The Curious and the Creative

Last week I was at DAM Europe, a two day conference hosted by Henry Stewart Events.

This year's theme was The Art and Practice of Managing Digital Media.

In my opening address as Chair, I proposed that DAM is as much about Creativity and Curiosity as it is Technology.

I have worked in this space for over 20 years. I have seen new technologies emerge and new business models evolve. I stared out working with transparencies in filing cabinets, rifling through index cards in a museum, and now adding metadata to high tech digital media including VR and AR video. A lot has changed in terms of Tech, but so much remains the same.

For me the essence of DAM is the ability to think creatively, and as humans we are naturally curious about the things we see around us (photos and videos) as well as the information we read (metadata).

Some point out that we are moving closer towards a more machine-led approach to managing media, but I question if this means we are moving away from Creativity and Curiosity since they are so hard wired into our brain. Even machines need to be taught. And ultimately, the people we serve through DAM do not think or behave like machines.

In my address, I spoke about DAM as a conduit through which we share ideas, exchange information and learn new things. In preparing my speech I found out that the left and right sides of the brain are connected by the Corpus Callosum which in Latin means "tough body". The systems of our body perform and function better when the signals sent from one side to the other are equally strong. In fact, the Corpus Callosum is larger in ambidextrous people. It is not about dominance; but about how well connected the two sides of the brain are.

Is DAM the Corpus Callosum of your organisation?

I've collated some snippets from a few speakers that I think corroborate my thinking. Creativity and curiosity, it seems, are as much a part of DAM success as the system you use.

Theresa Regli's Keynote (The Battle for the Heart of DAM) highlighted the value of empathy and the fact that often it is the quiet leader who has the good ideas and gets things done. Theresa concludes that it is "peace" that leads to progress, not battle, and that DAM systems have the power to unify people across perceived internal and external divides.

Christian Kubstrup from the LEGO group talked about the benefits of the fluidity and flexibility of assets, and how this optimises resources and promotes creativity. Moving beyond the traditional Digital Asset Management definition, Christian advocates for a Digital Asset "Creation" and Management system where an asset is always a work-in-progress and is never really 'complete'.

Paul Murphy from FIFA explained how 'lean does not need to be cutting edge'. Working at pace in the live sports environment means that people often 'find too much' when what is needed is a clean and simple user interface to connect content from your warehouse to the users browsing your shop front.

Megan de la Motte of Edrington shared a story of the heritage and purpose behind this incredible brand owned by a charitable trust, that continues to invest heavily in community work. Here, we learnt the value of connecting with customers through visual stroytelling and that using longer descriptions and detailed unique metadata can help surface content that might otherwise be missed and maybe even lost forever.

David Lipsey's workshop on The DAM Capability Model asked the question "what's next" - a great mantra for this space, because the only certainty is change. I love David's analogy of DAM as Pluto, an "unknown tomorrow", and contrary to popular belief NOT an official planet. Things change, we change, and metadata is a key tool used by organisations to track and monitor change as it happens, real time.

As always, John Horodyski's panel on Metadata Matters was buzzing with creative insights and input from HSBC, Canon, Red Bull and Extreme Reach. A phrase that struck me was "metadata is becoming an obsession". Even outside of the traditional DAM space (where metadata has always been an obsession!) the value lies in knowing what assets you have, where they are, and how you can use them.

I'd like to end by echoing Florain Zarkov's (Red Bull) comment: "you should never underestimate how good and cool humans are".

We are naturally Creative and Curious. As DAM systems embrace this, we see a continuing desire to strengthen connections, allowing signals and messages to flow seamlessly across the brain of the organisation. it's not about Tech dominating Creative, or vice versa. It is about making peace and unifying the two.

I call this Whole Brain DAM.

Did you attend DAM Europe? What were your key takeaways? What is next for DAM?