group etsy final doc 12-14-10

8/8/2019 Group Etsy Final Doc 12-14-10

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ImprovingMetadataandFacetsforItemsonEtsy.com1

UnsearchableandUnsellable:ImprovingMetadata

andFacetsforItemsonEtsy.com

byCarrieCampbell,IvanGomes,RyanGreenway&MichelleLopez

INLS520,UNCCH

December15,2010


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TableofContents

TableofContents........................................................................................................................................2 Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................3 ProblemStatement.....................................................................................................................................4 Background..............................................................................................................................................4 Collection.................................................................................................................................................5 Users........................................................................................................................................................6 IdealSystem.............................................................................................................................................7Challenges................................................................................................................................................8

ContentSample,WeirdItems...................................................................................................................10 Reflections.............................................................................................................................................10

FacetstoOrganizetheCollection..............................................................................................................12 ListofFacets..........................................................................................................................................12

ExampleInterfacesforFacetedBrowsing.................................................................................................16 RelatedItemsWebNav.........................................................................................................................16 RelationBrowser...................................................................................................................................18

Flamenco-StyleFacets...........................................................................................................................19 FacetedBreadcrumbs............................................................................................................................20

MetadataSpecification..............................................................................................................................21SchemaElements..................................................................................................................................22

DescriptionoftheSystemandImplementation........................................................................................28ExamplesofHigh-QualityMetadataRecordsforSampleItems............................................................30 TimelineandCostforContentManagementRedesign.........................................................................32

References.................................................................................................................................................35 AppendixADraftofFacetedStructure...................................................................................................36AppendixBExternalLinks.......................................................................................................................37


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Abstract

TheonlinemarketplaceEtsyspecializesinhandcrafteditems.Givenitsinherentuniqueness,

merchandiseofthistypeoftendefiesstandardclassifications,posingapersistentchallengetoshoppers

whowishtofindorre-findparticularitems.Atthesametime,sellers,whoareresponsibleforproviding

tagsandothermetadata,havelittleguidanceorincentivetostandardizetheirterminology.Thisadds

yetanotherlevelofunpredictabilitytotheitem-searchprocess.Theauthorsproposearefinementof

Etsy'sdatabasestructuretoimproveshoppers'searchresultsand,byextension,theentireshopping

experience.Afteranalyzingarepresentativesubsetofthevenue'sinventoryandexaminingtheneedsof

respectiveusergroups,theydescribeanidealsystemthatcouldsolvethemostglaringorganizational

issues.Appropriatefacets,standardizedmetadata,andinputformatsarespecified.Theauthorsalso

suggestseveralalternateinterfacesthatcouldcapitalizemoreeffectivelyontheinventory'sexistingand

newmetadata.Logisticalissuessuchasworkflowmanagementandtechniquesforguidingsellers

towardstandardterminologyarediscussed.Alongwiththeimplementationofacontrolledvocabulary,

spotauditsarerecommendedinordertomaintainmetadataquality.


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Collection

ThecollectionwewillorganizeforthisprojectisthemerchandiseofthewebsiteEtsy

(etsy.com),anonlinevenuewherenon-commercialcrafters/manufacturersselltheirwares.For

purposesofthisproject,wewillbefocusingononesubsetthatparticularlycallsoutforbetter

organization:theWeirdsubgroupintheEverythingElsecategory.Typicalitemsincluderock

samples,animalskulls,odd-lookingstuffeddolls,offbeatrubberstamps,anatomicalspecimens,unusual

sculptures,andthelike.

Theseinventoryitemsarephysicalobjects,buttheyarepresentedwithintheconfinesofthis

virtualcatalog.Itemsareconstantlybeingaddedtothisstock,anditemsareconstantlybeingsoldand

removed.(Henceaclearmethodofre-findingpastitemsiscrucial.Withoutthat,aprospectivebuyer

whoshavingtroublere-findinganobjectmayneverknowifhis/herdifficultyresultsfromtheitem

havingbeensold,orfromtheshortcomingsoftheexistingtools/structuresforre-finding.)Each

handmadeobjectofferedforsalecomprisesone"unitofanalysis."

Somesearchableaspectsofthewares:theme/motif(e.g.,skullsandskeletons),color(s),size,

materials,function,price,locationofseller(relevantforshippingpurposes),preferredformofpayment,

shipping-relatedpackageinfo(e.g.,fragile/non-fragile/liquid).Alloftheseattributesshouldbe

addressedbythestructureoftheorganizationalsystem.

Someoftheitemshaverelationshipstooneanother(forexample,severalitemsinanartistic

series,suchasthreeDehydratedMiniJack-O-Lanternslistedinsuccession);manyrelatetotheoutside

worldaswell,containingreferencestohistoricalevents/periods,famouscorporatebrands,celebrities,

orwell-knownculturalhappenings.


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Users

Etsyhasahugecommunityofmorethan1.9millionusers,whichincludesboththesellersand

thebuyersofthevariouswares(Takac,2009).(ThosenumbersdonotincludeEtsystaffersorgeneral

browserswhodonothaveanaccount.)Allofthosedifferentusershaveuniqueneeds.

Sellersneedspertainingtothecollectionaremuchbroaderthanjustpostingtheiritemsonthe

website.Sellersalsowanttoretrieveinformationaboutitemstheyhavesoldtodeterminewhat

productsmovethefastestandarethemostprofitable.Theyalsowanttolookattheproductsoffered

bytheircompetition,sothattheycanimprovetheirbrand.However,theirmainuseofthecollectionis

tobeabletolistitemseasilysothattheyappearbeforecustomers.

