Chapter 4: Metadata Magic In fact, the role of metadata will become so vital as our personal digital repositories grow that metadata’s value greatly will surpass that of the content. John R. Smith (Tešic´ 2005) Apparently, several technologies need to be in place before a content management system can function effi ciently. The user needs to receive the content, then store it somewhere, and be able to access and enjoy it. All the GEMS model actions, discussed in the preceding chapter, need different technologies, all equally important. However, we need to raise one technology enabler above the others: metadata – data that talks about other data. Metadata is imper- ative in personal content management. It makes the whole content experience lifecycle manageable, helping to deal with content in Personal Content Experience: Managing Digital Life in the Mobile Age J. Lehikoinen, A. Aaltonen, P. Huuskonen and I. Salminen © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd