Metadata Kate Gate
John Horodyski
“And don’t, fu*k, it up.” RuPaul on any given day, in any given place, and time.
Kensington Palace had just one thing to do, and with that one thing, they royally screwed it up.
On Mother’s Day UK (March 10), Kensington Palace via Kate Middleton, published an official photo of Kate and her three children. And that’s where the metadata journey begins, for something was just not right with the photo, and with keen eyes and digital investigative skills, the truth was being unmasked. According to the metadata of the file, obtained by ABC News, the photo was processed in Photoshop first on March 8, at 9:54 p.m., local time, and again on March 9, at 9:39 a.m., local time.
Metadata does not lie.
A leader of one of the news agencies, Agence France-Press, told BBC News Radio that Kensington Palace is no longer a trusted source for the agency…
Metadata matters because it tells you where your content came from, where it is going, and how it can be used. Metadata matters because it gives structure and meaning to the data associated with all that we do in our business and personal transactions. Metadata matters because when in doubt, look at the EXIF data to tell you what’s really going on.
History teaches us that the study of “Diplomatics” in Archival Studies, posits that a document is authentic when it is what it claims to be. The SAA definition reads, “The study of the creation, form, and transmission of records, and their relationship to the facts represented in them and to their creator, to identify, evaluate, and communicate their nature and authenticity.” And, with that definition comes arguably its greatest modern proponent of Diplomatics, Luciana Duranti, reminds us to be mindful of, “the persons, the concepts of function, competence, and responsibility” must all be considered when considering digital assets and trust, from creation to distribution. Trust in content created with authority, authenticity, and responsibility.
One of the primary tenets of DAM is to provide a single source of truth to allow for brand consistency, and brand responsibility for creating and distributing accurate and authentic assets to their users. And, yet in this imperfect and infallible world, mistakes happen.
The lesson for Kensington Palace, and Kate, is to stop, slow down, and ensure there is a plan for their digital strategy involving people, process, technology, and data. The consequence of this lack of strategy is that trust was broken. There was an absence of governance, and the responsibility to take the time to evaluate what had been presented. There is no prize for those who are first to publish content, which bears the risk of inaccuracy. We all lose for letting the misinformation win, so well done Agence France-Press and others who identified the discrepancies, analyzed the metadata, and eventually denounced this photo. What a great learning opportunity for metadata governance in action
The question for all of us is if our data is trusted and authentic. Integrity of information means it can be trusted as authentic and current. When content is allowed to move freely, the chain of custody can be lost, undermining trust that the information is original. By establishing rules around originality and custodianship, or document ownership, content can be relied on as the “single source of truth,” and there may well be more than one source of truth, for it is authenticity we seek. For example, if we define content as something that has value to the organization, then it is clear that controls should be placed on access to that content. If controls are not in place, or they are insufficient, then the consequences can be embarrassing and costly. Possible dangers might include having the company sustain damage to its reputation, or it could result in the loss of trust of clients or consumers.
While metadata helps us find the facts needed for that truth, governance is the structure around how organizations manage content creation, use, and distribution and is a critical part of developing trust. Ultimately, governance is the structure enabling content stewardship, beginning with metadata and workflow strategy, policy development, and more, and technology solutions to serve the creation, use, and distribution of content. Content does not emerge fully formed into the world. It is a product of people working with technology in the execution of a process… the transparency needed for content to be authoritative, authentic, and all willing, responsible.
Ultimately, trust in technology and the data flowing through its pipes will lead to greater participation that will increase information’s value and utility. Understanding the needs of users and showing transparency in the technology, the people, and the process will improve the experience and start the path to building trust. And yet, trust is hard to come by because there is not enough of it in our data, and the reporting of content for our consumption is made available in our social media options. We must all do better.
Content is varied and needed for many reasons, and as long as change exists in your business, your strategy must also change—it is never really “finished.” Metadata is a program, not a project. It has no finite end, as it is ongoing and needs to be managed as such with resources, financial considerations, and fair planning.
Metadata is the best way to protect and defend digital assets from content mismanagement. Invest the time, energy, and resources to identify, define, and organize assets for discovery. We use metadata to help us organize our folders on our computers, so we have somewhere to place our files, so we may one day use them again in our work. We describe and organize our music into playlists that match our feelings and emotions so we may find them again.
But ask yourself this … how well do you know your metadata? How well organized is your metadata? How well governed is your metadata? And, how well prepared are you for change and able to respond in an effective, responsible, and trustworthy manner? If you do not have the answers to these, then it’s time to start managing your metadata now, and for the future.
I love metadata, I always have, and I always will.
I never “met a data” I didn’t like, and I look forward to a future where data is grounded in good governance and the ability to present itself as accurate, authoritative, and authentic. Identify trusted sources of information, mute the “noise” and corrupted information on social media, and take the time to evaluate what has been presented. Metadata matters because it defines us at any given point in time with the best information available to us using its managed foundation for content clarity.
Metadata matters.
Disclaimer
I am many things, but I am most certainly not a robot. It seems awkward to have to provide such a disclaimer, but I wrote this article myself, and no AI was involved in its creation. Not a robot, but a human.
“It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem it’s me.” Taylor Swift, Antihero.
[1]https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/kate-middleton-photo-controversy-new-details-show-photo/story?id=108123599