Thatmaynotbeaneasytask,giventheamountofmerchandiseonthewebsite.Etsysellerspost

morethan600,000itemspermonth,eachwithuptofivepictures(winenutnyc,2008).Theresultisa

hugecollectionthatsellersandbuyersalikeoftenfinddauntingtosearchthough,especiallysince

posteditemscanremainonthewebsiteforuptofourmonths.

Atanygiventime,abuyermayhavetosearchthroughasmanyas2.4millionitemstofindtheir

treasure.Perhapsthebuyerwantstolookatnewitems,searchforaspecificseller,orbrowsethrougha

categorysuchasjewelry.Eventually,theywilldecidetopurchaseanitemorstoptheirsearch.The

buyersneedsearchingflexibility,buttheyalsoneedreliability.Withsomanysellersandpostings,the

realquestioniswhetherabuyercanre-findanitemorseller.Abuyersaptitudewiththeinterfacecan

beamajorfactorintheirsuccessinfindingorre-findinganitem.Newuserscaneasilybecomelostand

confused,especiallywithEtsysspecialfeaturessuchasColorSearch,PounceSearch,andAlchemy

Request(Takac,2009).Withthenumberofgoods,themanywaystoviewandpurchase,andthepoor

organization,manybuyerswitharealizedneedcanbedeterredfromusingthesystem.


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Finally,theEtsycollectionismaintainedandusedbythecompanysstaff.Databasestaffers

maintain,monitor,andimprovetheirdatabases,whichholdmanymillionsofrecords.Oneormore

employeesmonitorsystemusage.Whiletheirworkcentersonmakingthesystemeasiertouseforthe

buyersandsellers,theyprobablydonotfocusonthetasksofaddingtothecollectionandsearchingthe

collection.Morelikely,theyarelookingatvariousaccessstatisticsandthepathsoftheuserstraveling

throughthesystem.

IdealSystem

Anidealorganizationsystemforourcollectionwouldbeawebsitethatisunimposing,clean

(butnotsterile),andrepresentativeofthehandmadeitemsthatarethecollectionitself,i.e.,homey.As

withalmostanye-commercesite,thecollectiononEtsy.comneedstobeaccessible,welcoming,

personalized,andunderstandable.Theidealsitewouldalsoprovideexposureforbothpowersellersand

sellerswhoarejustenteringthearena.Thiswouldensurethateverysellergetsafairchancetomake

money;bydoingso,itwouldcontinuetoattractnewsellersandgeneratemorerevenueforEtsy.com

anditscommunity.

Searchandadvancedsearch(filteredsearch)arecriticaltomakingaretailcollectionaccessible.

Customershavetobeabletofindwhatevertheyarelookingforwhetherornottheyspecifically

knowwhatthatiswithinanacceptableamountoftime.Inwebdesign,thatisoftenmeasuredbythe

three-clickrule.(Zeldman,2001)Withinthreemouseclicks,ausershouldbeabletoreachatarget

thatisusefuloracceptabletothem.

Amongtheattributesthatonlineshopperssearchforareitemtype,color,pricerange,and

brand(whichmightbedefinedasthesellerorstoresiteinthiscase).Sellersprovidesomeofthis

informationintagstohelptheiritemsgetfound,butshortcomingsstillhamperthesystem.Weintend

toexplorehowEtsy.comcouldusetagsandcategorizationmoreeffectively.


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Sortingremainsabigissueforthiscollection.Inthisregard,Etsy.comcanbecomparedto

ebay.com,becausebothsitesfeaturemultiplesellerswithmultipleitemsforsale.Ebay.comcustomers

seemmorelikelytobeseekingspecificitems,however,whileEtsy.comshoppersaremorelikelyto

browsethesitefirst,duetotheuniquenessoftheproductsbeingsold.Forexample,whereasan

ebay.comshoppermaytypeMacbookProinthesearchfieldonebay.comshomepage,anEtsy.com

shoppermaywanttoinformallybrowseknittedbabyclothes.Whetherthecustomerisabletodothat,

oreventofindspecificitemsbyasimplekeywordsearch,dependsonhoweffectivelytheEtsyseller

describesherproduct.

Justastheambianceofastoreorsaloncandefineandenhanceacustomersbrick-and-mortar

retailexperience,theorganizationandaestheticsofawebsitecanalsohaveapersuasiveeffecton

users.AtfirstglanceitisclearthattheEtsy.comsitewouldbenefitfromsomerestructuring.Itmaytake

onlyafewminutesforausertogetturnedoffbytheinterface.Currently,Etsy.comresemblesa

rummagesale.Thejewelmaybethere,butoftenfindingitrequiresgoingthroughpilesandpilesof

otherstuff.Theidealorganizationalsystemwouldmakethecustomersonlineshoppingexperienceflow

withoutobstruction.Itwouldallowthewebsitetoactalmostasapersonalshopper,itsmainfunction

beingtohelpthecustomerfindwhatheorsheneedsorwantswithnostressorfrustration.Infact,the

shoppingexperienceshouldbeeasyandenjoyableenoughtobringshoppersbacktimeandtimeagain.

Thatidealsystemwouldalsotracknumerousadditionalattributesofthiscollection.Someof

thesearesellers,products,favorites,prices,storesites,users,transactions,andcategories.

Challenges

Etsyssocialcommercebusinessmodelbringswithitmanychallengesforsellerandbuyers.

Whenaselleraddsanitemtothestore,theitemsname,tagsandpictureallplayimportantrolesin

categorization,butthereisnocontrolledvocabularytodescribethemandminimalmetadataquality


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control.Sloppyorunscrupuloussellersmighttagitemsinaccurately(inordertogainmorepageviews,

perhaps),butthesizeofthecollectionmakesitimpracticalandineffectiveforstafferstoconfirmeach

listingsmetadata.Photosoftheitemscanbecataloguedforsearchbasedoncolor,butidentification

softwaresabilitytoavoidmiscategorizationbasedon,say,backgroundscenerymaybeanissue.

