mobile is social media: in the museum as distributed network

Mobile is Social MediaIn the Museum as Distributed Network

Design for Mobile, Chicago, 22 Sep 2010

Nancy Proctor proctorn@si.edu

Are museums a fad?

Nancy Proctor, ProctorN@si.edu 2

What is the Museum

in this Web 2.0 world of information on demand?

The Smithsonian Institution

The world’s largest museum & research complex137 million collections objects

A Network for the Increase & Diffusion of Knowledge

• 19 Museums• 156 Affiliate museums• 9 Research centers• And a Zoo

More than 30 million visitors in 2009& 180 million ‘virtual’ visitors

Photo by Mike Lee, 2007; from the American Art Museum’s Flickr Group

Our audiences now access the Smithsonian through a wide range of platforms

beyond our walls and websites

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The Smithsonian has become a Distributed Network

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The Museum is a Social Network

The Museum is transforming from Acropolis…

Nancy Proctor, ProctorN@si.edu 9

… into Agora

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In & Out

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Out InStability/stodginess ChangeCurators as experts Curators as

collaborators & brokersMonographs StoriesControl CollaborationWeb 1.0 Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0

– Curator David Allison, Chair of Information Technology & Communication, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

What is mobilein the museum as distributed network?

Some challenges

1. Thinking outside the audiotour box2. Thinking beyond the blockbuster

For mobile design in the 21st century museum:

1. The Audiotour Box

Fraunhofer Institute, Kunstmuseum Bonn: ‘Beat Zoderer’ exhibition (Listen project) 2003

It’s NOT about the Technology

Thinking outside the audiotour box

Means thinking about content & experience

Edward Hoover, 2010, from Flickr.

Question mapping in the gallery:

Thinking beyond what we want to tell

them• Semi-structured interviews• FAQs and comments cards • Questions posed to staff…

… Capture data & feedback on where visitors go, what they see, and what questions they ask

Analytics & metrics Search & interactive maps (don’t forget the

services!) ‘Create (comment), share, connect’

functionality Contributors decide with whom they share

their contribution

Thinking about what they want to know

… Help audiences connect: with content, collections, each other

Support the community/conversation with comments, answers, or new content ‘just in time’

“Don’t be stingy” – or cheap! Quality content is worth the investment (in time & expertise as well as money)

Develop strategies and events to help connect individuals: SlowArt; Nina Simon’s work; Brooklyn Museum…

Helping communities of interest form around content & experiences

Thinking beyond the ‘stop’

1. +-+-+-+-+ Soundtracks2. o o o o Soundbites3. x x x x Interactives4. | | | Links5. ^ ^ ^ Feedback6. § § § Social media

Narrowcast/Offline orNetworked

Networkedonly

… Take the museum into the world LBS AR ‘Easter Eggs’

… Connect people, places & content e.g. connecting web & on-site

visitors

… Give audiences meaningful things to do

Creating adventure, surprise & serendipity

Thinking cross-platform& about pre-, during & post-visit

Audio player

Multimedia player

Personal media player

Cellphone

SmartMobile

Browser

phonesMobile App

ShortSoundbite

X X X X X X

LongSoundtrack

x x X (x) X X

Interactive X X X

Links X X X

Feedback X X X

Social media X X

Building a ‘distributed network’, not just a multi-platform museum

Every platform is a community Using both generic & museum-focused social

media platforms Iterating Evolving

Connecting the dots

2. Thinking beyond the blockbuster

1. Invaluable = highest possible quality

2. Public good = relevance & service for all

3. Forever business = must be sustainable

The Costs of Mobile

Rev shares: 30% to Apple, n% to platform provider

+ MAINTENANCE

Platform On-site infrastructure Project management & staff time Content, include licensing of assets Marketing

Interface design Development (app/mobile website) Software: CMS, statistics, distribution For-fee services (or staff time) SaaS

Players, charging racks, headsets, lanyards Software: statistics, distribution

Operations staff+ Free Marketing (off-site) Opensource platform Minutes Text messages

Business Models Cost to end user

1. Rental (on-site; usu. revenue share)2. Donations (e.g. by text message)3. Digital retail (app/download)4. Freemium (e.g. in-app sales)5. Subscription (in discussion…)

Free to end user1. Loss leader/mission imperative2. Sponsorship3. Ad-supported4. Monetize data

Edward Hoover, 2010, from Flickr.

Non-profit network effectsMobile is social media

http://smithsonian20.si.edu/schedule_webcast2.html

How is social media useful to the business of museums?

Leveraging niche markets

Museums are very good at niches

• Niche collections• Niche expertise• Niche content

“It's possible to be niche and popular at the same time.” – Natasha Waterson Royal Observatory

Mobile is personal

and social

Edward Hoover, 2010, from Flickr.

Meet them where they are…

Photo by Mike Lee, 2007; from the American Art Museum’s Flickr Group38

And take them somewhere new

Mobile is a great vehicle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8

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1. Quality

Tate TrumpsWikipedia Saves Public Art

2. Relevance

http://stedelijk.medialab.hva.nl/

3. Sustainability

http://www.gipuzkoa2.net/http://www.si.edu/commons

4. Revenues Exhibition apps Freemium content to support the (free)

experiences Micropayments Microdonations Sponsorship & advertising Datamining Paid games eCatalogues & subs…

From Headphones to MicrophonesVisitor-led mobile experience design for museums

Nancy Proctor, Smithsonian InstitutionDesign for Mobile Workshop, 24 September 2010

http://museummobile.info/ wiki, blog & podcasts MCN Conference Oct 27-30, 2010, Austin, TX http://MCN.edu Mobile Content Standards Summit 27 Oct, at MCN

http://wiki.museummobile.info/standards http://tatehandheldconference.pbworks.com Koven Smith: http://kovenjsmith.com &

http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/smith/smith.html SFMOMA (Peter Samis & Stephanie Pau):

http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/samis/samis.html & http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/samis/samis.html

Nancy Proctor: ProctorN@si.edu @nancyproctor http://MuseumMobile.infohttp://si.edu/mobilehttp://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Mobile

Opportunities to continue our work: