let us go boldly into the present :: michael edson

Michael EdsonDirector, Web and New Media Strategy

Smithsonian Institution, Office of the [email protected] | @mpedson

This is what I’ve been

talking about recently…

http://www.dish2011.nl/

http://aarhus11.jboye.com/

http://www.opentext.com/2/global/products/products-opentext-social-workplace/products-opentext-social-workplace-speaker-series

July 2011 NDIIPP/NDSA Partners Meeting

http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/news/events/ndiipp_meetings/ndiipp11/

http://www.dkmuseer.dk/tidligerearrangementer/1186.html

http://www.infotoday.com/cil2012/day.asp?day=Friday

http://www.dish2011.nl/

http://aarhus11.jboye.com/









http://www.infotoday.com/cil2012/day.asp?day=Friday



@mpedson

http://twitter.com/%23!/mpedson

http://twitter.con/%23!/mpedson



@mpedson

slideshare.net/edsonm


http://slideshare.net/edsonm




Text version of this talk(with links and footnotes)

http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-let-us-go-boldly-into-the-present-text-version










@mpedson


www.si.edu/commons



http://www.si.edu/commons/prototype






Doesn’t make policy, not a spokesman

From Zero History by William Gibson

Photo © Michael O’Shea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Quartier_Commons.jpg

“But now he saw, however briefly butwith peculiar clarity,


“But now he saw,however briefly butwith peculiar clarity,an aerial penguincross the intersection ahead of him.


“Something wholly penguin-shaped,

apparently four or five feet long, from beak-tip to trailing feet, and made, it

seemed, of mercury.


“A penguin wrapped in fluid mirror, reflecting a bit of neon

from the street below.

rue in Latin Quarter by Charles Hutchins, CC attribution http://www.flickr.com/photos/celesteh/396424823/in/faves-46758972@N00/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/celesteh/396424823/in/faves-46758972@N00/

rue in Latin Quarter by Charles Hutchins, CC attribution http://www.flickr.com/photos/celesteh/396424823/in/faves-46758972@N00/

“Swimming.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/celesteh/396424823/in/faves-46758972@N00/

Moving asa penguin movesunderwater, butthrough theLatin Quarter air,at just abovethe height ofsecond-story windows.

“Swimming.

“Moving down the center of the street that crossed the one he walked on. So that it

was revealed only as it crossed the intersection.

2008_06_27_paris_walk_06 by Doc Searls, CC Attributionhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/4745436344/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/4745436344/sizes/l/in/photostream/




Swimming.


Propelling itself, in agracefully

determinedbut efficient

fashion, with itsquicksilverflippers.




Swimming.


Photo by paige_eliz, CC attribution,noncommercial, no derivativeshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/paige_eliz/480028794/sizes/l/in/photostream/

“Then a bicycle crossed,on the street, goingin the opposite direction.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paige_eliz/480028794/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Photo by paige_eliz, CC attribution,noncommercial, no derivativeshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/paige_eliz/480028794/sizes/l/in/photostream/

“Did you see that?” Milgrim askedthe cyclist…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paige_eliz/480028794/sizes/l/in/photostream/

“Did you see that?” Milgrim askedthe cyclist…

I was asked to give a talk at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center this spring as part of their “Where do we go from here?” series

…And I thought that to answer that question you first had to think about where “here” is in the first place.

…And I thought that to answer that question you first had to think about where “here” is in the first place.

“Here” isn’t where it used

to be.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/23/080623fa_fact_thurman?currentPage=all

If you lived in Southern Europe 30,000 years ago,

you might have made cave paintings like

this.




If you lived in Southern Europe 30,000 years ago,

you might have made cave paintings like

this.

“Here” was a period of cultural continuity that lasted 25,000

years.1,000 generations.




http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html







Contrast that withwhat Sir Ken

Robinson had to say at TED 2006…







“…children starting school this year [2006] will be retiring in 2065. Nobody has a clue, despite all the expertise that’s been on parade over the last 4 days, what the world is going to look like in 5 years time, and yet we’re meantto be educating them for it. So the unpredictability, I think, is extraordinary.”





The Futureis stuff that

hasn’t happened yetThe future is stuff that hasn’t happened

yet…Well, that’s what we used to think.

That’s what this talk is about.

The strategist as a visionary


15 years ago, I thought it was the strategists job to look far out over the horizon…


15 years ago, I thought it was the strategists job to look far out over the horizon…

But now, much of that distant, misty future has already happened. The present is what’s interesting and difficult

Strategy is language that does work




Somebody smart said “software is language that does work.”



Somebody smart said “software is language that does work.”

Strategy is the same—it’s a tool that helps you get difficult things done.



This is not just idle philosophy,our work matters

1997

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/05/do-modems-still-matter.html


date

T.F.O.

date

T.F.O.Technology Fetish Object

A pattern I’ve noticed: speakers often have a slide with a date at

the top and a Technology Fetish

Object at the bottom, to show how quickly the gadgets of our

youth go out of date.

1997



1997


[ Modems ]


1997


Half of Americans who were online

used one of these…


1997No focus, zoom, or preview.