Etsyscollectionincludesanumberofitemsthatbendandtranscendcommoncategories,orfall

undermultiplecategories;thisfluidnaturemakesaneffective,advancedsearchsystemnecessary.

However,wecanexpectEtsyusersingeneraltobenottechnicallyinclined.Thusweneedasimple,

powerfulsearchtoolthatcanhandlecomplexity.

Thecollectionscommercial,always-changingnaturepresentsadditionalchallenges.Although

thereisaconstantflowofitemsintoandoutofthecollection,somestagnantitemsmayremainfor

weeksandmonths.Howdowetreateachitemfairlywhilekeepingnewandfreshproductsmost

visible?Shoulditemspostedbylongstandingandpopularsellersbegivenpreferenceintheformof

greatervisibility?IfpageviewscanincreaseanitemsorsellersPageRank,click-farmtechniquesmay

beusedalongwithotherhacks;alargeuserbaseandprofitmotivesuggestthatEtsywillhavetodeal

withthiskindofproblemregularly.Wecanexaminehowothercommercialsitesdealwiththeseissues

togleansomeinsightforoursystemsbestsolutions.

Otherissuestobeconsideredinvolvethenatureoftheseller.Howshouldasellersreputation

affecthisorheritems?Whilewaresfrompopularsellerscertainlygeneraterevenue,listingsfromnew

sellersdoaswell.Abalanceisneeded,andcouldbecalculatedbasedonsomecombinationoftherate

ofsalesandananalysisofbuyerreviews.

Wewillusethoughtscenariosandexperiencewithsimilarsetupsinotherapplications(suchas

Amazonandvariousonlinestores)toexaminetheviabilityofsuggestedchangestothecurrentEtsy

organizationalsystem.Ourhighestpriority,ofcourse,istotreatitemsandsellersinamannerthat

promotesafairmarket.


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ContentSample,WeirdItems

Ourcontentsampleisavailableat

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AsbWcFiZHMS4dENnNTJTNGlEOG9taTV1LXJHOWgtTmc&hl

=en&authkey=CO2FuYoG

Reflections

OurEverythingElse/Weirdcollectionisnotableforbeingfarmoredisjointedthanatypical

collection.Wepreviouslybelievedthattheitemssharednotaparticularqualitybutratheralackof

qualitiesrequiredforallotherEtsycategories,anallelsecategory.Thenwenotedthatsomeitemsfall

undermultiplecategories.Forexample,weseeaT-shirtcategorizedunderWeirdandT-shirt,but

elsewhereonthesite,theidenticalwomensT-shirtbythesamesellerisonlycategorizedunderT-

shirt.Soinfactourchosensubcategoryisnotnecessarilyacatchallformiscellaneousitems;weird

appearstobejustanothertag.ConsequentlywebelievethatEtsy.comscurrentmerchandisecategories

arenothingmorethanuser-suppliedtagschosenascategoriesonthebasisoftheirpopularity

(frequencyofuse).

ThisisaparticularlyimportantissueatEtsy.combecausehere,unlikemanyonlinecatalogues,

anitemmayappearundermanyso-calledcategories.Inotherwords,itwouldbehooveallsellersto

tagtheiritemswithasmanyrelevant(andperhapsevensomewhatirrelevant)metadataaspossiblein

ordertoincreasepageviews.Theirrelevanttagscreateconfusionandmayevenconstituteanethical

problem,inthattheymisleadpotentialcustomers.(InEtsysTermsofUsedocument,itreads,You

mustaccuratelydescribeyouritemandalltermsofsaleinyourEtsyshop...Allitemsmustbelistedinan

appropriatecategorywithappropriatetags.Inthecaseofusertransgressions,Etsymanagementtakes

thispassivethoughlegallydefensiblestance:Etsyisavenueandassuchisnotresponsibleor

liableforanycontent,forexample,data,text,information,usernames,graphics,images,photographs,

profiles,audio,video,items,andlinkspostedbyyou,otherusers,oroutsidepartiesonEtsy.Youusethe


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Etsyserviceatyourownrisk.)Thismislabelingiscomparabletotheimproperadvertisementofweb

pagesforthepurposeofincreasingpagehits,soweanticipatebeingabletousestrategiesandmaterials

relatedtothatprobleminourownorganizationefforts.

AlsonotethattherearealargenumberofidenticalitemsofferedonEtsy,suchasT-shirts.This

maybebecause,likeeBay,andunlikeAmazonspersistentpostings,anitemisremovedfromthe

catalogueoncepurchased.Therefore,inordertosellasizablenumberofT-shirts,thesellermust

floodthecataloguewithmanyinstancesofthesameitem(oralargenumberoftokensofthesame

type).


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FacetstoOrganizetheCollection

Inourlistoffacets,wehaveorganizedtheminorderofpriority.Therearetwofacetsthatwe

wanttonote:thesellersstatusandtheitemcategory.Thesellersstatuswillbeacombinationof

factorsthatwillhelptoputthesellerintooneofthreecategories,eitheraseasoned/popularseller,a

newbie,orapoor/unpopularseller.Then,whenausersearchesthesystem,thefront-endwillreturn

resultsfromthosethreepopulationswithapre-determinedpercentage(wesuggest50%season-30%

newbies-20%poor/unpopulartobegin).Thiswill1)promotenewsellersand2)givethe

underperformingsellersanotherchancewhile3)maintainingexposureforthoseseasonedsellerswho

bringhomethebacon.

Secondly,usersareaccustomedtocategorysearches,sowewanttoretainthetop-level

categoricalsearchbuthavethecategoriesrefined.Thefacetedapproachwillmeanthatsellerswillneed

tospendalittlemoretimecreatingpostsbecausealotofthisinformationisnotcapturedexcept

potentiallythroughtheuseofkeywords.However,wecanautomatesomeofthefieldswithasellers

profile(seeappendixAforadraftofthefacetstructure).

ListofFacets

Key:

1. Theclassificationfacetnamea. Thelogicandpurposeofeachfacet(whyeachfacetisusefulforusersandusage

scenarios).

b. Theorganizationstructureofeachfacet.

1. Soldstatusa. Thisfacetisusefulbecausethemaingoalofourcommercialsysteminvolvesmaking

purchases(buyersPOV)andconductingtransactions(systemsPOV).Therefore,itis

obviouslyadvantageousforabuyertoviewonlyunsolditems.).Customers(usually)

wanttosearchonlyunsolditems,sowewillusuallypre-filteronthisfacet.Withdata


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thebirdvertebraelistedinourcontentsample)wouldfallunderSupplies.Thisisuseful

forfindingakindofkindofitem(e.g.ofalltheclothingonEtsy,IwanttheVintage

kind).

b. Tree.Seehttp://www.etsy.com/search_advanced.phpforanexample.5. Materials

a. ThisfacetdescribesthemainphysicalsubstancesusedtocreatetheitemofferedintheEtsylisting.Itcanbeusefulforbuyerswhowanttofinditemsmadeofsimilarsub-

stances(allitemsmadeofglass,forexample)andalsoforEtsyadministratorsseekingto

compilestatistics(suchasthepercentageofpostingsthatpertaintoclothing).

b. Sinceeachitemmaybecomposedofmultiplesubstances,thisfacetismulti-valued.Eachsubstance,however,ishierarchicalinnature(e.g.,14Kgold


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ExampleInterfacesforFacetedBrowsing

RelatedItemsWebNav

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6Ww918T9vepMjQ4M2QxM2QtNDJmNy00M2EwLTkzMGItZGUxOTk

xYzE0Njgz&hl=en

Therelated-itemsweb-navigationuserinterfacecontainsasectionentitledotheruserswho

searchedthislikedThesection,setofftooneside,featuresahandfulofrecentlypurchased,

highlyrated,orwish-listeditemsthatwerearesultofthiskeywordsearchorasimilarone.

Italsoincludesarelatedsearchessectionthatisintendedtohelpusersrefinetheirsearchquery.Thephrasesherewillbederivedfromsearchstringsothershoppersareusingthatled

themtoasuccessfultransaction(purchase,wish-listaddition,orflaggingtheitemasafavorite).


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Wealsodisplayayourecentlyviewedtheseitemsboxtohelpusersnavigateandtocreateacustomizedsearchexperience.

Therearetwoadditionalwaysoffindingorre-findingcontent.Themysellersoptionenablesbuyerstosearchonlytheirfavoritesellersshops.(Thisfeaturewasnotavailablewhenwe

beganouranalysis.Shortlybeforewesubmittedthisproposal,however,Etsy.cominstituteda

newfeaturecalledCirclesandActivityFeeds,whichallowsbuyerstodesignateandfollow

theirfavoritesellers.)Thebuylocaloptionallowscustomerstopromotetheirlocaleconomy

and/oravoidthecostandenvironmentalfootprintoflong-distanceshipping.


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RelationBrowser

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8bWcFiZHMS4ZjhkZWQ2OWQtM2E0NS00ZGFjLThhMjAtY2UxODg5Y

mJmYzBh&hl=en

RelationBrowser,level2

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8bWcFiZHMS4YzFiZmI4ZjMtMTEwZC00YzRhLTg5Y2UtY2MyNzk2MjJ

kNTY1&hl=en


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Flamenco-StyleFacets

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BwzfqwoJE64-

ZGI1ZTY0Y2YtNTBkZC00YjVkLWI3ZmUtMGE0ZGIwZDhiMzhk&hl=en

NoticetheusefulPickfromPalettefeaturewithintheColorsfacet.EtsyaddedasimilarShopbyColorfeaturewithdynamiccolorselectorshortlybeforewebeganthis

project,butusersonEtsycommunityforumsexpresseddissatisfactionwithitsutility.

Weoptedtoimproveonthispotentiallyusefulfunctionbymorecloselycoordinating

thelistingscolormetadata(bothtextandimage)withthesitessearchfunction.


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FacetedBreadcrumbs

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_-l3aZtxeCGRiZYMZSMu90y-b208ZVr0d_1JJkmtRp8/edit?hl=en#

Thefacetedbreadcrumbnavigationallowstheusertoquicklyswitchbetweenvaluesforeachsuccessivemovewithinthecollection.Thisnavigationalfeatureprimarilyappliestothe

traditionalEtsy.comsearch,inwhichtheuserselectsacategory,thenasub-category,then

filtersfurtheronmaterial/color/price.Thesefacetsandsearchresultsareshownontheleftto

giveshoppersseveralquickfilterstheycanalsousefortheirsearches.

Furthermore,wetaggedtwoitemsasnewtodemonstratehowusersaretaggedwitheachitem;thatattributeshouldseamlesslyinformoursearchresults.Wedonotcurrently

recommendincludingthisasafacetforusers.


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MetadataSpecification

Althoughtherearenumerousestablishedmetadataschemas,thereisnosinglebroadly

accepted,widelyusedschemafore-commerce.Eveniftherewereane-commercestandard,itis

extremelylikelythatitwouldneedtobemodifiedfortheuniqueneedsofEtsy.com,asitisanatypical

onlinemarketplacewithanuncommonnicheofhandcraftedgoods.Therefore,forourreorganizationof

theEtsycollection,wecustomizedabasicschematoincluderelevantandspecializedinformation.

