Pete Chamberlain discusses Digital Asset Management
Transcript:
Henrik de Gyor: [0:01] This is Another DAM Podcast about Digital Asset Management. I’m Henrik de Gyor. Today, I’m speaking with Pete Chamberlain. Pete, how are you?
Pete Chamberlain: [0:09] Good. How are you, Henrik?
Henrik: [0:10] Great. Pete, how are you involved with Digital Asset Management?
Pete: [0:14] I work for a global software company and I am the director of marketing content infrastructure. I manage the Digital Asset Management system for our marketing organization through marketing operations.
Henrik: [0:26] Pete, how does a global software company use Digital Asset Management?
Pete: [0:31] We use our Digital Asset Management system as a central repository that allows us to provide global syndication of marketing content and provides us with the ability to maintain asset versioning and branding control.
Henrik: [0:44] Pete, what are the successes and challenges with Digital Asset Management?
Pete: [0:49] From a success standpoint, been fortunate that there’s been a pretty strong vision in terms of how we’re moving forward. The strategic vision that has led us down the path to being a centralized repository, being centrally managed, being centrally governed.
[1:04] One of the things that has really been successful for us is our ability to act as an internal service organization to the marketing department, and understanding how to work with people. It’s really all about a people business. People think in different ways. They search in different ways. They learn at different paces, different skill sets.
[1:30] We spend a tremendous amount of time in terms of overcoming any challenges to adoption that you might have for the system. We have an extensive enablement program help desk support. The first line of help desk support is actually managed by the business and not IT.
[1:46] One of the things that we found early on that was a challenge for our users was that they would send a note to the technical resources saying, “I’ve got a complication. I don’t understand how to do X, Y, or Z. I can’t get at my asset.” They would get a note back that may say something like “Works as designed.” And it’s just not helpful.
[2:09] What we did was we separated that and created a help desk that comprises basically us on the business side as business administrators to be able to work directly with, one‑on‑one, our end users so that we were sure that they had any of the training they need, any of the tips that they need.
[2:28] We’re really looking at how we could help them do their job more efficiently, more effectively, so that they would enjoy the benefits of a DAM system. One of the things that we look at, at all times, when we’re dealing with our end users. We get end users who can get pretty upset. They’ve got tight deadlines to meet.
[2:47] If they can’t find something, they can’t seem to perform a function they want, those are the people that we like to work with the most.
[2:54] They present an opportunity for success for the system and success for us as a team, because typically you can turn that person to not only an ambassador for your system, amongst their peers, but more importantly, those are the people that are passionate about the function of digital asset management.
[3:10] Those are the people that can find us with a road map of how to support the organization better. It’s their daily functions of their jobs that we’re trying to make more efficient. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.
[3:23] I really get back to the point that I think it’s, the technology that’s nice and slick. It still is really about people.
[3:30] We’ve had a significant amount of success with the adoption. We anticipate that will continue. We have a department that’s fairly small, but we do some work with 3,000 users in our end user community.
[3:42] One of the other success we’ve experienced with are Digital Asset Management system is we have a member of our team who has over 20 years of experience and expertise in master data management.
[3:54] Where this has come in useful is in managing metadata and data quality around metadata. We have the ability to monitor the quality of the metadata instantly. It’s a self-service for our administrators. They can look at the different parameters around the metadata, understand where there are gaps, make assessments, be proactive in managing it and really they’ve taken a process that’s typically very manual.
[4:25] We’ve been able to somewhat automate that and create a baseline of quality around the metadata. This is really important when you start thinking about if you start to connect your applications to your DAM and you’re serving content across multi‑channels making sure that it’s accurate so, that it serve in a proper way.
[4:44] Whether it’s across the organization or externally is key to the success of some of the upcoming programs that we have like market automation.
Henrik: [4:53] What information would you like to share with DAM, the professionals and the people inspiring to be DAM professionals?
Pete: [4:58] The key point that I’d like to share is that if you’re aspiring to be a DAM professional, whether you’re our DAM professional not to lose track of the fact that it really is a people business.
