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November 29, 2006
All Knowledge is Free
What Happens when…
All Knowledge/Information is Free
All Knowledge/Information is Free and Freely Available
All Knowledge/Information is Free and Freely Available all of the time
All Knowledge/Information is Free and Freely Available all of the time to Everyone
What will knowledge workers do when the dissemination channel is gone. Based on my 24 years experience, much of our value was defined by our knowledge and experience. Today, most of that information is out on the Internet and experience, as they say, Isnt what it use to be. Most Information Architecture knowledge can be found online or in the book store. Most Metadata experts freely publish their knowledge in trade magazine or online journals. There will always be demand for those that can execute but the game is forever changing.
Posted by Todd at 12:51 PM
November 24, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving...
Happy Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for. One of them is not the amount of blog spam...
Posted by Todd at 8:57 PM
November 17, 2006
Podcast: The Metadata Experience
Delivering value for metadata over the long term requires a transformation from a focus on raw materials and products to a focus on services and solutions. While this seems easy to do, IBM spent billions to transform themselves from perhaps the greatest product company to the premier services organization of our time. Long term metadata vale will not come from the products but rather the metadata experience.
Posted by Todd at 11:54 AM
Life without Metadata
Have you ever thought about what life without metadata would be like? Not the traditional database metadata but retail metadata; the kind of metadata that appears on every product inside Walmart, Kroger, and Publix. Imagine a simple bottle of Bayer aspirin where the metadata includes the manufacturer, ingredients, volume, quantity, instructions, safety warnings, UPC codes, etc. Imagine walking into your local Kroger grocery store and as you enter the store all of the traditional taxonomies have been removed since product classifications are a form of metadata. The isle signage has been removed and replaced with emptiness. The only things you can see are the blank containers designed for the products themselves. Let’s suppose you need a can of soup to go with Saturday’s dinner. You grab a can and begin to shake it in hopes that the weight and movement can provide you some indication of the contents. Is it tomato soup or a can of beans? Perhaps, this is a can of peaches or mixed vegetables. Ok, maybe you’re an experienced shopper who can distinguish between soup and other products; is it chicken noodle soup, vegetable soup, or clam chowder? Frustrated, you head over to the dried goods area but your problems don’t seem to fade away. This time you pick up a box which may contain laundry detergent, dish washing cleaner, or cereal. Of course, these uncertainties have little impact as compared to the pharmacy where you may be taking Viagra or Tylenol for your now, splitting headache. Can you imagine any business that would actually run their store in such a manner? Can you imagine any retail environment without the information or information architecture required?
While the retail world cant imagine life without metadata, the technology still remains Oblivious...
Posted by Todd at 11:52 AM
Question of the Day
Question of the day! Article after article has been written about the explosion of data coming due to technologies like Web 2.0 and RFID. The strain on our system is said to be enormous with large investments required. Yet, the experts say that 40% of this data will be metadata. So, wouldn’t one assume that metadata would get 40% of the investment dollars? Unlike today, where we get 1% on a good day.
Posted by Todd at 11:51 AM
November 16, 2006
Enterprise Metadata PodCast
We are adding a new feature to the rtodd.com site; Podcasts. Please forgive me for the poor quality but I am learning as I go with this communication medium. The first podcast will discuss the Long Tail of Metadata which runs about 6 minutes. Included in the Podcats are executive overviews, associated slides, and related content that you can read to support the discussion. Please provide your feedback. My plan is to try to add one per week for awhile.
Overview
Assets, assets, assets; Technology assets are everywhere and number in the millions. How can we defend an investment to manage these assets and what strategy should we use to support the investment decisions. The Podcasts will review the Long Tail of Metadata and describe environments where value can be obtained and delivered to the enterprise.
Posted by Todd at 4:58 PM
November 14, 2006
Fish Eye Effect
The fish hook effect is the natural progressing of information exchange when something is published. Imagine a chart with the number of downloads on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. When you initially publish something there is a small hit with your loyal readers or visitors. Then viral marketing or simply word of mouth spreads and the number of downloads increases up to a point where access levels off. Then, like all content that isn’t regularly updated the usage begins to tail off and drop. This will continue unless additional marketing or advertising is done. However, this drop in usage will also level off to a point of minimal access which holds steady for the duration of the existence of the content. What’s really interesting we see the fish eye phenomenon with every type of content published including Intranets, documents, and weblogs. This is the exact reason that we need to ensure that out content continually expands or gets updated or the usage will flat line.
Posted by Todd at 1:33 AM
November 8, 2006
Forthcoming Book: Enterprise Metadata
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Architecture of Reliable Web Applications Software presents new concepts regarding the reliability, availability, manageability, performance, scalability, and secured-ability of applications, particularly the ones that run over the Web. Architecture of Reliable Web Applications Software examines the causes of failure in a Web-based information system development project, and indicates that to exploit the unprecedented opportunities offered by e-service applications, businesses and users alike need a highly available, reliable, and efficient telecommunication infrastructure. Architecture of Reliable Web Application Software proposes a scalable QoS-aware architecture for the management of QoS-aware Web services to provide QoS management support for both Web services’ providers and consumers. It also introduces Hyper-services as a unified application model for semantic Web frameworks and proposes Conceptual Model Driven Software Development as a means of easy adoption to them. Chapter Two: Enterprise Metadata for Reliable Web Applications This chapter examines the critical task of governing the web application environment with enterprise metadata methodologies. As organizations move to higher levels of maturity, the ability to manage and understand the entire environment is one of the most critical aspects of the architecture. Metadata can be defined as information pertaining to the web application environment that the organization defines as critical to the business. Successful metadata management requires a comprehensive strategy and framework which will be presented through historical, current-state, and future perspectives. The author expects that by understanding the role of metadata within the web application environment, researchers will continue to expand the body of knowledge around asset management and overall architecture governance. |
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Posted by Todd at 9:06 PM
More Metadata
Well, I have been replaced as the own of enterprise metadata. For about two years now when you searched for this phrase, my site and blog would be first. Well, it looks like BEA and IBM and moved ahead of me. This is actually a good thing since it shows that more and more companies are waking up and seeing the light. The light? The fact is that 40% of all of the data that will be generated over the next five years will be metadata. One would think that metadata would get 40% of the investment but no, try 1% on a good day. That’s too bad since the organization will demand great metadata solutions as this continues to evolve.
Posted by Todd at 3:38 PM
November 6, 2006
DMReview Article on Metadata
| In 2002, my organization took home the High Accommodation award from Wilshire Conferences, and the following year, we were awarded the "Outstanding Enterprise Metadata Award." By anyone's standards, we had created a competitive advantage that very few organizations could match. Within two years, our implementation looked like child's play when compared to the metadata success of Intel, Allstate Insurance, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and many others. Our competitive advantage was gone; a new, improved strategy was needed. |
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Posted by Todd at 10:56 PM