Considering the hype around knowledge graphs, it was understandable this year’s Taxonomy Boot Camp London (TBCL) included many topics related to it. What were to an extent surprising were the presentations and discussions on the convergence of blockchain and taxonomies.
At the current stage of blockchain implementations—one-time transactional records such as those that occur in supply chain or financial institutions—maintaining a taxonomy do not make business sense. Once, blockchain implementations enter the world of centralized and codified values, deploying taxonomies will add value because data in a block could be anything - text, movies, music, etc.
The occurrence of content kick starts the thought process of determining the type of metadata— content types, genres, artists, and more—that needs to be included. These are just the sorts of values managed in taxonomies and authority files to maintain consistency across content. The truism that metadata is for enhancing findability holds good in blockchain instances also because blockchains are frequently distributed databases, which are indexed and searched like any other database.
Though the positives far outweigh the negatives, taxonomists have to ruminate on the several conundrums at the intersection of blockchain and taxonomies. For instance, in a blockchain, there is no single authority, which is an antithesis of what taxonomists hold dear—taxonomies as a centralized source of truth. There are also nitty-gritty’s that need to be resolved such as how to update taxonomy labels and overcome the barriers to the technological complexity inherent in blockchain. There is also a question of whether taxonomists can play a role in information strategies and governance if blockchain technologies are in the mix.
Blockchain may or may not be the next sweeping technology to solve all information issues, but the early call to action at TBCL is important for taxonomy practitioners to keep current on the newest trends and advances.
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