Metadata scenarios: from taxonomies to folksonomies

You can choose how much structure and control to use with metadata, and you can choose the scope of control and structure. For example:
• You can apply control globally across sites, or make local to specific sites.
• You can configure term sets to be closed or open to user contributions.
• You can choose to use enterprise keywords tagging with managed terms, or not and social SharePoint products enable organizations to combine the advantages of formal, managed taxonomies with the dynamic benefits of social tagging in customized ways.

Benefits of managed metadata

  Consistent use of metadata

The managed metadata features in SharePoint products enable you to control how users add metadata to content. For example, by using term sets and managed terms, you can control which terms users can add to content, and you can control who can add new terms. You can also limit enterprise keywords to a specific list by configuring the Keywords term set as closed.

  Improved content discoverability

When the content across sites in an organization has consistent metadata, it is easier to find business information and data by using search. Search features such as the refinement panel, which displays on the left-hand side of the search results page, enable users to filter search results based on metadata

  Metadata navigation for lists and libraries

Metadata navigation enables users to create views of information dynamically, based on specific metadata fields. Then, users can locate libraries by using folders or by using metadata pivots, and refine the results by using additional Key Filters.

  Increased flexibility

Managed metadata makes it easier for Term Store Administrators to maintain and adapt your metadata as business needs evolve. You can update a term set easily. And, new or updated terms automatically become available when you associate a Managed Metadata column with that term set. For example, if you merge multiple terms into one term, content that is tagged with these terms is automatically updated to reflect this change. You can specify multiple synonyms (or labels) for individual terms. If your site is multilingual, you can also specify multilingual labels for individual terms.

  Properties for terms and term sets

At each level of the hierarchy, you can configure specific properties for a group, term set, or term by using the properties pane in the Term Store Management Tool. For example, if you are configuring a term set, you can specify information such as Name, Description, Owner, Contact, and Stakeholders in pane available on the General tab. You can also specify whether you want a term set to be open or closed to new submissions from users. Or, you can choose the Intended Use tab, and specify whether the term set should be available for tagging or site navigation.