Taxonomy

Welcome to the Taxonomy section of our platform documentation. This area provides an overview of the core organizational structures that power how users, media, and metadata are grouped, managed, and discovered across the platform.

What is Taxonomy?

In the context of our SaaS UGC platform, Taxonomy refers to the system of classification used to organize user-generated content and associated entities such as users, metadata, and media assets. It enables scalable, flexible grouping mechanisms that support content moderation, targeted communication, discoverability, and workflow automation.

The platform’s taxonomy system is built around three core concepts:

  • Groups – Versatile, hierarchical containers for users and media.
  • Channels – Themed or topical content streams used for categorization and delivery.
  • Collections – Curated sets of related media or posts, often assembled manually or via rules.

Together, these elements allow teams to structure, distribute, and manage content in a way that aligns with editorial goals, operational workflows, and audience targeting strategies.

Groups Overview

Groups are a foundational feature of the platform designed to organize and manage users, media, and metadata in a flexible and scalable way. Each Group can:

  • Contain Members and Media: Users and media assets can be added to one or more Groups.
  • Support Hierarchical Structure: Groups can be organized in a tree-like hierarchy, allowing for parent-child relationships.
  • Hold Custom Metadata: Add and manage custom fields specific to each Group for greater flexibility.
  • Enable Content-Based Notifications: Configure Groups to send outbound emails to members when new content is added.
  • Accept Inbound Emails: Associate a Group with a custom email address to allow direct media submissions via email.
  • Support Geolocation and Physical Addresses: Link Groups to real-world locations using GPS coordinates or physical addresses.
  • Control Membership and Lifecycle: Approve, deny, or trash Groups through a built-in moderation flow.

This feature is ideal for teams that need to structure content and collaboration across various departments, projects, or locations while maintaining centralized control and automation.

Groups

Groups are a foundational feature of the platform designed to organize and manage users, media, and metadata in a flexible and scalable way. Each Group can:

  • Contain Members and Media: Users and media assets can be added to one or more Groups.
  • Support Hierarchical Structure: Groups can be organized in a tree-like hierarchy, allowing for parent-child relationships.
  • Hold Custom Metadata: Add and manage custom fields specific to each Group for greater flexibility.
  • Enable Content-Based Notifications: Configure Groups to send outbound emails to members when new content is added.
  • Accept Inbound Emails: Associate a Group with a custom email address to allow direct media submissions via email.
  • Support Geolocation and Physical Addresses: Link Groups to real-world locations using GPS coordinates or physical addresses.
  • Control Membership and Lifecycle: Approve, deny, or trash Groups through a built-in moderation flow.

This feature is ideal for teams that need to structure content and collaboration across various departments, projects, or locations while maintaining centralized control and automation.

Channels

Channels are a core taxonomy in the platform designed to help teams organize media according to internal content structures and workflows. Think of Channels like content folders: each media item can belong to only one channel at a time, ensuring clarity and exclusivity in content organization.

Key Features

  • Exclusive Media Placement: A piece of media can only reside in one channel, making it easier to manage and track.
  • Custom Hierarchies: Channels can be nested, enabling a parent-child relationship for logical grouping (e.g., a “Submissions” channel with “Internal” and “Public” subchannels).
  • Flexible Usage Models: Organize by:
    • Source – Internal vs Public submissions
    • Language – English, French, etc.
    • Type – Media, Avatars, Comments, Logos, etc.
  • Operational Controls:
    • Email Injection – Channels can have inbound email addresses for automated media routing.
    • Moderation Email Templates – Send customized messages (e.g., a French denial message from the French channel).
    • Transfer Rules – Automatically move content to external platforms or workflows.
    • Delete Schedules – Define auto-deletion timelines for media based on the channel.

Visibility and Governance

  • Channels can be visible or hidden from users based on access needs.
  • Unlike Groups, Channels cannot be approved or denied—they serve as containers, not workflow gatekeepers.

Collections

Collections are a flexible way to group media items into dynamic or curated “playlists” for display. Unlike Groups or Channels, media can belong to multiple collections at once, and collections can be either manually curated or automatically generated via saved search filters.

Collections are commonly used for:

  • Showcasing editorially selected content
  • Displaying real-time feeds of content that meets specific criteria
  • Organizing featured, trending, or thematic media

Manual Collections

Manual collections give editors and moderators complete control over which media items appear and in what order.

  • Editorial Curation: Media is manually assigned to a collection by a platform user.
  • Custom Ordering: Items can be reordered via drag-and-drop to control front-end display.
  • Auto vs Manual Activation:
    • Automatically Active: Media becomes publicly visible as soon as it’s added.
    • Manually Approved: Items are initially marked as pending and must be activated manually.
  • Item Management:
    • Move media between active and pending using the available status icons.
    • Remove items using the delete icon.
    • Use the “Add to Top” setting to prepend new content to the list.

Saved Search Collections

Saved Search collections are rule-based collections powered by filters and sort logic.

  • Always Up-to-Date: Content is added automatically as new media matches the filters.
  • Sorting Options: Display items by upload date, view count, votes, and more.
  • Live Feeds: Ideal for sections like “Most Recent,” “Top Voted,” or “Most Viewed.”

Programmatic Access

Advanced users and developers can manage collections using the Collections API, allowing for deeper integration into your content workflows and automated editorial control.