PHILIP SPIEGEL - DAM Ideas

Your Next Big Problem

. . . is one that you don't even know you have. 

What new business needs, distribution deals, web or mobile opportunities, new technologies, etc will be available in the next 12 months and how well prepared will you be to support them? 

This is the big first step.  Get your operation in order and fine-tuned to be in a position to be "effortlessly nimble" and capable of reacting swiftly to change.  If you have your workflow defined and implemented, technology installed and stabilized, and then your content organized, digitized, cataloged, rights managed and search-able you will have the flexibility to react to new problems (aka opportunities!) fast.  If you don't, well...you may still be able to keep up but you will have to work harder, have a higher stress and scramble factor and ultimately incur higher costs.  The competitive edge always goes to the well-prepared.  

This is part of the ROI discussion that has to start the process.  The cost of lost marketshare and of the competitive edge have a dollar amount and need to be factored into planning.  The risk of lost opportunity are real, don't let this be your next big problem.

Thinking about a Metadata Strategy

The metadata discussion has to start by identifying the core terms that drive the business needs and it has to start early in the DAM design process...the earlier the better.  Collaborate with key business stakeholders in the organization to build consensus and look to this effort to ultimately shape the rules for users, data creation, modification and administration.

In general, I would advocate a "less is more" approach to metadata with as little free text data entry entry as is possible.  This may not aways be important in a small organization but it can be a huge issue in a larger organization.  It's all about consistency and if you can't control the quality of the data into the DAM you will diminish its overall value back to the organization.  In visual media, the visuals in search results will do most of the talking....you need to make sure that potent search terms and keywords are getting the creative's eyes to the right images.  Take the user perspective into the design process, how will they search?  What will they be looking for? Is it better to have 20 great results in a search or 60 that are just ok and require additional digging?  Make it easy.

What kind of metadata do you need to capture? When? How? By who or what? Lastly. what will the metadata do?  Will it be synchronized across different platforms? How?  Will it be driving automation within the workflow?  All of these questions need to be incorporated early into the overall DAM design plan.  I would't assume you can copy or buy a metadata schema and just plug and play.  I would also take a long hard look at any legacy data and try to weigh its potential value.  What is its trustworthiness and how portable will it be into a new system?  Is this an opportunity to filter and clean legacy data before migrating old problems to a new environment?  OR, is this the chance to abandon the legacy data and all its "baggage" and start afresh?

The ROI will come from the combined excellence of a metadata and technical solution...you need both.  Without consistent and accurate metadata the ability to succeed is significantly jeopardized.  Ultimately, if the metadata fails for your business needs it won't matter how good the GUI looks, how fast the performance or how effective the storage solution.

Metadata matters.

The Glass is Half Full!

I look at digital tools as facilitors to opportunity. Proxy files of content offers the transparency and access that as commercial or institutional archives we all want...without exposing more delicate physical assets to repeated and unnecessary handling. So why do so many in our profession get hung up on the general tech life, obsolence and formatting issues of software and hardware to the point of near-obsession?  Yes, film shot 100 plus years ago can still be easily viewed while files created and stored in the last decade on now obsolete formats cannot (think laser disc and others) but this should not be to the point of fixation or worse inactivity. 

Best practices and collection management don't stop once you create digital copies.  A well-defined and on-going backup protocol, along with multiple copies (along with a disaster recovery plan) and ultimaly an ongoing migration plan are required.  We can't allow content to be lost to the fast evolving nature of the computer / software world we just need to be better at managing this reality. 

I hope the conversation can get away from the negatives and focus on the absolute positives of digitizing.  While the debate is going on content on videotape is rotting away on shelves in temperature and humidity controlled environments.   Get busy encoding or get busy filling dumpsters...seems like the choice is clear.