Re: User friendly term for Metadata

Subject: Re: User friendly term for Metadata
From: Roy Anderson <royanderson -at- MINDSPRING -dot- COM>
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 18:30:00 -0400

Beth Agnew wrote:
>
> Trying to find a more user friendly term for metadata might lead to
> inaccuracy because I don't think the term can be sufficiently deconstructed.
> Metadata as "data about data" is pretty easy for users to wrap their minds
> around, especially if you give a few examples. Sometimes people just have to
> learn new words.
>
> When we talk about metadata in our documentation, we explain that every data
> item has certain attributes, such as a file name, file size, location, and
> so on. Once users connect the idea of data having characteristics that can
> be catalogued, they "get" metadata fairly quickly.
>
> --Beth
> Beth Agnew
> Manager, Information Development


Apparently, "metadata" has become the cool, obtuse, and abbreviated
successor to confusing terms such as: document, file, field, variable,
name, label, attribute, and property. We can lump all the other terms
under "metadata" and move on. Yay!

Mom once challenged me to "Learn at least one new thing every day."
"Mom, I learned about 'metadata' today. It was an accident, honest."
(Grin.)

I worry about the future of our country when someone invents a need
to define the data about metadata.

Roy


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