[5:10] Understand that it’s about relationships. It’s about working with people. It’s about enabling them for success. When all of those things go into place and you’re able to provide them with a solid operational foundation that efficient, and effective for them, look at the fact that in marketing operations specifically what we do great operations becomes great marketing.
[5:36] If we focus on the fact that it really is all about people, we’d be very successful in what we gonna do. Technology is almost secondary at that point.
Henrik: [5:46] Thanks, Pete.
For more information on Digital Asset Management, log onto AnotherDAMblog.com.
Henrik de Gyor: [0:01] This is Another DAM Podcast about Digital Asset Management. I’m Henrik de Gyor.
[0:06] Today, I’m speaking with Jessica Berlin. Jessica, how are you?
Jessica Berlin: [0:10] I’m good. How are you?
Henrik: [0:11] Great. Jessica, how are you involved with Digital Asset Management?
Jessica: [0:14] I am the National Director of Digital Asset Management for the American Cancer Society. I started with them about six years ago in their Creative Services Department. As the need for a new tool came up, there was a workgroup formed, and I became quite involved with that workgroup.
[0:32] Through that work, the development of a DAM department came to light. Fast‑forward through the application process, I became the Director of Digital Asset Management.
Henrik: [0:43] Congratulations.
Jessica: [0:44] Thank you.
Henrik: [0:45] How does a national non‑profit organization use Digital Asset Management?
Jessica: [0:49] In some ways, we use it the same way as anybody uses a DAM, but we also do a lot of things differently. We use our DAM more as a marketplace, if you will, for our assets. We want to make sure that all of our staff, our volunteers, and our external partners have access to everything they would need to use to promote the lifesaving work that the American Cancer Society does.
[1:11] For our media partners, they need to be able to access our public service announcements. For our volunteers, they need to be able to access fundraising materials and advocacy materials, as they spread the word around that. Our staff needs to be able to have materials that have the most up‑to‑date and correct messaging guidelines, cancer information, as they go out into the communities to spread that word.
[1:37] Our DAM is a way to make sure that everyone is using the most current materials. We don’t have to worry about what channel do we find this on? Is this current information? Is it outdated? Are these statistics correct? This way, we can insure that everybody’s accessing the right materials.
Henrik: [1:52] And, I assume, in a more consistent fashion?
Jessica: [1:55] Absolutely.
Henrik: [1:56] What are the biggest successes and challenges with Digital Asset Management?
Jessica: [2:00] Our biggest challenge has been making sure what we deliver matches what we’ve promised. We’ve done an excellent job communicating how our new DAM ‑‑ which will launch, hopefully, very soon ‑‑ will be heads and shoulders above the previous tool, how it will make everybody’s lives easier, how they’re no longer going to have to try to figure out where to find things and how to search for things.
[2:23] They’re very excited about it. We’ve got that tremendous buy‑in. We’ve got to make sure that what we give them matches that. We’ve run into some problems along the way. Part of that included delaying the launch of our tool, so that we could make sure that we fulfill on that promise we made to them. By far, the biggest challenge is making sure those add up.
Henrik: [2:43] Just so I’m clear, is it a technology change, or was there something much different from DAM X to DAM Y?
Jessica: [2:48] Completely different, apples and oranges.
Henrik: [2:51] Ok. Beyond the technology, what changed?
Jessica: [2:53] Internally, there have been a lot of different things that have come up within the American Cancer Society. We’ve merged a lot of programs, and we’ve merged a lot of departments and changed the structure. In that, you have redundancy of assets. You have outdated materials that have been used here, but not here. It’s almost an overhaul of the entire asset collection that we have on top of it.
Henrik: [3:17] So, it wasn’t just the technology. It was also the information, the assets to your point?
Jessica: [3:19] Yes. We’ve done an excellent job communicating what’s coming, getting the users ready to adopt that product, and really getting them excited about it. Unfortunately, on the other side of that, having to delay it has been a challenge for us. We have people that are so excited about, emailing us constantly, saying, “Well, what’s the ETA on that? When can we get into that? We know it’s going to be fantastic.”
