Aboutness
From Memography
Aboutness is a technical term from library science that is the purpose of subject analysis.
A hyperlink in a web page simply points to another web page. A memelink in a page is a statement that the web page is "about" something. What it is about is found on the aboutness page that the memelink points to.
A "computer can determine what words are used in a document but cannot determine meaning." [1]
Subject analysis determines what a document or work "is." This is done in the context of a categorization scheme (and a controlled vocabulary) that is the basis for classification and cataloging of works.
For example, the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are canonical categories into which we can classify works.
Classifiers (also called indexers or catalogers) examine the concepts in a work to establish what it is about in terms of these canonical categories.
They then add the subject headings to the index card (metadata) for the work, or add metadata to the modern online equivalents of the index card.
Meme IDs are something like the LC Subject Headings. More than one of them can be embedded in a document to establish its aboutness. When catalogers use multiple headings it is called depth indexing. A single heading is at best a summary of the document.
Indeed, when asked to describe what a document is about, most people have little trouble. They will probably use multiple descriptors. When, however, they are asked what is the subject of a document, they often have difficulty. [2]
Modern classification systems recognize that a work may contain many subjects. Ranganathan's colon classification introduced the notion of exhaustive description, when enough facets (subjects) are added to completely describe a document or work.
[1] The Organization of Information, by Arlene G. Taylor, p. 241-246.
The Intellectual Foundation of Information Organization, by Elaine Svenonius, p. 46-51.
