Q&A With Aptara’s Pavan Arora: Predictive Semantics & Metadata Resolutions for 2014
It's fair to say that the editors here at Book Business have metadata on the brain these days -- in a good way. Our upcoming February issue will be focused on the ins-and-outs of how metadata is affecting the industry and how publishers can take advantage of this trend. The issue is a veritable chorus of voices from the industry leaders and experts helping to sort through it all.
Among those voices is Pavan Arora, chief innovation officer of Aptara. In his column, Arora will share insight on how predictive analytics is a huge opportunity for publishers. Predictive analytics is an algorithm-based science of deciphering captured data to discover probable customer actions -- and it promises a major boost to publishers' profits, says Arora.
Arora will also be leading a Book Business free webinar tomorrow (Thursday, January 9th) called Bridging the Digital Revenue Gap: Semantic Strategies for Fueling Sales and Marketing. The webinar will examine strategies and technologies for achieving the next level of discoverability and analytics that can be used to fuel ebook marketing reach and drive sales. Arora will be joined by Hitesh Chitalia, director for McGraw Hill Financial.
In the following Q&A Arora shares some need-to-know information on semantic metadata and a possible New Year's resolution publishers might want to consider for driving more digital revenue in 2014.
What is semantic metadata and how can it be useful to publishers?
Semantic tagging infuses intelligence into content. It contextualizes text by applying metatags based on taxonomies, ontologies, and controlled vocabularies. So, if a book mentions "hair of the dog", semantic tagging allows us to extrapolate that it is a reference to a hangover treatment, rather than dog hair. Once software can derive meaning from text, there are a number of cost savings and revenue opportunities for publishers. Investing in semantic tagging upfront provides a very open-ended set of possibilities down the line.
- Companies:
- Aptara Inc.
- McGraw-Hill Companies
- People:
- Pavan Arora
Denis Wilson was previously content director for Target Marketing, Publishing Executive, and Book Business, as well as the FUSE Media and BRAND United summits. In this role, he analyzed and reported on the fundamental changes affecting the media and marketing industries and aimed to serve content-driven businesses with practical and strategic insight. As a writer, Denis’ work has been published by Fast Company, Rolling Stone, Fortune, and The New York Times.