Asmetadatasoriginsareinlibraries,manyformalstandardsareusedforpurposesclosely

linkedtolibraryactivities,suchasarchiving.ExamplesincludeEncodedArchivalDescription(EAD)and

GeneralInternationalStandardArchivalDescription(ISAD(G)).ItwouldnotbeusefulforEtsytoutilize

thesetypesofschemas,astheirpurposeisquitedifferentfromthatofanonlinebusiness.Similarly,we

immediatelyexcludedschemassuchasCategoriesfortheDescriptionofWorksofArt(CDWA),Machine-

ReadableCataloguing(MARC),MetadataObjectDescriptionSchema(MODS),PublicBroadcasting

MetadataDictionary(PBCore)andMovingPicturesExpertGroup(MPEG-7),astheyarespecifically

designedforcollectionsincludingartwork,digitalimages,videooraudiocontent,televisionorradio

content,andlibraryresources.

DublinCoreisastandardthatisintendedtobeusefulindescribinganytypeofresource.Itisin

manywaysadefactometadataschemaforwebcontent(Delgadoetal.,2001).Thereare15termsin

theDublinCoreMetadataElementSet,toinclude:creator,date,sourceandsubject.Inordertoaddress

theneedsofcommunitiesthatarenotmetbythisgeneric,albeitconciseanduseful,metadataelement

set,theDublinCoreMetadataInitiative(DCMI)hasdesignedtheDublinCoreApplicationProfile(DCAP).

DCAPmaybeusefulincreatingthedataenvironmentofanonlinebusinesssuchasEtsy,butfurther

investigationisrequiredandgoesbeyondthescopeofthispaper.Inanyevent,althoughwehave

createdacustomizedelementset,itisundertheacknowledgementthatoursetisrepresentativeofthe

coremetadataasdescribedbyDCMI.


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DateAdded

Term:dateTimeAdded

Definition:Automaticallyset;dateandtimethattheitemwasposted.

FieldType&Size:dateTime

Mandatory:yes

Occurrences: 1Default:timethatthesellerpostsusingthecentraldatabasetime.

Comments:allowsrecencysearchinginEtsy.com.

Example:2002-05-30TO9:00:00

CreatororBrand

Term:creatorID

Definition:User-entered;foranyvintageitems,itwilllistthetruecreatoroftheitemorthebrandname

ofthatitem.

FieldType&Size:string(250)

Mandatory:yesforvintageitems.Occurrences: 0,1

Comments:BecauseEtsy.comallowsvintageitems,thoseshouldbesearchablealsobytheactual

creatoraswellastheEtsyseller.Thiswouldenabletheusertosearchfor,say,acertainbrandofvintage

MaryJaneshoes.Savingcreatorsinaseparatetablecouldallowuserstoauto-selectexistingbrandsand

couldshowthenumberofitemsthathavebeenlistedforeach,inordertoindicatethescopeoftheEtsy

inventory.Forexample,whentheystarttypingMaadrop-downboxwouldshow_ryJane(1,300).

Example:stored-04848578383,displayed-MaryJane( http://www.etsy.com/listing/58297399/vintage-

mad-men-mary-jane-shoes?ref=sc_15 ).

EtsySeller(Poster)Term:sellerID

Definition:Automaticallyadded;theIDreferencingtheseller/posteroftheproduct.

FieldType&Size: integer

Mandatory:yes

Occurrences: 1

Comments:Asanote,browsers/searcherswillnotsearchontheIDfield,butweareusingthesellerID

inordertomaintainreferentialintegrityandpreventduplicatetuples.

Example:stored-01020222883,displayed-EnemyAirship( http://www.etsy.com/listing/50969533/super-

mario-bros-65-inch-yoshi-amigurumi?ref=cat2_gallery_10 ).

SellerStatus

Term:sellerStatus

Definition:Thisisaratingofthesellerusinganalgorithmbasedontheirnumberofpostings,number

andrateofsales,andtheirratingfrombuyersoverthelastsixmonths(largerisbetter).

FieldType&Size:decimal

Mandatory:yes

Occurrences: 1


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Materials

Term:itemMaterials

Definition:User-selected;thematerialsthatmakeupanitem,suchasmetalorclothing.


Mandatory:yesOccurrences: 1tounbound

Thesaurus:Cloth:cotton,cloth:wool...metal:gold,metal:silver,metal:brass...organic:wood,

organic:paper...

Comments:Asmanytypesasneededshouldbeusedtodescribeanitem.Thismeansthatausercan

searchforjewelrymadefromacertainmetalthatcontainsaparticulargem,forexample.

Example:Metal:aluminum,metal:magnet,(http://www.etsy.com/listing/56081446/funky-junq-

recycled-aluminum-soda-pop?ref=cat2_gallery_31)

Location

Term:itemLocationDefinition:User-selected;thelocationinwhichthephysicalitemisstored.


Mandatory:yes

Occurrences: 1

Default:whateverthesellerslocationwasatthetimeofposting;determinedviaIPtracking.

Thesaurus:America:NorthAmerica:NorthCarolina:ChapelHill:27599,America:NorthAmerica:North

Carolina:Durham:27707...Europe:...

Comments:Theusercouldsearchjustbytypinginthecountryandzipcode,butthehierarchy

embeddedinthemetadatawouldallowuserstoalsobrowsebycontinent,city,state,etc.

Example:America:NorthAmerica:NorthCarolina:Durham:27707

Price

Term:itemPrice

Definition:User-entered;thebasepriceoftheitem.

FieldType&Size:decimal(20,2)

Mandatory:yes

Occurrences: 1

Comments:Thisdoesnotincludeshipping.

Example:2.00(http://www.etsy.com/listing/56081446/funky-junq-recycled-aluminum-soda-

pop?ref=cat2_gallery_31)

Negotiable

Term:fixedNegotiable

Definition:Isthepricenegotiable,yesorno.Setbytheuser.

