It all starts with a question: What should I get for a tattoo?
I’m Peter, and this is stacks and facts.
[intro]
So you’re probably like, “Peter, I came here to learn about metadata,
since that’s what you put in the title, not tattoos!”
I guess that’s fair, so let’s talk about metadata.
So when we think about Metadata,
The common definition that gets thrown around a lot, and that I personally find unfulfilling,
is that metadata is “data about data.”
While that may be useful for someone who works with data on the regular, for most people?
It doesn’t really give that much meaning.
A better, and in my opinion, much more gratifying definition, is this: Metadata is a way for
us to know some things SURROUNDING a piece of information, so that we have a better idea
of what that information IS when we go looking for it.
Given that a library’s primary task is helping others find the information they’re looking
for, it would make sense that librarians like metadata.
Not only does it make their job EASIER, it makes their job POSSIBLE.
In my spooky Halloween video talking about how classification systems can kill vampires,
I talked about how different collections have different ways of being organized depending
on the collection’s purpose.
The different categories that a book might fall into are prime examples of metadata -- it
tells you a thing about the book.
A librarian then takes that information about the book, and uses it to figure out what to
do with the book, so that it can be found and used later.
So that’s what we *do* with metadata -- but what does it look like?
Now, for a book, some obvious metadata *would be* the subjects it covers, as well as its
author, title, and publisher for example.
But metadata can also include physical descriptors about *the object that is a book*: it’s
weight, physical dimensions, the materials it’s made of -- and these can be just as
important when you’re deciding how and where to store it.
Or, as Colleen over at the University of Iowa’s Special Collections highlights in her video,
it can inform what needs to be done in order to restore or preserve an old book!
You don’t have to be a *big* fan of Shakespeare to appreciate the video, so go check it out!
… You’ll see.
Sorting and fixing books is a fairly benign use of metadata, but -- as various three-letter
government agencies, and google, AND facebook, AND literally every tech company out there
can attest, metadata can be used for… other... purposes.
You can learn a lot about a person and their relationships or priorities for example, simply
from knowing who they’re talking to, how often, and *how* you’re talking to them
-- and you don’t even necessarily need to know what they’re talking about.
Let’s take my own text messages, for example.
Queue graphic!
This grid represents a very abstract version of the texts on my phone.
I’ve broken them into these four groups: - There are Folks who I text, and who text
me back.
These are probably people who I care about.
We might talk regularly, or not!, but there’s an exchange of information, on a somewhat
regular basis.
- There are Folks who I text, and who don’t text me back.
These could be folks who I need to get information to, but not necessarily information back from.
Not so many in this case.
I wonder why that is?
- There are folks who text me, and who I don’t text back.
These could be folks -- or services! -- who need to send me information but don’t necessarily
need a text response.
Think authentication services, or bill notifications.
- Finally, there are folks who *don’t* text me, and who I don’t text.
This would arguably be the LARGEST group of people -- you’re probably in it -- but this
could still be useful information if, say, you know I have a close relationship with
someone.
Why *don’t* we text?
If you have access to my texting records -- for example, because you make an app that I just
can’t live without, that has blanket permissions given to it when it’s installed as a requirement
-- let’s call it Bookface Messenger, for example -- then you suddenly know a lot about
me.
Given the matrix I just showed you, what are some conclusions that *you* might be able
to come up with about me?
Make me deeply uncomfortable and leave a comment below with YOUR idea!
[the silence grows deafening]
This is something that we as individuals should think about -- who has access to what information
about me, and what can they do with it?
What privacy protections do I have, and do those change if it’s a government that’s
using the metadata, versus a private company?
To what ends are my data being collected?
Is it more okay to use it for national security than it is to make a buck that I’ll never
see?
What are the real costs of my “free” email account?
Now, these two examples -- books and digital communications -- only scratch the surface
of what makes metadata so powerful.
And that’s why I’m happy to announce, in an effort to make content more regularly
[awkward noise] the start of a new series on Stacks & Facts called “Meta Mondays.”
The plan is that on Mondays, I’ll release a short video talking about different metadata,
how they impact you, and how you can in turn use them for your own purposes, hopefully
noble.
So that’s exciting!
Yeah.
…
Oh, right!
Tattoos!
Well, I wasn’t lying when I told you that this all started with me wondering what I
should get for a tattoo -- and I will answer that question!
The first three episodes of Meta Monday will be about, in no particular order, an elaboration
on book metadata, digital communication metadata and how we use it, and the metadata of my
tattoo.
So if you’re into seeing folks get inked while talking really nerdy about information,
go ahead and click that subscribe button.
But until then, thanks for watching… and don’t forget to ask questions.
Bye.
[outro music]