When would one favor human indexing over machine indexing? An example of the human indexing effort is presented along with tools that can help with the process. An example of auto classification is illustrated with a discussion of the reciprocal flow of information between the taxonomy management tool and the auto classification tool. Speakers then discuss how structured vocabularies help refine classifiers and how feedback from the classifier tool to the human editorial team contributes to the continual improvement of the vocabularies.

Taxonomy investments can do far more than simply improve the enterprise search experience. Taxonomic structures are versatile enough to be built up and broken down for different contexts. Leslie examines the trends in generating and applying taxonomies throughout the information lifecycle to make the process of creating, capturing, distributing, using and preserving information more efficient.

What do ontologies provide that taxonomies and thesauri lack? What is the big deal about the semantic web? What’s the difference between the semantic web, linked data, and Web 3.0 and what are the technologies that will power this next evolution of the web? Christine addresses these questions. Jordan looks at Tag Mush. That’s what you get when you look at a tag cloud generated from a wiki or blog that has been in service for several years. Jordan identifies problems and shows solutions that work today.

Tom and Stephanie examine the strengths and weaknesses of folksonomies, the content appropriate for social tagging, hybrid approaches to taxonomy and folksonomy, using folksonomies as a research tool into users’ vocabularies and categorization behaviors, and the ROI on folksonomies vs. taxonomies or ontologies.

Alex and Tom outline the latest commercial & open-source taxonomy tools. Gary then identifies approaches for identifying requirements around modeling, governance, integration, workflow, and user profiles as well as strategies for scoping, justifying, and getting buy-in for the project — whether you decide to buy or build. He also covers how to package this in such a way that you get the best answers from your vendors.

Taxonomies increasingly need to be combined, merged, or linked to create a unified enterprise taxonomy from separate departments or to reconcile folksonomies with taxonomies. Heather presents an introduction to merging or integrating taxonomies and making use of standard thesaurus relationships (equivalence, hierarchical, and associative) to determine how to merge/map vocabularies on a term-by-term basis. Wendi’s case study describes how mapping terms, derived from standard data sources and legacy applications, into a merged taxonomy supports a faceted search system at IBM. Carol describes best practices in taxonomy rationalization to address the problems that inevitably crop up during the merging. Andy, who works with business units at Washington State’s Department of Transportation, looks at how he maps its data assets vocabulary with other business areas within the agency and its metadata repository as it pertains to vocabulary interoperability, including managing application schemas and linkages between databases of terms.

Busch and Morey describe the role of taxonomy in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in building a health information network and how the taxonomy was validated with key agency stakeholders. Validation exercises were conducted over several days, providing an opportunity to build confidence that the taxonomy works in the real world and to provide initial training to people using the taxonomy. As SAMHSA launches an integrated website, the taxonomy is providing multiple ways to exchange information with and between customers.

This method of presenting is fast-paced, focused and fun! Come, learn and vote for the best!

Ron defines metadata and provides examples of applications that are harnessing it to add value and create competitive advantage in engineering and government sectors.

A successful SEO (search engine optimization) strategy drives the organization of information on the site from the searcher’s perspective. Jeff offers an approach to aligning the internal and external perspectives to ensure findability at both the micro & macro levels.

Despite the wide range of tools for taxonomies, Excel is still a popular tool. As more organizations turn to the Semantic Web , they need to consider how they rescue the controlled vocabularies from these spreadsheet prisons! Lisa offers a key!

Join Wendi Pohs and this panel of experts as they peer into the future of taxonomies. Each panelist concentrates on a specific area, including semantic management tools, consumer-driven taxonomies, social networking software, and emerging semantic technologies. We’ve asked these speakers to both enlighten and challenge you, so bring your thinking caps and questions.