Metadata has always been viewed as an asset, tracking and enabling search, providing breadcrumbs to locate data, and generally being a benefit. However, I wonder: Would the United States military agree with that now? This topic was inspired by the article, “Are my e-mails private from government agencies?”, found on KTAR.com.
Metadata from e-mail has always been one of the most easily accessible electronic trails; the recent scandal just reinforces that fact. Metadata makes digital content findable.
Findability works best when a proper taxonomy is in place. Proper indexing against a strong standards-based taxonomy increases the findability of data. Access Innovations is one of a very small number of companies able to help its clients generate ANSI/ISO/W3C-compliant taxonomies.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Access Innovations, the world leader in thesaurus, ontology, and taxonomy creation and metadata application.
