Friday, July 21, 2006
A Call to Arms for Digital Photo Metadata
Embedded Image metadata is hot! This is the second time this week, people have raised this issue to me.
First, Clay Robinson of OSD informed me about a successful pilot he led on searching embedded photo metadata in JPEGs using a Google appliance. His pilot took advantage of metadata defined in the IPTC Core for XMP.
Secondly, I see that the Stock Artists Alliance has just issued a "Metadata Manifesto".
Here is a snippet:
Imagine a world where metadata is ubiquitous. It’s a world where images can be easily located
and identified by anyone, anywhere. Creators can transmit their images to distributors and users,
who instantly integrate these into their systems. Image users can track their digital assets using
fully automated systems. A registry—now in development by the Picture Licensing Universal
System (PLUS)—will link every image to current information about its source and owner.
To realize that future, we propose three guiding principles as our “metadata manifesto.”
First, Clay Robinson of OSD informed me about a successful pilot he led on searching embedded photo metadata in JPEGs using a Google appliance. His pilot took advantage of metadata defined in the IPTC Core for XMP.
Secondly, I see that the Stock Artists Alliance has just issued a "Metadata Manifesto".
Here is a snippet:
Imagine a world where metadata is ubiquitous. It’s a world where images can be easily located
and identified by anyone, anywhere. Creators can transmit their images to distributors and users,
who instantly integrate these into their systems. Image users can track their digital assets using
fully automated systems. A registry—now in development by the Picture Licensing Universal
System (PLUS)—will link every image to current information about its source and owner.
To realize that future, we propose three guiding principles as our “metadata manifesto.”
- Metadata is essential to identify and track digital images.
- Ownership metadata must never be removed.
- Metadata must be written in formats that are understood by all.
The full manifesto can be downloaded here and it is well worth the read.