FieldType&Size:Boolean

Mandatory:yes

Default:no


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Occurrences: 1

Comments:Sellersmaywanttoallowpeopletonegotiatetheprice,orusethisoptionforcustom

listings.

Example:Yes

ShippingTerm:shippingBasePrice

Definition:User-entered;shippingprice.

FieldType&Size:decimal(20,2)

Mandatory:yes

Occurrences: 1

Comments:Sellersneedtoassignabasepricetotheirproducts.However,theyshouldbeabletoadd

shippingoptionsaswell,suchasdiscountswhenitemsarebundledinashoppingcartorhigherprices

forshippinginternationally,byusinganelementofspecialcodeintheusersystem.

Example:1.95

Customizable

Term:itemCustomizable

Definition:User-selected(yes/no);isthesellerwillingtocustomizethisitem?

FieldType&Size:boolean

Mandatory:yes

Occurrences: 1

Default:no

Comments:Sellersselectthecustomizableoptioniftheyareabletoengrave,monogram,altercolors

ormaterials,ormakeanychangesatthebuyersrequest.

Example:No

SoldStatus

Term:soldStatus

Definition:System-set(yes/no);hastheitemsoldasofcurrentdateandtime?

FieldType&Size:boolean

Mandatory:yes

Occurrences: 1

Default:no

Comments:Thisvalueischangedbythesystemafterabuyerpurchasestheitem.

Example:Yes(http://www.etsy.com/listing/55942255/tentacle-keychain-or-pendant?ref=cat2_gallery_7)

DateSold

Term:dateSold

Definition:System-set;dateandtimethattheitemwaspurchased.

FieldType&Size:dateTime

Mandatory:no


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Occurrences: 1

Default:(null)

Comments:Oncetheitemissold,thesystemupdatesthisvaluewithinthelisting.

Example:2010-05-05TO15:15:00:00(http://www.etsy.com/listing/55942255/tentacle-keychain-or-

pendant?ref=cat2_gallery_7)

Buyer

Term:buyerID

Definition:System-set;thisvalueisupdatedonceabuyerhaspurchasedtheitem.

FieldType&Size: integer

Mandatory:no

Occurrences: 1

Default:(null)

Comments:Thisconnectsanitemtoauser,whomaywanttoviewpastpurchasesfromthecollection.

Example:30489485858583


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DescriptionoftheSystemandImplementation

InpitchingourprojecttoEtsy.com,wewouldurgetheirdeveloperstopresentthesechanges

gradually.Initiallytherevisedsystemshouldbealimitedrelease,asawayoftestingoutthenew

metadataandschemas.Asmallpopulationofsellerswouldbeselectedfornewaccountsthatwould

allowthemtopostwiththenewmetadata.Thenwewouldneedtodevelopamethodofintegratingthe

searchresultsfromtheexistingandtheexperimentalsystem.Thistranslationandintegrationfunction

mustbebuiltifthesolutionistobeadopted,becausewewouldwanttoaccessexistingrecords

(withoutthenewmetadatafields)andkeepthoseitemsinthecurrentretrievalpool.Atthesametime

wewouldunveilanexperimentwithEtsysectionthattestsvariousnewinterfacespoweredbythe

newfacetsandmetadata.Ananalysisoftheensuingclickrates,productsales,andsatisfactionsurveys

wouldtheninformEtsysdecisionwhetherornottoimplementthenewsystem.

MetadataCreation

Userswholisttheiritemsforsaleonthesitewillbedirectedbytheinterfacetoprovidevalues

foreachitemviathefollowingmetadataslots:branch(vintage/handmade/supplies),color,materials,

customizability,sellername,andsellerlocation.Meanwhile,thesystemwillcreateasetofmetadata

pertainingtothatseller.Itwillassigneachselleranidentificationnumber,tallytheirsales,tracktheir

listingdates(forpurposesofassessingrelistingfees),recordthefeesastheyareassessedandthe

paymentsastheyaremade,andcalculateanaccountbalance.

Workflow

Asstatedabove,sellerswillberesponsibleforaddingmetadatapertainingtoeachpieceof

merchandise,andwillbetaggedbythesystemwithmetadatathatsusefulforEtsysbusiness.Also,as

eachindividualitemislisted,thesystemwillautomaticallytagthatlistingwithmetadata(itemID,


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sold/notsold,dateandtimeoflisting).Inaddition,thesellersprofilewillcontaininformationsuchas

thesellerslocation,preferredmethodofpayment,standardshippingandhandlingcharges,etc.,sothat

thosecanbeauto-filledforeachitembytheEtsydatabase.Aftertheitemisposted,thedatabasewill

monitorchangesinthesellersratingandtheitemstatusinordertomaintaintheaccuracyofthe

metadata.Forexample,iftheitemgoesonsaleorissold,thenthepriceorsoldstatusmetadatafield

needstobeupdated.However,oncetheitemisposted,thesellercanonlychangethekeywords,price,

anddescription.Otherwise,itmaybeextremelyhardforbuyerstore-finditems.

QualityControlforMetadata

Althoughuntrainedcatalogers(sellers)willbethepeopleinputtingmostmetadata,theycanbe

guidedtowardDCMI-standardformattingbytheuseofdrop-downmenus,thesauriorauto-complete.,

Properlyformattedexampleswillalsobeshownnexttoeachfree-inputfieldonthelistingformsothat

sellerscanconsultthemasmodels.

Toensurethatallitemsmetadataisaccurate,thedatabasewillbesubjecttofrequentaudits.

