Metadata

i.e. - Data from, or about Data

The Challenge

• Most data is generated out of sync, relative to the time and place of specific need
• Most innovative knowledge generation is serendipitous
• Most informational environments are 'Data rich, but knowledge poor'

Purpose - A Metadata Paradigm

• Helpful use of Metadata should actively encourage the following situations:
• It should enhance synergy - subject to alchemical conditions (Nie tan not Wei tan), emergent value
• Serendipitous Space - subject to magical accidents
• Sustainability - reusable now and at any point in the future
• Continuum - usable for soft non-linear data (non alphanumeric)

Performance - Widely usable emergent value

How should we measure the success against purpose?

• An increase in usability both now, and in the future
• An increase in emergent value
• An increase in context-capture

Process - Meta Data Standard

• Meta Data, Meta Tags
• There are three primary species of Meta Data
  1. Data Sets - This is the species with the highest population within the data ecology, thus most Meta Tags will be wrapped around Data sets
  2. Elements - There will be instances of a lonely single element of data that requires its own Meta Data
  3. Embedded Variables - data embedded within a software program which the program knows the context of the data use, thus not requiring any Meta Data
  N.B. - there will be Hybrids

Resources - Meta Data Standardisation

A wide range of Meta Tags need to be grown

• Mandatory set (Temporal, Source, Units)
• Relativity set (Absolute, Relative)
• Emotive sets (soft, (linear, non-linear))
• Extinction set
• Updated
• Media/File type

There will be many more…further development needed