Thoughts from an angry old white woman

Dr Lynda Kelly

Manager Online, Editing and Audience Research

Australian Museum, Sydney

28 November 2012

The Facebook generation

Three spheres of operation

Physical

Mobile

Online

TitleDigital in museums

“The use of the internet will inevitably change museums. ... The change when it comes, will not be merely technological but at it’s core philosophical.”

Elaine Heumann Gurian, 2010, p.95

TitleThe post-Google generation

TitleA tweet

TitleA threshold experience for who?

TitleBenjamin Gilman

‘... an inordinate amount of physical effort is demanded of the ideal visitor by the present methods in which we offer most objects to his inspection. ... Indeed, we may even go further and claim that in some proportion of the objects put on public view in every museum the qualities for which they are shown are rendered wholly invisible by the way they are shown. They are so placed and in such lighting that it is a physical impossibility by any exertion of limb or eye to descry the particular characteristics to which they owe their selection for show.’

TitleAn idea

“Bridging the technology gap in museums will require more than just digital technology. It requires changes in the way we plan and prioritise projects.”

TitleAgile development for museums

http://australianmuseum.net.au/BlogPost/Web-2U/Agile-development-for-museums

TitleAgile development: why not?

TitleAnother tweet

“the lifeblood of the institution is the rate of information exchange, not the footprints on the marble” (Freedman, 2000)

‘not how many visits but how valuable was the visit?’ (Pierroux, 2003)

Acropolis Agora (Proctor, 2010)

Title

• Death slide

TitleAn idea

“The television generation [demands] information presented in sharp, snappy, modern manner”

Title

• “Visitors will come to the Museum with more technology in their pockets than is available in the entire museum”

Appelbaum, 2008

• “What’s the point of a museum website?”Koven J. Smith, 2011

Mobile

TitleTablets

“I have no doubt that the iPad will disrupt and change a lot of things” (David Hockney)

Title‘Multi screening’

• Smartphones are our constant companion

• PCs are for power computing

• TV is a rich viewing experience

• Tablets are engaging and versatile

TitleChanging relationships

“Mobile devices have become indispensible to peoples’ lives and are driving massive changes in consumer behaviour” (Google May 2012)

81% of Australian Museum visitors have a smart device /91% of JLounge visitors

The one app they can’t live without?

Title21C learners are mobile learners

http://australianmuseum.net.au/BlogPost/Audience-Research-Blog/Categorising-visitors

TitleThe Internet of Things

Horizons report 2013 and the “Internet of things”:

http://australianmuseum.net.au/blogpost/Web-2U/The-Internet-of-Things

TitleThe participatory museum

“If you invite people to really participate in the making of a museum, the process must change the museum.” (Spock, 2009)

“Participatory Culture is driven by the rise of ubiquitous access to information and media.” @rjstein

‘... challenge to create consistency’ @shell7

TitleShared authority

Citizen science

Professional collaboration

Participation

TitleSharing

• Public vs. private:– then © 2000 “Do not distribute”– now © 2012 “Click here to share”

TitleOrganisational change

“The people’s museum should be more than a house full of specimens in glass cases. It should be a house full of ideas.”

George Browne Goode, c. 1880

TitleAnother tweet

TitleOur jobs

http://australianmuseum.net.au/blogpost/Audience-Research-Blog/Museum-Studies-and-the-Nature-of-Museums-Today

“Social technologies make it possible to join groups online for shared work and play. ... At this political juncture, the future of governance in the digital age is not simply a descriptive enquiry but also a normative opportunity to change these institutions.”

Noveck, 2009, p.xv-xvi

TitleThe power of social media in times of disaster / political upheaval

Title19th century skills

• “They were inventors, tinkerers, researchers. They made locomotives, impressionism, periodic table…” @paulrbowers

• survivors, self reliance, the ability to cope with unexpected situations, preparedness, good neighbour, host, and house guest (via Facebook)

• Creative and barmy (think Heston Blumenthal!)

Title21st century toolkit

TitleSix things directors could do ... tomorrow

1. E-publishing

2. Marketing

3. Seats, not structure

4. The digital museum

5. Data-driven decisions

6. A guerilla-in-residence

TitleA final blog ... or two

http://exhibitdev.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/vision-desire-attitude-and-focus/

http://museum3.org/group/organisationalchange/forum/topics/organisational-change-being-a-guerilla-in-residence

Title#museumchallenges

• What six things are you going to do??

http://www.australianmuseum.net.au

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Web-2U

http://www/museum3.org

Twitter: @lyndakelly61 / #museumchallenges

Facebook: lynda.kelly