Listeditemsarerandomlyselectedforametadataaccuracycheck;itemsthatareinaccuratelytagged

areflaggedforcorrectionandthesellersnotified.Notallitemscanbemanuallycheckedformetadata

integrity,ofcourse.Butifregularspotauditsrevealasellerwhoprovidesinaccuratemetadatainan

ongoingandincorrigibleway,thissellerwillbeblacklisted,andhis/herotheritemlistingswillalso

undergoanaudittodeterminewhetherthesellerhabituallymisrepresentshisitems.Forlegaland

logisticalpurposes,Etsysellersareresponsiblefordescribingallitemsaccuratelyandtruthfully;that

theyhavedonesoisassumeduntilotherwisedemonstrated.Etsyisnotliableformisrepresentationsof

merchandise,andreservestherighttodiscontinuedealingswithanyuseratanytimeforanyreason.

Forpurposesofensuringaccurate,repeatablesearches,standardized(thesaurus-based)

metadatafieldswillhavegreaterweightwithinthesearchalgorithmthanfree-formfields.


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ExamplesofHigh-QualityMetadataRecordsforSampleItems

http://etsy520.drupalgardenszm/content/wormababy-sculpture http://etsy520.drupalgardens.com/content/yoshi-doll-0#overlay-context=content/yoshi-doll-0

SystemsandTools

Forcreatingmetadata:

Initially,aswesetupourmodifiedmetadatastandard,wewillrefertoDCMIswebsiteand

explorewhethertoolssuchasDC-dot orDCMetaToolkitcouldbeuseful.Wewoulddeterminewhether

wecoulduseanyalready-commonmetadataelements(fromEtsy.comoranothere-commercesite

whosemetadataisavailabletothepublic)orwhetherwewouldneedtostartfromscratch.Metadata

conversionandcrosswalktoolsareavailable,allowingustousesomeifnotallpre-existingmetadata.

Furthermore,userswillprovidevaluesfornewmetadatafields,aswillautomatedsystemfunctions.

Formanagingcontentandmetadata:

Wewouldcreatemetadatawithinoneofthenumerousopen-sourcecontentmanagement

systems(CMS)available,suchasDrupal,CushyCMS,orsNews.OurchosenCMSmustallowustocreate

controlledvocabulariesandthesauri,asthatstepisessentialinsolvingmetadataproblems.Weintend

toimproveonEtsy'scurrentreuse,retrieval,andtrackingmechanisms.Tohelpassureconsistencyin

metadataterminology,sellerswillbeurgedtoconsult Google'sKeywordTool,shownbelow,orYahoos

KeywordSelectorTool.Bothprovideusefulinformationaboutcommonlysearchedwordsandphrases

pertainingtoanygivenitem.Consultingtheseonlineresourceswillalsohelpsellersensuretheydonot

mistakenlyomitrelevantterms.


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thetextboxisautomaticallyfilledwiththatvalue.Therecanbeasmanypairsofboxesastherecanbe

tagsonasingleitem.Thegoverningassumptionisthatmostuserswillclickatagnameratherthantype

outtheword,especiallywhenapplyingmultipletags.ThisdynamicpromotestheuseofEtsyspreferred

termsandreducestyposandothererrors,whilealsoincorporatingtagswithuser-preferredterms.

Somemetadataisautomaticallyinheritedfromtheseller,suchaslocation.Thiscanbeusefulif

buyerswishtobuyfromcertainregions(e.g.buyinglocal).

TimelineandCostforContentManagementRedesign

Settinguptheneededsystems:

Sincewewillneedanewmetadatamanagementsystemandaredesign/reworkofthecurrent

middle-tierapplication,ourteamestimatesthatimplementationwilltakeapproximately10monthsand

$250,000.Thisincludestimetoimplementthenewprojectinparalleltothecurrentsite,timefor

testing,andfinalimplementationfortheentiresite.

First,wewillneedtodevelopawayforthetestsellerstopostitemsusingthenewmetadata

fieldsandtointegratetheirnewlistingswithexistingitems.Thecreationandmanagementofthe

metadatabyaninformationarchitect/informationspecialistwilltakearoundthreemonths.Also,the

PHPmiddle-tierapplicationwillneedtobereworked,includingredesigningthepostingformsforsellers

andthesearching/browsingfunctionforbuyers.Thisreworkingwillrequiretwoorthreeweb

developerstocomplete,inatimeframeofroughlysixmonths.Theimplementationtimewouldbe

longerifwewererecreatingtheentiresite,butwesuggestmodifyingtheexistingpagesinsuchaway

thatwewouldnotneedtoconcernourselveswithvisualstyleorothercontentcurrentlyonthesite.

SincesomeofthePHPworkcanbedoneinparallelwiththemetadatacreation,weestimatethatthe

totaltimetoimplementthepilotwillbesixmonthswithslacktime.Thedevelopersshouldbepaid,on

average,$90K;theinformationarchitectwouldbepaid$85Kannually.Thetotalcostistherefore


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approximately$156,000.

Nextweneedtotestandanalyzethepilotchangesfortwomonths.Theonlycostsinthisphase

areforlabor:analyzingdataandfixingbugs.Weprojectroughly$40,000forthispartoftheproject.

Lastly,ifthepilotisasuccess,theprogrammerswillhavetointegratethesechangesintothe

entiresiteandmanagetheswitchafterallexistingpostsexpire(withinfourmonths).Sincethemajority

ofworkwillhavealreadybeencompleted,twoprogrammersshouldbeabletofinalizetheprojectin

onemonth;thisstagecostsanother$30,000.

Insummary,theprojectwouldrequireatotalof$226,000andninemonthstocompleteif

implementedthroughoutthesite.Toaccountforunexpectedoveragesandcontingencies,we

recommendatotalbudgetof$250K(allowingforsomeslack)andaten-monthtimeframe.Note

thatthisassumeswewilluseexistinghardwareandthatwedonotneedtomakeanynon-

personnelpurchases.