[3:40] We’re really excited about how well it’s already being perceived and it hasn’t even launched yet.
Henrik: [3:44] What advice would you like to share with DAM professionals and people aspiring to become DAM professionals?
Jessica: [3:48] I would say, my piece of advice for people trying to get into the DAM world, if you will, would be to understand what their responsibilities are. On top of the traditional pieces, you’re going to be a cat herder. Looking to a new DAM, developing a DAM, or running a DAM is not a decision of a sole person. You have to…
Henrik: [4:09] It could be…
[4:10] [laughter]
Jessica: [4:11] It should not be. You have to make sure you have a group of cross‑functional responsibilities involved in that. Sometimes, that can be very challenging to get those people together in a room and to make DAM a priority, when it’s not a priority in their day‑to‑day tasks.
[4:24] You also have to be a salesman, which nobody likes to be.
Henrik: [4:28] True.
Jessica: [laughs] [4:29] You have to really get user adoption amongst your organization. That means throwing out those various road shows, going around being a cheerleader for your product, and getting people excited about. People focus on the implementation and getting the metadata correct and the taxonomy correct and the assets reviewed. They forget about the customer service side of it.
Henrik: [4:51] After production starts and still keeps on going after it.
Jessica: [4:55] Exactly, the trainings, the communications, and such. Those are things that I would let people know that they’ve got to make sure they enjoy that part of it, as well.
Henrik: [5:04] You’re basically bringing the rhetorical plate of milk…
Jessica: [5:08] Yes, pizza, milk, chocolate, whatever it may be.
Henrik: [laughs] [5:12] To bring all those cats together for that common goal. Excellent. Thanks, Jessica.
Jessica: [5:18] Thank you.
Henrik: [5:19] For more on Digital Asset Management, log on to anotherdamblog.com.
Henrik de Gyor: [0:01] This is Another DAM podcast about Digital Asset Management. I am Henrik de Gyor. Today, I am speaking with Tobias Blanke.
Tobias, how are you?
Tobias Blanke: [0:10] I’m all right. How are you Henrik?
Henrik: [0:12] Great. Tobias, how are you involved with Digital Asset Management?
Tobias: [0:16] I am the current director of the MA in Digital Asset and Media Management at King’s College, London. As far as we can see, this is still the only full postgraduate qualification directly related to this field [of Digital Asset and Media Management].
[0:33] There are, of course, a lot of individual modules, but not a full MA in the course. We have been running this MA now for three years and it has become very successful. We are very pleased with it, I myself, I’m a senior lecturer in this department the MA is running, that’s about the equivalent in the US of an Associate Professor.
[0:53] My research is mainly on data infrastructures, media industries, and this kind of things. What we are particularly proud of is how we are able to translate our own research into this degree. This is how I became initially involved in digital asset management.
[1:11] What I find most fascinating by interacting with all these students who come from various industries and other nations to us to study the degree is to learn how far and wide-reaching the impact of this seemingly small field has become. This is also one of the reasons why I wrote a book, which I guess you’re going to talk about today, Henrik.
Henrik: [1:33] Of course. To clarify, MA is the Master’s?
Tobias: [1:36] Yes, it’s a Master’s degree. It’s a post-credit qualification, so after your BA. I think you have the same in the US, only that yours is two years, and we have a one year MA here in London.
Henrik: [1:45] You recently wrote a book titled “The Ecosystem of Digital Assets: Crowds and Clouds.” Tell us more about what inspired you to write this.
[2:02] This is a direct reflection of what I said earlier about the interaction I have with my students and other fellow members of the academic staff here, about the development of the field of digital asset management and digital media management.
[2:17] I think we quite soon noticed that there is, of course, already quite a lot of discussion on, I would call this now, the traditional application domains of digital media management and digital asset management, which are often about organizing digital assets in an organization… organizing them in such a way that you can retrieve them efficiently, and so on.
[2:39] But there’s also, I think, if you come from it from the perspective like myself, which is slightly more computational, and also more in relation to what we would call Internet studies and these fields if you come from these fields to Digital Asset Management.
[2:54] Then, you notice, actually, the importance that digital content has not just in a single organization, but to bring together various organizations across the Internet, across the globe, and integrate their workflows of working together around the digital content they produce and consume together.
[3:15] That was the original intention when I wrote the book. The book has four chapters. The first one is the background and introduction chapter. The second one, which discusses these kinds of general perspectives on the evolution of digital assets, and also introduces the concepts of digital ecosystems, which is also quite hotly debated recently.
[3:39] It is one of those concepts where you don’t really exactly can define what it is about. But it basically describes how businesses and other organizations bring together their data, tools, and services, but also, the people that work for them and with them into a kind of integrated environment on the Internet.
[4:01] That then led to the subtitle of this book, which was called “Crowds and Clouds”, where we basically see how ecosystems are constituted by crowds, so the people who work with an organization and around an organization. And they work with this organization using platforms or clouds to produce and consume digital assets. This was the background section, where I discuss these kinds of concepts and the evolution of Digital Asset Management.
[4:28] Then, there is further sections discussing the technologies and methodologies, that really describe the kind of evolution of this platform I was just describing, and analyze that for also its future potential.
[4:42] Then, there is something that is very important to us, if you also work in a public sector, about how open or closed the ecosystems are around these digital assets. Anyone who’s ever used, let’s say, the Apple iCloud will know what I’m talking about.
[4:57] There’s challenges of sharing certain types of content. And this is, of course, an indication of the kind of business model that Apple, for instance, wants to develop around its digital content. Then, I also have, finally, two chapters which discuss “Big Data”, which is, of course, a big topic in the field.
[5:16] Then, also the kind of wider economic and society implications. What are actually these global workflows that I mentioned earlier? And how do they link together around this digital content? And how do these crowds and clouds integrate with each other.
[5:33] I’m particularly interested, at the very end, to discuss a kind of new idea for digital asset values, which is related to so-called network value, which is something that I describe as you become something else on the Internet that nobody else can do without anymore.
[5:53] The standard example for me is always Google Maps. You always wonder why Google has published this freely and openly. But, of course, we recently found out that by publishing this freely and openly, they generated a lot of network value for these maps or assets that they have, because really most all applications on the Internet now run on these maps.
[6:19] This is really to say what I tried to do. I tried to think a little bit about the assumption that digital asset management has a much wider application domain than, maybe, certain traditional ideas about it, and I wanted to write this book mainly to really practically lay down what my own research agenda for this kind of field would be.
Henrik: [6:41] If you read the show notes, there will be a giveaway of Tobias’ new book. Take a look at anotherdampodcast.com for more information. Tobias, what are the biggest challenges and successes with Digital Asset Management?
Tobias: [6:53] That’s, of course, a great question and a grand challenge to answer. I could talk about technologies, and also methodologies, and also business applications, but, of course, one of my primary interests in this field is the development of educational frameworks for it. I still think it’s quite a challenge for us.
[7:12] I don’t know how you feel about this in your professional practice, Henrik, but it’s quite a challenge for us to make organizations and businesses understand the kind of educational background, the skills, and so on digital asset and media managers need.
[7:30] Also, we have to learn this, because, of course, there’s a wide range in different ways of applying digital media now in the world. We find it interesting, but also really challenging to actually define exactly the kind of skills and professional qualifications that a digital asset manager needs.
[7:49] I think it lies somewhere between some kind of very lightweight computing understanding, so that you can talk to developers, at least. They then go on, of course, to deeper business knowledge around digital content. Then, of course, into the more established fields that one might immediately associate with this, which are more related to information science like metadata and those kind of questions.
[8:14] Now, the greatest success of Digital Asset Management is in a way, I think, the things I already mentioned in my last answer. The importance that people feel about the value of digital content in all kinds of digital industries. I think to say we can really see how this knowledge and understanding is now taking hold of many industries if you just look around here in London, which is, of course, a global hub for these digital industries.
[8:44] The challenges are related to making organizations and companies understand what kind of qualifications and skills are needed based on the success we already had, in a way, and making them understand how important digital content and the curation and preservation and the making use of the digital content in other forms really has become.
Henrik: [9:06] What advice would you like to share with DAM professionals and people aspiring to become DAM professionals?
Tobias: [9:11] I think it’s a great job to get into. [laughs] My first advice would be try it. I’m not sure whether you need at an entry-level necessarily professional qualification like we offer. Or, even a degree. But, I guess, you will find out soon that it helps you to advance to the more advanced levels.
[9:29] The real, to say, advantage of becoming, I think, a DAM professional, if you want to become one, is that you really sit at the heart of the operations of a digital organization in the 21st century. You really sit there where the content is produced and consumed, where the data is exchanged, and so on.
[9:51] If you are already a DAM professional, I think you should, that doesn’t mean that you have to study here, you should think hard whether it is enough what you have already learned through the practice that you’ve done, and whether you not need some kind of more education.
[10:08] I can only say that, for myself, who considers himself also to be, in a way, a DAM professional. Only through the interactions with all our students and the other people that we met from the wonderful DAM community, which is a global, great family.
[10:24] We have really learned to say how much is involved in this field, and I think it’s really important that DAM professionals keep learning that too. In my experience, highly advisable that you try and stay up‑to‑date in whatever form, with the developments in this field.
Henrik: [10:42] There is a fair amount of education out there, or even enrichment, to your point.
Tobias: [10:46] It’s really, Henrik, I don’t know how you feel about it. It’s a field that is evolving very fast, but you also need to stay up‑to‑date with the field, however that might work.
[10:56] You can visit the conferences. You can visit the wonderful blog of Henrik. You can read even more academic publications like The Journal of Media Management and all these kinds of things. I think that is not to say that you have to go back to school or university, but it’s really important I think, in all digital fields that you try to constantly change your self and evolve.
Tobias: [11:25] We’re also going to publish another one, which you can interview us in about half‑a‑year, about more the theory and practice of the general background of Digital Asset Management.
Henrik: [11:33] Fantastic. Thank you so much, Tobias.
Tobias: [11:35] It was nice meeting you, Henrik.
Henrik: [11:36] For more information on Digital Asset Management, log onto AnotherDAMblog.com.
You see, there is a benefit to reading the transcripts found in this podcast series. We are giving away one free copy of Tobias Blanke’s new book titled Digital Asset Ecosystems: Rethinking crowds and clouds. To enter this book giveway, email the podcast host with a one-paragraph summary on what this book is about (from the transcript above) by no later than August 24, 2014. A random drawing of the email submissions will award one lucky winner free book. The book will come directly from the author. You could even ask for the book to be autographed and personalized from the author himself, Tobias Blanke.
How are you involved with Digital Asset Management?
You were recently awarded a fellowship on Digital Asset Management. Tell us more about this.
What are the biggest challenges and successes with Digital Asset Management?
What advice would you like to share with DAM professionals and people aspiring to become DAM professionals?
Transcript:
Henrik de Gyor: [0:01] This is Another DAM podcast about Digital Asset Management. I’m Henrik de Gyor. Today I’m speaking with JA Pryse. JA, how are you?
JA Pryse: [0:10] I’m good. Thank you for having me on, Henrik.
Henrik: [0:13] JA, how are you involved with Digital Asset Management?
JA: [0:17] I was hired by the Oklahoma Historical Society in 2010 to process the [00:23] Carmen Gee collection, which is a very large collection. By process I mean the manuscripts, audio, video, and photographs. The project contained over 91 linear feet of manuscripts, close to 350,000 images, 207 mixed audios, and a number of video and some recordings. My job was to digitize and process the collection.
[0:47] That was my first introduction into Asset Management.
Henrik de Gyor: [0:51] You were recently awarded a fellowship on Digital Asset Management. Tell us more about this.
JA: [0:57] Oklahoma is pretty new on the digitizing field, and we’re relatively new as far as policy and procedures go. Of course, we have a huge collection especially with the five million image Gateway to Oklahoma history newspaper project, and the OPUBCO collection that we do have.
