Blog 3

 When looking at metadata and data description there are a few takeaways. #1 metadata is essential and vital to the organization of assets within a URL or other digital analog systems. Not only that but it is an identification for the assets we are viewing within a website. When you are creating a digital piece of work, information like URLs, or the specifications of the hardware used can tell us a story about what we are viewing. Every action we perform must be calculated with quantifiable patterns to achieve results. Therefore, metadata is how we classify the systems and actions that were taken to provide the results we see in front of our eyes. Not only that but metadata provides viewers with the systematic terms we rely on for accessing digital works. For example, the metadata in a photo can extend to the aperture and ISO these should be specified to give an understanding of the composition. Additionally, a URL to help us reach a website. These are both metadata and have systematic patterns built in like numbers and the Dewey decimal system. This way all people across the world can understand the technical details and have the same classifications and accessibility. Even though languages are different in themselves, the internet follows one language or at least ones that use data that the entire world shares like numbers. Whether you are in the United States or France and speaking different languages. The metadata will always be the same. You would not change languages to tell the metadata of the photograph to a French person, you could just say f2.5 and they would know you took the photo at a low aperture number. The results of metadata are calculated and always provide us with the results we need to navigate the digital world.  

When thinking about database design its all the metadata concepts strained into a refined product. Data can be very lengthy and hard to navigate, therefore an extremely organized database allows for ease of use. Database design is all about the tables and pages that contain sensitive identifying information. Database design does not put everything in the same spot, rather it links separate tables of information or data together to create an organized report of the digital system. In a security sense, this organization will be used to link with a participant to gain access or get to the right spot. For example, the action of using a password is a sensitive encrypted piece of data. For this system to work it requires a matching ID on the person's spot in the data table. This coordination between the password screen and the diverse table allows for an accessible itinerary to ensure there's no faulty play with the sensitive data.  

In relation to the Musee of d’Orsay my virtual tour analysis project. The metadata is confusing to navigate. The virtual tour itself feels a little out of date. That said, I tried to navigate to what kind of camera and software were used to create the tour. This information was not found, and the typical path for inspecting the elements of a website was unavailable. This required me to do external searching to find a new way to get to the code of the website. I had to go into developer mode. However, this did uncover a nicely organized database design table. This contained all the sections of code that are embedded on the website. Overall, I would rate the metadata and the organization to be a 5.5 out of 10. The website could use a serious update.  

 

Points are referenced from chapters 4 and 5 in the Digital Humanities Coursebook 

https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781000364538 

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