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Field Dictionary

In the context of digital asset management and content management systems, metadata describes the characteristics of an asset or piece of content. Taxonomy refers to the hierarchical classification system used to organize and categorize digital content or information. For example, a standardized list of event types in a website calendar is powered by a taxonomy. 

Metadata frameworks and taxonomies, such as those used for digital asset management, or DAM, and content management systems, or CMS, may contain many fields. Read below for a guide to fields present in the Sitecore XM Cloud and Sitecore Content Hub systems. 

Why Use Standardized Taxonomies?

A global taxonomy improves the user experience by establishing standard expectations for university websites. Users will recognize what different event types or story categories mean and these will be the same whether they’re on their college or department website or on MSUToday. The user does not need to relearn how to use story filters as they traverse from website to website because they all behave similarly. 

Additionally, global taxonomies facilitate the workflows needed to enable content sharing across websites. They also support analytics. Content that is tagged similarly can be reported on in aggregate. 

Content Taxonomy

Units using non-Sitecore content management systems are encouraged to use the same taxonomy used in Sitecore XM Cloud. Download a file of the taxonomy details. 

Download Excel file

Asset Taxonomy

Units using non-Content Hub digital asset management systems are encouraged to use the same taxonomy used in Content Hub. Download a file of the taxonomy details. 

Download Excel file

Sitecore XM Cloud Taxonomy

The following fields are used to classify content in Sitecore XM Cloud. These fields power measurement and reporting for content authors and may control content visibility, filtering and search results for website users. 

General Content Fields

Aligns content to Admissions’ and Career Services’ area of interest pathways for prospective students.

The college associated with the content. Used for filtering.

The individual who loaded the content in the CMS.

The form or function of the content.

Date the content is created in the CMS.

The individual responsible for reviewing and approving the content for publication.

Major administrative units or functional groups such as units, colleges, programs, departments, offices and centers that are relevant to MSU.

Describes the segment or demographic of users for which the content is intended.

Date the content is published.

Story-Specific Fields

The MSU individual(s) who can be contacted about the content.

The MSU individual(s) who has attribution for the content.

Denotes average read time of a story, based on a 200-words-per-minute calculation.

The form or function of the story content, relating to the Sitecore template used.

Title of the content.

Describe the “aboutness” of a piece of content in terms of the subject, area of interest or focus area.

Event-Specific Fields

Describes the target audience for an event.

Describes the theme of the event.

Describes the format or type of event.

Date the event ends.

Time the event ends.

Modality of the event (e.g., online, hybrid, in-person).

The series of which the event is a part.

The time zone of the event.

Details about the location of the event.

Date the event can start to be promoted.

URL to register for the event.

Date the event starts.

Time the event starts.

University Communications and Marketing-Specific Fields

Describes a collection of content regardless of type, format, topic, publication channel or other guided by a strategic effort for a specific goal.

Denotes if story is a news release and how it behaves in MSUToday. For example, appears under “View all” for news releases page.

Describes the degree of effort it took content creators to create of a piece of content, as determined by unit standards.

The related pillar of University Communications and Marketing's strategy supported by content.

Digital Asset Management (DAM) Taxonomy

The following fields are used to classify photos and assets in Sitecore Content Hub’s DAM and can be used for filtering assets from Content Hub in Sitecore XM Cloud and on photos.msu.edu.

Description Fields

A brief textual description of the purpose and meaning of an image that can be accessed by assistive technology or displayed when the image is disabled in the browser. It should not exceed 250 characters.

Category of asset, usually based on form or function.

Brief description of the asset. Can also serve as a caption.

Musical ensemble or musical instrument related to the asset.

Name of event related to the asset.

Event type/category related to the asset.

Name of the asset file.

Geolocation related to the asset.

Keywords used to describe the asset.

Physical location such as building, natural area or monument related to the asset.

Administrative unit/functional group that the asset is associated with.

Generic setting, including seasons and scene types, related to the asset.

Animal species related to the asset.

Title of the asset.

Description-People Fields

Visual age of person in the asset.

Categories of underrepresented groups the asset is related to.

Gender of person in the asset.

If the asset is about an underrepresented group or not. Categories include gender and sexuality, global identity, race and ethnicity, and disability.

Role of person in the asset (in relation to MSU).

Technical Fields

Color space of the asset (sRGB, Adobe RGB or undefined).

The total size of the file.

The type of file (e.g., JPG, PNG, MP4).

The original file name, for traceability. 

Usage Fields

Copyright notice for claiming the intellectual property for the asset.

Should identify the current owner of the copyright for the asset.

The credit to person(s) and/or organization(s) required by the supplier of the asset to be used when published.

Is there a signed release form for this asset?

Group that owns/maintains/answers questions about the asset.

Name of the photographer or videographer related to the asset.

The name of a person or party who has a role in the content supply chain. This could be an agency, a member of an agency, an individual or a combination. Source could be different from Creator and from the entities in the Copyright Notice.

Rights and restrictions on usage.

Further details about usage rights and restrictions.

Is this asset used in personalization processes? Noting this prevents changes to the asset that could impact these business processes.

Social account that is the source of the asset, such as for user generated content, or UGC.

Video Fields

Duration of the video.

Count of pixels displayed on the screen, e.g., 1920 x 1080.

The number of frames that appear in one second of video.

Workflow fields

The workflow status of the asset (e.g., approved, archived, under review).

Person who created the asset.

Date the asset was approved.

Date the asset was created (vs. uploaded/ingested).

Date the asset was modified.

Date the asset was published.

Date the asset was ingested/uploaded (vs. created).

Person/system who modified the asset.

Person/system who uploaded the asset.