Words, Words, Words: The Unsung Heroes of Your DAM

Words, Words, Words: The Unsung Heroes of your DAM

For all the elegant code, the nebulous database structures and the ever-expanding feature sets, Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems are ultimately defined and empowered by nothing more complex than words.

I'm not speaking of the polished adjectives of the marketeers, who would have you believe in the quasi-magical powers of their DAM (ours is pure sorcery, I swear), but the simple, ineluctable power of the words we call tags or keywords.

Humble strings of letters and syllables, words are the unsung heroes of your DAM. They are the 'details' that make the difference. Because without keywords, your DAM system will remain little more than a snazzy storage system.

The point of a DAM lies in its ability to release the value of your archives, transforming storage from something passive (a digital dumping ground), into an active archival system that provides you with the infrastructure and tools to quickly find what you need, when you need it.

And if that doesn't sound incredibly exciting (ok, it's not that exciting), there's plenty of data out there demonstrating just how much time and money an effective DAM can save you, while keeping your data safe, and protecting your organisation from possible reputational damage and uncontrolled messaging.

Folders and Albums Can Only Get You So Far

Folders and Albums Can Only Get You So Far

There are some shortcuts that will get you part of the way to establishing an effective DAM. You can create collections, albums, folders, galleries and the like, breaking your archive into zones classified by theme or subject matter. This might work for smaller collections, but trust me there will come a time when folders and albums will not be enough.

The harsh reality is that nothing will supercharge the value of your DAM like carefully selected keywords. If you tag/keyword your assets with relevant terms, you'll empower your system with laser-accurate search. Who wouldn't want that? The proverbial needle in the haystack will no longer be hidden and you'll finally be able to fully tap into the value of your digital assets.

"But applying discerningly selected keywords to thousands of assets takes skill, time and money," I hear you say. "Let's deal with keywords a little later," I hear you whisper.

The 'Set and Forget' Trap

Indeed, there is often a temptation to assume that once your DAM is installed and loaded with assets, your archive management problem has been solved.

All you need to do is keep paying your DAM subscription fees and keep uploading files, while maintaining some kind of general archival structure. Management and procurement have happily ticked the DAM 'box'. The temptation is to move on to other issues, leaving your DAM to languish unattended.

Enter Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Why AI in DAM Isn't the Silver Bullet You Thought It Was

Why AI in DAM Isn't the Silver Bullet You Thought It Was

Surely, AI can solve the DAM resource problem? After all, if AI can automatically tag our files, we don't need to find someone to deploy a taxonomy and manually tag all our files. Problem solved. Money saved.

And yet…

AI, it turns out, is not the silver bullet you were hoping for. It is fallible and imperfect (surprise, surprise). It can't see what lies beyond the frame, it can't prioritise the relevance of the elements it sees, and it can't always accurately identify what it does see.

If you can't trust AI to accurately tag your content, even if it's right 80% of the time, you'll still need a human to review your AI tags. At which point, you might be better off hiring a human to tag your files anyway, someone who can apply a real-world understanding to what's in the frame and evaluate how those elements relate to the file's meaning.

In some ways, the beauty of professional digital asset management is that it lies (partially at least) beyond the obliterating sweep of AI.

AI will transform everything, including DAM platforms. It already has. But there remains an element of human judgement and authenticity that will continue to power and empower our DAMs.

If AI tags can't supply the keywords you need, the best approach is to go hybrid: rely on humans to tag your files and manually review a layer of AI-generated tags.

We've noticed that AI does sometimes add tags relating to specific physical elements in a picture (like a speaker's podium, or a microphone, or a type of cap) that a human keyworder might not include but that still could be useful for refining a search.

For example, AI tags might help you find a particular individual (who might have been identified and tagged thanks to facial recognition), standing behind a podium (that was added as a keyword by AI).

Where LightRocket Stands on AI and Human Judgement

At LightRocket, we recognise the potential of AI and have already integrated multiple layers of AI functionality into our DAM software. But we also understand that AI has its limits, especially where the management of authentic editorial content is concerned (of the kind our system is designed to manage). We understand that effective classification and the selection of relevant keywords still rely on human judgement (for now).

We also understand that DAM systems don't implement themselves, that they are complex systems that require professional support and consultancy. This is why all our plans come with unlimited support, and why our personalised approach to advising our clients has become such a distinguishing feature of our service.

Contact us if you'd like to find out how the LightRocket DAM, supported by our team of experienced professionals, can help you release the value of your archives.

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Written by Yvan Cohen | Yvan is a Co-Founder of LightRocket and has spent the past two decades immersed in the challenges and realities of digital asset management. As a professional photojournalist, Yvan uses his decades of media experience to help shape LightRocket's world-class DAM platform; focusing on collaboration, intuitive workflows and continuous innovation.