mobile is social media: in the museum as distributed network
TRANSCRIPT
Mobile is Social MediaIn the Museum as Distributed Network
Design for Mobile, Chicago, 22 Sep 2010
Nancy Proctor [email protected]
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
In & Out
Nancy Proctor, [email protected] 11
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
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: [email protected] @nancyproctor http://MuseumMobile.infohttp://si.edu/mobilehttp://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Mobile
Opportunities to continue our work: