in thp. Finding t h e Right Reci Organizing E n erprise By Daniela Barbosa I t's no secret that the Internet is changing the way we consume and digest information. Every day, consumers who used to reach for the Yellow Pages now reach for Yahoo!, Google and hundreds of other online resources. Information seekers who once cracked open those cherished encyclopedias in the library now surf Wikipedia online. For years, many enterprises watched this transformation from rhe sidelines, satisfied to continue adjusting the content management systems in which they had invested. But the consumers at home are also our employees at work. And when they arrive at their desks, they bring a new set of expectations that have been shaped by their experiences with the Internet, cell phones, email, mobile handheld computers and iPods. These and other innovations have changed the way people consume and interact with information. Content and document manage- ment is not immune to this transfor- mation, Online sites such as Flickr and del.icio.us allow users to submit their own metadata, known as tags, to shape the architecture of their knowl- edge and how it's shared. These practices known as social tagging are too big and too valuable to the enterprise to be ignored. As information professionals, we can either be intimidated by our fears of anarchy and information chaos, or we can choose to apply these practices to our advantage. In time - perhaps a very short time - we may not have much of a choice. Enterprise users will demand flexible, easy-to-use tagging tools as part of their own pantry of supplies. The only remaining question will be whether or not we are pre- pared to serve it up. Consider it an embarrassment of riches: for the contemporary enter- prise, progress is not inhibited by a lack of information, but by a lack of easy access to that information. You know the data you need is out there, but where? You believe there's an expert in your organization who can help, but who? You suspect that there's a better way to share knowl- edge, but how? For many years, enterprises have responded to the information glut by creating taxonomies, structured hier- archies of metadata - or data about data - that organize knowledge in a f o r VIetadata more orderly, more accessible manner. These systems may be used to classify docu- ments, digital assets and other content within any type of physical or conceptual entity - products, processes, knowledge fields, teams and groups, etc. - at any level of granularity. In its simplest definition, a taxonomy is the standard vocabulary a com- pany uses to describe its busi- ness. In practice, taxonomies should make information easier to find. Folksonom ies to the R escue lagging, also known as social bookmarking, social indexing or social classification, allows users to store, organize, search and manage content with metadata they apply using freely chosen keywords. Thomas Vander Wai, the man who coined the word folksonomies for this social approach to metadata, defines it as "collaborative categorization using simple tags."' Tagging can facilitate collaboration among specific teams and/or specific projects. As tags are shared, a feedback loop is organically produced between the "taggers" and those consuming the tags. In addition to the actual tag itself, the act of tagging can provide informa- tion about the piece of content the tag has been applied to and about the users wbo have tagged it. On del.icio.us, for example, users can see how many times a piece of content has been tagged - which may denote the relative impor- tance of that reference within the com- munit>- - as well as w ho has tagged it {pos - 28 December 2008 DM Review ww w.d m r e v ie w . c o m
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Finding the Right Recipe for Organizing Enterprise Metadata
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8/6/2019 Finding the Right Recipe for Organizing Enterprise Metadata
F i n d i n g t h e R i g h t R e c iO r g a n i z i n g E n e r p r i s eBy Daniela Barbosa
I t's no secret that theInternet is changing the waywe consume and digestinformation. Every day,
consumers who used to reach for
the Yellow Pages now reach forYahoo!, Google and hundreds ofother online resources. Informationseekers who once cracked openthose cherished encyclopedias in thelibrary now surf Wikipedia online.
For years, many enterpriseswatched this transformationfrom rhe sidelines, satisfied tocontinue adjusting the contentmanagement systems in whichthey had invested.
But the consumers at homeare also our employees at work.And when they arrive at theirdesks, they bring a new set ofexpectations that have beenshaped by their experiences withthe Internet, cell phones, email,mobile handheld computers andiPods. These and other innovationshave changed the way people consumeand interact with information.
Content and document manage-ment is not immune to this transfor-mation, Online sites such as Flickrand del.icio.us allow users to submittheir own m etadata, known as tags, toshape the architecture of their knowl-edge and how it's shared.
These practices known as social
tagging are too big and too valuableto the enterprise to be ignored. Asinformation professionals, we caneither be intimidated by our fears ofanarchy and information chaos, or wecan choose to apply these practices to
our advantage. In time - perhaps avery short time - we may not havemuch of a choice. Enterprise users will
demand flexible, easy-to-use taggingtools as part of their own pantry ofsupplies. The only remaining questionwill be whether or not we are pre-pared to serve it up.
Consider it an embarrassment ofriches: for the contemporary enter-prise, progress is not inhibited by alack of information, but by a lack ofeasy access to that information. Youknow the data you need is out there,but where? You believe there's anexpert in your organization who canhelp, but who? You suspect thatthere's a better way to share knowl-edge, but how?
For many years, enterprises haveresponded to the information glut by
creating taxonomies, structured hier-archies of metadata - or data aboutdata - that organize knowledge in a
f o rV I e t a d a t a
more orderly, more accessibmanner. These systems mbe used to classify docments, digital assets another content within any ty
of physical or conceptuentity - products, processknowledge fields, teams agroups, etc. - at any level granularity. In its simpledefinition, a taxonomy is tstandard vocabulary a copany uses to describe its buness. In practice, taxonomishould make informatieasier to find.