Stored 8 photosat 640 x 480

[ Digression ]

Remember this?The Blue Screen of

Death?

People had a special relationship with their

BSOD

http://www.techmynd.com/50-plus-blue-screen-of-death-displays-in-public/

People had a special relationship with their

BSOD


http://gizmodo.com/282986/the-blue-screen-of-death-tattoo



[ Ahem… ]

1997

The future

http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Digital Strategy Workshop 2012




Digital Strategy!




We’ve got to be more

S.F.O.

Digital Strategy!




We’ve got to be more

S.F.O.

Digital Strategy!

Strategy Fetish Object




Yes, we must be more S.F.O…



We’ve got a yearto decide…


Blah blah blah broadcast




Everyone is down-sampling new ideas into a familiar context, in this case the

broadcast idiom (and pace) of the late 20th century

Everyone is down-sampling new ideas into a familiar context, in this case the

broadcast idiom (and pace) of the late 20th century



Digital Strategy Workshop 2011 ExampleFrom a real

museum strategy workshop




Become the preeminent place for engagement and dialogue

about national identity and the accomplishment and experience of citizens

Strategic Goal of the museum




“Build an online collectionof 10 million portraits ofcitizens and their stories,created and uploadedwithout official curationby members of thepublic. Build acommunity around thisinitiative to fuelengagement withnational history,biography, and artisticcreativity.”

Proposed




“Do a website about family portraits”

Proposed Adopted

“Build an online collectionof 10 million portraits ofcitizens and their stories,created and uploadedwithout official curationby members of thepublic. Build acommunity around thisinitiative to fuelengagement withnational history,biography, and artisticcreativity.”




“Build an online collection of 10 million portraits of citizens and their stories, created and uploaded without official curation by members of the public. Build a community around this initiative to fuel engagement with national history, biography, and artistic creativity.”

“Do a website about family portraits”

Proposed Adopted

Disconnect between different

understandings of the present


• 2002: Howard Rheingold’s Smart Mobs• 2002: Lawrence Lessig’s The Future of Ideas • 2005: Tim O’Reilly’s what is web 2.0 • 2006: Wikinomics • “You” were the person of the year IN 2006!!!

They nailed it5 – 10 years ago

2002Howard Rheingold’s Smart Mobs


“The first signs of the next shift began to reveal themselves to me on a spring afternoon in the year 2000. That was when I began to notice people on the streets of Tokyo staring at their mobile phones instead of talking to them. The sight of this behavior, now commonplace in much of the world, triggered a sensation I had experienced a few times before—the instant recognition that a technology is going to change my life in ways I can scarcely imagine.


—the instant recognition that a technology is going to change my life in ways I can scarcely imagine.”

2002Lawrence Lessig: The Future of Ideas


“The open and neutral platform of the Internet has spurred hundreds of companies to develop new ways for individuals to interact. …Groups form easily to discuss any issue imaginable; public debate is enabled by removing perhaps the most significant cost of human interaction— synchronicity.


“I can add to your conversation tonight;you can follow it up tomorrow; someone else, the day after.

And this is just the beginning, as the technology will only get better.



And this is just the beginning, as the technology will only get better.”


And this is just the beginning, as the technology will only get better.”


Two years before

Facebook was founded

Four years before Twitter

launched

2006Don Tapscott and Anthony WilliamsWikinomics


“Smart companies are encouraging, rather than fighting, the heaving growth of massive online communities—many of which emerged from the fringes of the Web to attract tens of millions of participants overnight. Even ardent competitors are collaborating on path-breaking scientific initiatives that accelerate discovery in their industries.


“Indeed as a growing number of firms see the benefits of mass collaboration, this new way of organizing

will eventually displace the traditional corporate structures as the economy's primary engine of wealth creation.


“Indeed as a growing number of firms see the benefits of mass collaboration, this new way of organizing

will eventually displace the traditional corporate structures as the economy's primary engine of wealth creation.”

2005Tim O’ReillyWhat is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software

2005Tim O’ReillyWhat is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software

1. The long tail2. Data is the next Intel Inside3. Users add value4. Network effects by default5. Some rights reserved6. The perpetual beta7. Cooperate, don't control8. Software above the level of a single device

December 25, 2006“You” are theperson of the year

December 25, 2006

“And we didn’t just watch, we also worked. Like crazy. We made Facebook profiles and Second Life avatars and reviewed books at Amazon and recorded podcasts. We blogged about our candidates losing and wrote songs about getting dumped. We camcordered bombing runs and built open-source software.”

