METADATA

Systems of Classification
. We make sense of the world through organization
. We organize according to rules, systems (Linnaeus)
. but also according to experience (associative)

Database/Data Structures
. Organized collection of data
. A collection of records stored in a systematic way
. Each record, a set of data elements, (basic unit of data such as name, street address, city, zip)
. Retrieval through any of the data elements
. Relational model: all data represented as mathematical relationships

Hierarchical Tree Structure Model
. Frequently hierarchical in structure, requiring parent/child relationship definitions
. Organization of computer hard drive
. Internet, WWW
. Dewey Decimal System
. Cladistics: evolutionary relationships (cladograms)

Network Model
. Each record can have multiple parents and child records
. Organized in lattice structure consisting of links and nodes
. Lends easily to spatial visualization 
. Example: Kohonen SOM map

Data
. Data is the product of research, collection, discovery, creation
. Data in itself is not useful
. Its value is a result of how it is organized, transformed, and presented to give it meaning
. Context determines meaning for data

From Data to Information
. 1st step: explore its organization
. Organization affects interpretation and understanding
. Each organization of the same data set expresses different attributes and messages

Organization Methods
. Alphabet
. Spatial
. Time based, etc.

Metadata
. Data about data: Information that describes another set of data
. Examples: Library catalog card, address book, etc.
. Metadata is what allows the organization, storage, retrieval of data

Lo & Hi Metadata
. Example LO: Resolution, compression in a digital video file
. Example HI: describes the structure of a media composition, ultimately its semantics
. Transition from metadata as tool to cultural form through semantic description

Standards
. Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/standards/
. Dublin Core: a metadata standard for describing digital objects (including webpages) to enhance visibility, accessibility and interoperability, often encoded in XML
. Harmony Project: research methods and models for describing the variety of rich content http://metadata.net/harmony/

Explorative & Innovation
. To see same data sets in different organizations reveals unexpected patterns in the relationship of things
. To invent new forms of organization based on personal, idiosynchratic rules enhances novelty of experience
. Nonetheless there needs to be some cultural common ground

Arts Examples
. Associative: Lisa Jevbratt’s 1:1
. Biographical: Daniel Spoerri’s Anecdoted Topography of Chance
. Affect: Melanie Wein’s http://www.the-fleetingness-of-bits.de/

Media Based Exploration Areas (Manovich)
. Large Scale data sets 
. New Structure: data with high-metadata content
. New Interface: Navigation & efficient access
. New Image: New forms of visualization
. Experimentation: Trial & error process

References
. Savage Mind (Science of the Concrete), Levi-Strauss
. http://time.arts.ucla.edu/AI_Society/manovich.html 
. http://time.arts.ucla.edu/AI_Society/daniel.html
. “Metadating the Image” Manovich
. Library of Congress, Marc System:  http://www.loc.gov/marc/