Folksonom ies to th e R escu
lagging, also known as socbookmarking, social indexor social classification, allusers to store, organisearch and manage contewith metadata they app
using freely chosen keyworThomas Vander Wai, the man wcoined the word folksonomies for tsocial approach to metadata, definit as "collaborative categorizatiusing simple tags."'
Tagging can facilitate collaboratamong specific teams and/or specprojects. As tags are shared, a feedbaloop is organically produced betwethe "taggers" and those consuming tags. In addition to the actual tag its
the act of tagging can provide informtion about the piece of content the has been applied to and about the uswbo have tagged it. On del.icio.us, example, users can see how many tima piece of content has been taggewhich may denote the relative imptance of that reference within the comunit>- - as well as who has tagged it {
8/6/2019 Finding the Right Recipe for Organizing Enterprise Metadata
tools that bring these people in ratherthan impose complex content manage-ment structures that shut them out.
Once an enterprise has decided tomove forward with selected tools, it needsa plan for stimulating their use. Successfuladoptions apply the following elements:
1 . Enlightened self-interest. Whatenlightenment philosopher Adam
Smith said of free markets works forthe free exchange of information aswell: self-interest can work for thebenefit of the community. Any tag-ging tool must first serve the indi-vidual's need to organize material tohis or her advantage - or be/shewon't use it at all.
2 . Appropriate training. As we'velearned from early iterations of PCoperating systems, few things are trulyintuitive. Any investment in a folkson-omy/taxonomy tool should be com-
plemented with an investment inemployee training.
3 . Seed the system. Early adopters bringtwo important things to the table: aset of tags that prove useful to othersapproaching the system for the firsttime and a core of cheerleaders whocan be advocates for the system toother people within the enterprise.
M o d e ls a n d B e s t P r a c t ic e s f o r
S u c c e s s f u l H y h r i d T a x o n o m i e s
A great meal begins with a simple ques-tion: "What do I want to eat?" Similarly,the best way to approach a potentialhybrid taxonomy for your enterprise is tobegin with appetite: what do you want toget out of your folksonomy/taxonomymetadata initiative?
There is no one right way to incor-porate a folksonomy into your enter-prise. Instead, there are levels ofengagement ranging from free andloose social tagging with tittle supervi-sion to closely monitored tagging builtaround a tightly controlled core taxonomy.
By precisely ide ntifying yourgoals , you can more effectively deter-mine the balance between communityfreedom and centralized control that isright for your enterprise.
Today, the state of enterprise folk-sonomies is comparable to the state ofcorporate intranets a decade ago - a learn-as-you-go period of trial-and-error exper-imentation . The following is a sampling ofways enterprises can incorporate social
tagging tools into their taxonomies:< As a way of rapidly classifying content
by allowing the user community to ere-
B e s t P r a c t i c e : S e t G o a ls fo r Y o u r M o d e l
T h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s c a n h e l p y o u s e t t h e o b j e c t i v e s y o u r
h y b r id m o d e l m u s t f u l f i l l .
Would you l ike to......add new navigational facets (such as tag clouds) to display? Tagging
tools instantly provide new ways to visualize metadata and, through
hyperlinks, to connect data, authors and users together....create communities? If your employees are engaged and eager to
use new tools, folksonomies can be a very effective way for them
to form teams, collaborate on projects and identify experts relevant
to their needs.
...classify a lot of content with minimal costs? By leveraging the col-
lective wisdom of the crowd, tagging tools can categorize content with-
out the time and expense of formal taxonomies. But, success depends
on consistent and active participation. And without active, centralized
oversight, there's the risk of high recall with low precision.
...improve search? Ultimately, that's the whole point - making content
findable. Folksonomies bring user language and interests to the mix,
but a hierarchical structure brings context that helps disambiguate
meanings, and consistent oversight can integrate user contributions
within the enterprise order.
...get users to interact more frequently with corporate tools, like portals?
Unfortunately, an enterprise tool isn't a "field of dreams" - building it
doesn't mean "they" will come. Encouraging real use is a matter of user-
friendly design, careful project rollout and sustained proselytizing.
...provide enterprise location tools? By incorporating data about the
contributors themselves, social tagging tools can help users identify
subject matter experts and colleagues who share common interests.
ate its own system of content reference -through tags - under casual oversight byenterprise information professionals.As a way of adding associative key-words to co ntrolled v ocabularies. Userscreens display terms from the enter-prise taxonomy, to which they maycontribute their own free-form tags ortags previously suggested by othercommunity members.As a way of attracting new terms vet-
ted by information professionals.Users can freely submit tags as theywish, but these are reviewed by smallgroups of moderators before theyenter the system. As fresh tags are sub-mitted, taxonomists can observe newconcepts and nomenclatures discussedwithin the enterprise and can becomebetter aware of emerging topics wonhadding to the corporate taxonomy.As a way of validating existing termswithin the enterprise taxonomy. Aworking folksonomy gives informa-tion professionals a means of measur-ing term popularity. If, for example.
the top five tagged terms are in taxonomy, the folksonomy has cfirmed the terms' relevance.
• As a mining tool to uncover new terand concepts important to the comunity. Digging throug h user tags asearch logs can provide additioinformation about the way people enterprise search tools.
There is no end to the possibilitiesa hybrid approach to enterprise tonomies and folksonomies. In fact, important conclusions are not the odrawn here, but the ones you reach acareful consideration of your enterpneeds and ambitions. O