Catalogingtheitemsinyourcollection:

Thebestsolutionforourcollectionofmillionsofitems(includingsolditems)wouldbeto

requireanynewpostingstofollowourimprovedmetadatastandards.Sinceeachpostingisactivefor

onlyfourmonths,wewouldhavetheentirecollectionmigratedoverfourmonthsafterthenewwebsite

isimplemented.Thesellersarethecatalogers,sothispartofoursolutionisfreeexceptforany

codingneededtointegratethedualcollections,whichwasaccountedforintheprevioussection.

Testingtheimplementationwithusers:

Duringtheprogrammingphase,wecanuseastrategythathasbeensuccessfulforYahoo.com

andotheronlinegiants.Thestrategytakesadvantageoftheflexibilityofwebapplicationsandthe

onlinefingerprintofusers.Sincewehavefivesuggested userinterfaces,wewillwanttotestthemall,

determinewhichisbestsuitedtoourusers,andthendebugthechosenUI.Tospeeduptesting,wecan

simultaneouslyrolloutdifferentinterfacestousersfromdifferentregions.Overall,however,wewould

aimtokeeptheuserexperienceasfamiliaraspossible,soasnottoconfuseuserswithrandom


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interfacestheymightnothavetimetolearn(whichwouldaddaconfoundingelementtoourusertest

results).Todeterminethemosteffectiveinterface,wecananalyzepurchaserates,clickpatterns,and

otherbuyerdata.Thetestingprocessshouldlastatleastonemonth,butwewouldbudgetfortwo.A

budgetof$25,000wouldcoverprogrammingcostsaswellasthecostofcreatingreportsandanalyzing

thedata.


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References

Coyle,K.(2010).MetadatamodelsoftheWorldWideWeb.LibraryTechnologyReports,46(2),12-36.

Retrievedfrom

https://auth.lib.unc.edu.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/ezproxy_auth.php?url=http://search.ebscohost.co

m.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=48651558&site=ehost-

live&scope=site

Delgado,J.&Peig,E.(2001).Metadatainteroperabilityfore-commerceofmultimediapublishing

material.DigitalPublishingOdyssey.

JISCDigitalMedia.(2010).Puttingthingsinorder:AdirectoryofMetadataschemasandrelated

standards.ManagingYourDigitalResources.Retrieved11/01/2010from

http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/putting-things-in-order-links-to-

metadata-schemas-and-related-standards/

Takac,M.(2009).Etsyshandmadegoodsinspiretheshopperinallofus.InventionandTechnology

News.Retrieved10/02/2010fromhttp://news.inventhelp.com/Articles/Internet/Inventions/etsy-shop-12587.aspx .

winenutnyc(2008).Etsystatistics:HotinFebruary?!?!? EtsyNews.Retrieved10/03/2010from

http://www.etsy.com/storque/etsy-news/etsy-statistics-hot-in-february-1361/ .

Zeldman,J.(2001).Takingyourtalenttotheweb:Makingthetransitionfromgraphicdesigntoweb

design.NewRiders,p.228.


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AppendixADraftofFacetedStructure

Supplies//Handmade//Vintage//WishList

FacetsforSelection

8-FacetPkg

Supplies

8-FacetPackage

ByColor

ByCategory

ByMaterials

ByPriceRange

BySeller

ByLocation

CustomRecentlySold


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AppendixBExternalLinks

1. ProblemStatement-NONE2. ContentSample-

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AsbWcFiZHMS4dENnNTJTNGlEOG9taTV1LXJHOWgt

Tmc&hl=en&authkey=CO2FuYoG

3. Facetsa. Facetsandusergroups-

https://spreadsheets0.google.com/ccc?key=tTPJFCmqddKDg9cr2FQqw0g&hl=en&authk

ey=CL2NguAO#gid=0

b. Contentsamplewithfacets-https://spreadsheets1.google.com/ccc?key=toiyKgHlH5FwFeuTjvzK3Eg&authkey=CO7el

qcH&hl=en&authkey=CO7elqcH#gid=0

4. UserInterfacea. RelatedWebNav-

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6Ww918T9vepMjQ4M2QxM2QtNDJmNy00M2EwLT

kzMGItZGUxOTkxYzE0Njgz&hl=en

b. RelationalBrowser-https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8bWcFiZHMS4ZjhkZWQ2OWQtM2E0NS00ZGFjLThh

MjAtY2UxODg5YmJmYzBh&hl=en

c. RelationalBrowser,view2-https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8bWcFiZHMS4YzFiZmI4ZjMtMTEwZC00YzRhLTg5Y2

UtY2MyNzk2MjJkNTY1&hl=en

d.Flamenco-StyleBrowsing- https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BwzfqwoJE64-ZGI1ZTY0Y2YtNTBkZC00YjVkLWI3ZmUtMGE0ZGIwZDhiMzhk&hl=en

e. FacetedBreadcrumbs-https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_-l3aZtxeCGRiZYMZSMu90y-b208ZVr0d_1JJkmtRp8/edit?hl=en#

5. Metadataspecs

a. Taxonomy:https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1RJwrHmtuxNzWfHfLskTIzxead8shIb-

nHSj4qo2r4gI

b. XMLschemaexample:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zbY_RVmt8hj88OBry4rjstMGpg-

Vr8TWGKFuoqxdLDw/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIrBjcUH#

c. XMLlisting:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wsYIkaoU5hXD5vO2eJuW31eigNyppQjMGDQbV

j8WM54/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIaquNII#


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6. Systemandimplementationa. DrupallistingsofQualitymetadata:

i. http://etsy520.drupalgardenszm/content/wormababy-sculptureii. http://etsy520.drupalgardens.com/content/yoshi-doll-0#overlay-context=

content/yoshi-doll-0

group etsy final doc 12-14-10

Documents