[1:14] My proposal was surrounding long‑term Digital Asset Management. I felt the Smithsonian Institute Archives, the way that they run their program and the way that they manage their assets, is something that I definitely want to model and bring back to the Oklahoma Historical Society.
[1:32] The proposal I wrote was concerning that, and the research that I will do for two weeks while I am residing there.
Henrik: [1:39] Is this in Washington DC?
JA: [1:40] Yes, April 5th through the 19th this year [2014].
Henrik: [1:44] Sounds very exciting.
JA: [1:45] It is. I’m looking forward to it, I’ve never been to Washington DC. My mission is to develop a management plan and best practice strategies for all of our assets that we have here.
Henrik: [1:55] Fantastic. What are the biggest challenges and successes with Digital Asset Management?
JA: [2:00] For the Oklahoma Historical Society and for myself and my department, there is pretty much one person handling each media format. And of course, we always go through budget cuts and we’re the first one to be cut in the state since we are a state agency.
[2:18] There’s only one of me, and the ethics grant has a total of one scanner ‑‑ which is a part‑time scanner ‑‑ one part‑time indexer, one volunteer indexer and I. Also, I like to say I moonlight as an audio engineer, an archivist, but have taken a lot of classes and lot of educational steps to get into the audio engineering field and audio archiving in the oral history collection.
[2:45] Whenever we do acquire new audio collections such as the Clara Luper collection, where it was an audio tape…every one of Clara Luper’s…who’s an African‑American archivist in the region. She had a radio show. We acquired that collection. It had 19 linear feet of audio tapes and cassettes. We’re going to digitize those.
[3:07] The biggest challenge is not having more than one me to handle the newspaper project as well as the audio digitization projects that we have.
Henrik: [3:17] What advice would you like to share with DAM professionals and people aspiring to become DAM professionals?
JA: [3:22] I spoke to a class this morning that was doing a tour of the archives that we have here at the Oklahoma Historical Society. I was asked the same question. What I spoke to them about is becoming more familiar with all digital formats as much as possible, taking as many classes as you can.
[3:40] I mentioned earlier taking classes in audio engineering, taking online classes in video and film production, and getting familiarized with library processes. All different kinds of scanning and digitization as well as the preservation of that material that we are digitizing.
[3:57] Whenever I speak to students or aspiring archivists, I always want to say, “Keep studying. Keep studying everything that you can. Build your knowledge base.” The more that we know about the material that we’re digitizing, the more beneficial we’re going to be with managing that material. Whenever we speak with community colleges or the different universities, I always like to say, “Concentrate on the efficiency as well. Quantity, quality, and efficiency.”
[4:28] I think that we become more efficient as digital assent managers as we educate ourselves more along the different processes, which is one of the reasons why I’m looking forward to going to the Smithsonian for that fellowship. It’s primarily to learn how we can manage our material better.
Henrik: [4:47] There’s still a lot of analog material out there to be digitized.
JA: [4:52] Absolutely. Now that it’s become the time…the archivists before us that have worked here with the Oklahoma Historical Society for 37 years or for 40 years. That material that they have taken care of is expiring. They’ve all retired now and left it to us, which is just the natural progression/evolution of all the material.
[5:11] We’ll do our part, and then in 30 or 40 years, somebody will come in and do their part. Things keep expiring. The new advances that we see every day, I believe…If we fall behind, we fall behind.
Henrik: [5:25] I’ve heard once it is digitized, it may be transferred into a different format eventually because to your point, before it gets expired.
JA: [5:33] Absolutely. One of the other things I was speaking to students this morning is the importance of having a master copy, an access copy, or clones of the master copy for different uses. Online use, copy use, press release use, all different sorts of uses, but securing that master copy just in case anything ever happens to the original format such as fire, flooding, or in our parts, tornadoes. But definitely to have that master copy.
Henrik: [6:05] Thanks, JA.
JA: [6:06] Thank you for having me, and I enjoy your podcast quite a bit.
Another DAM Podcast 