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What do I do with extinct formats?


We all have them. Extinct technology. It comes and goes. We often take it for granted. At first, we treat it like a shiny new thing and then it becomes disposable. Soon, it collects dust somewhere.

Some of this technology stores data which was acquired or created by you. Some of that data may be digital files of value or digital assets, possibly even with some metadata.  Those files may be extinct (or soon to be expired and unsupported) file formats. Some of these file format may be proprietary which may require no longer used proprietary software to run it or a much older version of software to work with it because it is simply no longer supported today.

Sometimes, this data is on extinct physical media such as:

  • Smart phones (average life span: 1-2 years)
  • Prior personal computers (we all have them…every 2-5 years)
  • Smaller external hard drives (do you copy the old data as these hard drives get bigger, cheaper and faster? Or even use cloud storage?)
  • Film (Print or Slide) bye-bye Kodachrome. Film is simply a waste of time and money today. It makes no business sense to use it. If you have film, scan it (hi-res) as needed and archive the rest. Move on.
  • Compact Disc (tic toc…how many devices have optical drives today? Less. The writing is on wall.)
  • Video tapes (pick any of 30+ flavors. Convert to digital as needed and archive the rest.)
  • Zip drives and other proprietary forms of media
  • Cassette tapes
  • Floppy discs (all)
  • 8-tracks (really old school)
  • LP (33, 45 or wax)

Most of these have two things in common: They store information in some form and they fade into history, often with this information. Technology is disposable (Our culture makes sure of it). Before the end of this decade we will be adding DVDs to the list above (and have a lot of scratched coasters) as we download or stream data.

These may still need to be migrated to a current digital form while they still can. This is not about nostalgia. It’s about retaining a historical record. Or have it forgotten and lost permanently. Everything has a life span. Even when it is digital. Not all “stuff” may need to be kept that is why it takes an evaluation or review to determine the value, the feasibility and options available.

The simple answer to the question “What do I do with extinct formats?” is evaluate and migrate what is needed/wanted at least every 5 years.

Don’t believe me? Listen to this podcast.

What do you do with extinct formats?


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What is Digital Asset Management (DAM)?

Depending who you ask, you will get a different answer to the question, “What is Digital Asset Management (DAM)?”

There are plenty of unrelated answers found, about water reservoirs and feats of aquatic engineering. There is even an entry for “dam (dekameter)”. Umm, not really what we are talking about here, but thank you Wolfram|Alpha

In all seriousness, here is a list of answers to the question in their own words (click on each link):

So how do we get consensus on one definition? Can’t we just all get one definition for DAM? Does DAM vary that much? Do we need a broad enough definition that covers what DAM was before, what it is today and what it is becoming? Should there be a simple broad definition to understand the concepts and then more complex definitions to understand the various parts of the solution?

This discussion starts with unity among the DAM professional community. In September 2010, there were two DAM conferences back to back in different cities. Most of the top active minds in the ‘DAM-osphere’ were present. The issue is you could ask every DAM professional the same question and you would likely get a different definition from each person. Or they would ask you to reference xyz.

Sigh.

So how do we fix this? One solution is to set standards going forward. Someone told me ‘the interesting thing about standards is everyone has their own.’ Where is the standards body which creates these standards and hashes out what it really is? Sure, there are well accepted standards bodies. Just to list a few, there are:

The issue is these standards bodies move slowly when establishing standards. It can take 5 to 15 years to set a standard. Does anything change within that period of time?

There is one group which DAM professionals may have heard of already.

Enter the DAM Foundation. Yes, that’s right. There is one. And their major purpose for existence?

DAM Foundation. Creating the standards in Digital Asset Management

It has hundreds of members from DAM professional community already. You will hear more about it in the coming months. I have spoken to plenty of DAM professionals who would love to hash this out together… not individually. A standard accepted by the whole can trump the standard mentioned from one.

Meanwhile, we can continue the discussion…

What is your definition of Digital Asset Management?

Input interpretation:

dam (dekameter)


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Where can I find metadata standards?

As a Digital Asset Management professional, one of the many non-tangible things I deal with on a regular basis is metadata. This is a must. Any standards which already exist can help as a starting point. There is no sense recreating the wheel from stone since someone has done that work for you by putting advanced knowledge and further development behind it.

The issue is there are many, many standards for metadata. Some are based off of each other. Some standards are quite common, while others are designed for a very specific audience. Which metadata standard(s) you end up using should relate back to your:

  • Assets
  • Business needs
  • People
  • Use cases

Something to keep in mind is what information:

  • you already have from the past (is this information accurate and still relevant?)
  • you are collecting/creating now (is this done consistently?)
  • you will need for the future (think beyond the current project and fiscal period)

Will these metadata standards meet all your metadata needs? For the most part, yes. It is worth taking a deep look at these metadata standards.

There are several comprehensive guides to metadata worth sharing since they are freely available:

  1. The first guide is from NISO about Understanding Metadata which contains quite a few references on everything you wanted to know about metadata, but was afraid to ask.
  2. Another set of guides are more recently authored by Jenn Riley, who was funded by the Indiana University Libraries White Professional Development Award where she developed a visual representation of 105 different metadata standards along with Devin Becker. Their site mentions:

“The sheer number of metadata standards in the cultural heritage sector is overwhelming, and their inter-relationships further complicate the situation. This visual map of the metadata landscape is intended to assist planners with the selection and implementation of metadata standards.

Each of the 105 standards listed here is evaluated on its strength of application to defined categories in each of four axes: community, domain, function, and purpose. The strength of a standard in a given category is determined by a mixture of its adoption in that category, its design intent, and its overall appropriateness for use in that category.

The standards represented here are among those most heavily used or publicized in the cultural heritage community, though certainly not all standards that might be relevant are included. A small set of the metadata standards plotted on the main visualization also appear as highlights above the graphic. These represent the most commonly known or discussed standards for cultural heritage metadata.”

This is a Visualization of the Metadata Universe where the content was authored by Jenn Riley and designed by Devin Becker.

Seeing Standards: A Visualization of the Metadata Universe

This is complimented with A Glossary of Metadata Standards in pamphlet form and poster form, also created by Jenn Riley and Devin Becker.

Having this visual mapping helps people like me who deal with information in this manner regularly. I like this so much, I saved these posters and guides (all PDF). I even added the visualization as a screen saver on my work computer.

In the cases when these  metadata standards do not meet your metadata needs and use cases, some people mix several standards together into metadata mashups which may be more successful rather than trying to carve your own standard out of stone.

Let us know when you are ready for some vendor neutral consulting on Digital Asset Management.

Where do you find metadata standards?