being reviewed
• Recommendations that the reader might take
• Qualifications of the reviewer (briefly!) indicating why the reviewer’s opinion matters

Opinion content needs to be done with care, in that there is a good chance that someone will disagree with your opinion. Hussein needs to be careful about being too critical of the industry in which he makes his living. He can help protect himself and his reputation by backing up his views with facts, acknowledging opinions different from his own, and creating his comments using a positive tone. This way, he acts as an expert witness of sorts, contributing to the base of knowledge on mine closure. He’s also able to add to the discussion, helping keep the “social” in “social media.”