[Data-modeling] Products schema test run

[Kirrily Robert]

Me and Robert and some others were talking about this in the office  
and we all reached some kind of consensus (at least between that small  
group) in the end.  Here's what we came up with: http://products.sandbox.freebase.com/

I've added a handful of different kinds of producers, brands/product  
lines, and products to the domain so you can see some different  
examples:

* Coca Cola company -- one producer, hierarchy of brands
* Apple Inc -- one producer, numerous brands, product lines, and  
products
* Ikea -- producer with numerous lines (eg. Billy, Ivar, Leksvik) --  
see Leksvik for examples
* Threadless -- producer with no product lines, just products
* Procter and Gamble -- Crest and Charmin product lines
* GMC -- Chevrolet and Saturn brands

The idea is that this isn't perfect, but it provides a rough outline  
for most areas, and if one area has a lot of existing data and a  
better understood structure (as, for example, we have with  
automobiles) then we can reflect that in a specific domain (eg.  
Automotive).  This is a pattern we already have in Sports, where we  
have forked off more specific domains for eg. Basketball, to handle  
specific details that vary on a per-sport basis.

One area we've definitely realised will need additional work is Food  
Products, especially as regards packaging in different sizes and so  
forth.  So please keep in mind that this would happen in a "Food  
Product" co-type.  See alexander's Breakfast Cereal base for a schema  
we're considering for Food Products.

K.

-- 
Kirrily Robert
Freebase Community Director
kirrily at metaweb.com
http://freebase.com/