What are the latest trends and innovations in automatic tagging and metadata creation?

1 Machine learning and natural language processing

One of the main drivers of automatic tagging and metadata creation is the advancement of machine learning and natural language processing (NLP). These technologies enable the analysis of the content and the extraction of relevant metadata from text, audio, video, and images. For example, NLP can identify the topics, sentiments, entities, and keywords of a document, and generate tags accordingly. Machine learning can also learn from user feedback and improve the accuracy and relevance of the tags over time.

2 Semantic web and linked data

Another trend in automatic tagging and metadata creation is the use of semantic web and linked data standards and principles. Semantic web is the vision of making the web more understandable and interoperable for machines and humans, by using common vocabularies and formats to describe the content and its relationships. Linked data is the method of publishing and connecting data on the web using unique identifiers (URIs) and standard formats (RDF). By using semantic web and linked data, automatic tagging and metadata creation can enhance the discoverability, accessibility, and reusability of the content across different platforms and domains.

3 Cloud-based and open-source solutions

A third trend in automatic tagging and metadata creation is the availability of cloud-based and open-source solutions that offer flexibility, scalability, and affordability. Cloud-based solutions allow users to access automatic tagging and metadata creation services online, without installing or maintaining any software or hardware. Open-source solutions allow users to customize and modify the code and algorithms of automatic tagging and metadata creation tools, according to their specific needs and preferences. Some examples of cloud-based and open-source solutions are Google Cloud Vision API, Amazon Rekognition, Open Calais, and TagMe.

4 User-generated and social tags

A fourth trend in automatic tagging and metadata creation is the integration of user-generated and social tags, which are the tags that users create and share on social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. User-generated and social tags can provide valuable insights into the user behavior, preferences, opinions, and emotions related to the content. They can also complement and enrich the tags generated by automatic tagging and metadata creation tools, by adding more diversity, context, and personalization. However, user-generated and social tags also pose some challenges, such as quality, consistency, and privacy issues.

5 Multimedia and multimodal tags

A fifth trend in automatic tagging and metadata creation is the development of multimedia and multimodal tags, which are the tags that combine different types of media and modes of expression, such as text, audio, video, images, graphics, and animations. Multimedia and multimodal tags can enhance the presentation, interaction, and engagement of the content, by providing more information, variety, and creativity. They can also facilitate the cross-media and cross-modal search and retrieval of the content, by enabling the matching of different media and modes. Some examples of multimedia and multimodal tags are QR codes, augmented reality, and interactive videos.

6 Ethical and legal implications

A sixth trend in automatic tagging and metadata creation is the consideration of ethical and legal implications, which are the moral and legal issues that arise from the creation, use, and sharing of metadata and tags. Ethical and legal implications include aspects such as data quality, data ownership, data privacy, data security, data bias, data consent, data compliance, and data responsibility. These aspects affect the trustworthiness, accountability, and transparency of automatic tagging and metadata creation tools and processes, as well as the rights and obligations of the content creators, users, and providers.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?