Note: More examples related to open content and intellectual property are in Addendum 1at the end of this show (slide 152)

The Long TailJoy’s LawCognitive surplusNetwork EffectsMoore’s Law & MobileEvery user a hero…

We’ve come to recognize a new set of patterns over the last 10

years


Global audiences formingaround niche interests


“No matter what business you’re in, most of the smart

people work for someone else”


A Trillion hours/year of time available for creation and

collaboration. (via Clay Shirky)


Websites that get better the more people use them


In 12 years this device will be 1,706 X more powerful than my

desktop computer


Billions of connected mobile users. Voice, data, cameras,

GPS, sensors…


Your users are heroes in their own epic journeys. Your job is

to help them be great. [via Kathy Sierra]


These are not new ideasanymore


http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/99432/jimmy-wales-aps-landing-pages-a-good-if-late-idea/

“Nothing in this [strategy] couldn’t have been written by someone actually savvy in the

Internet culture five years ago. ”

-- Jimmy Wales on AP’s Digital Strategy




“Nothing in this [strategy] couldn’t have been written by someone actually savvy in the

Internet culture five years ago. ”

-- Jimmy Wales on AP’s Digital Strategy

OUCH!


Interview with William Gibson


“I think that when I was first reading science fiction, which would have been in the late 1950’s, the consensual “now” was 3 or 4 years long, and with 3 or 4 years of relatively unchanging ‘now’ a writer of science fiction had the space in which to erect something


“I think that when I was first reading science fiction, which would have been in the late 1950’s, the consensual “now” was 3 or 4 years long, and with 3 or 4 years of relatively unchanging ‘now’ a writer of science fiction had the space in which to erect something.


“…With that long a ‘now’ you could build a relatively big structure before that now hauled itself into the future that made your big structure obsolete.


“But today, now can feel like a news cycle. It’s like the now is too narrow to allow for that big a construct. We have too many wildcards in play with regard to our future to casually erect believable futures beyond a few years.”


“But today, now can feel like a news cycle.

It’s like the now is too narrow to allow for that big a construct. We have too many wildcards in play with regard to our future to casually erect believable futures beyond a few years.”


“But today, now can feel like a news cycle. It’s like the now is too narrow to allow for that big a construct. “We have too many wildcards in play with regard to our future to casually erect believable futures beyond a few years.”


http://matthewsheret.com/2010/10/04/timelines/

[The penguins are real]


http://youtu.be/jPGgl5VH5go

http://youtu.be/jPGgl5VH5go

The future

Now

The futureNow

Abundance

20 million items in Europeana66 million books in Librarything250 million items in Trove6 billion photos in Flickr100 billion photos in Facebook19M Wikipedia articles

And we have this “now” in great

abundance

Abundance…and platforms“If you wanted to start a company back in 2000 it was a lot more difficult than it was today. You’d actually have to go out and buy dedicated servers, and there was no Amazon S3. There was no EC2. To get an idea off the ground today… [compared with] even just a few years ago…over this last decade the barrier to entry has been lowered quite a bit, to where if you have something new you want to explore it really is a couple thousand dollars to get something off the ground and launch it.”

Digg founder Kevin RoseThis Week In Tech, episode 228, at 22:00

The present is far more interesting than most organizations have noticed

[paraphrase W. Gibson]

Cheap platforms and successful examples are all around us, in abundance…

Now, let’s get practical.

Once you believe that the present moment is interesting…

What should you do about it?

This document describes a transformational change for the Smithsonian, which will have impact on the Institution’s culture, operations, allocation of resources, talent recruitment, and priorities. The Smithsonian Commons


http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Strategy+--+Table+of+Contents


Design Patterns forGoing Boldly to the Present

1. The extra-terrestrial space auditor2. On ramps and loading docks3. Edge to core4. Focus on mission5. Place the bet

Oh, and please stopinnovating…Failing fast…Risk taking…

Collaborating…

Oh, and please stopinnovating…Failing fast…Risk taking…

Collaborating…

Don’t focus on having more innovation!Focus on making progress towards well defined goals—doing “work that matters” [via Tim O’Reilly]. If you need more innovation or collaboration to get there,

then remove the obstacles and step on the gas.

See Forget innovation, from Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fundhttp://www.sitra.fi/julkaisu/2011/forget-innovation

http://www.sitra.fi/julkaisu/2011/forget-innovation

1. Extraterrestrial Space Auditor

http://www.flickr.com/photos/markusram/2060743986/sizes/o/in/photostream/




A Martian CPA badass of

objectivity




A Martian CPA badass of

objectivity

Compares the stated mission of your org with your collective actions




The British navy, "at the peak of their dominance in the 17th

century," took 150 years to adopt a proven remedy

for scurvy

Via Scott BerkunThe Myths of Innovation




The British navy, "at the peak of their dominance in the 17th

century," took 150 years to adopt a proven remedy

for scurvy

Via Scott BerkunThe Myths of Innovation

FAIL




“Andreessen’s adviceto old media…”


http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/06/andreessen-media-burn-boats/

http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/06/andreessen-media-burn-boats/

2. On Ramps and Loading Docks


http://www.flickr.com/photos/debcll/2359690453/sizes/l/in/photostream/




“I’m all about building flexible networks so we can move ideas and goods between us and our

customers, partners, and beneficiaries—quickly knowingly,

and efficiently.”

Carl the Loading Dock



http://www.flickr.com/photos/cycleologist/3780757186/



“A platform beats anapplication anytime.”

Tim O’ReillyWhat is Web 2.0





“A platform beats anapplication anytime.”

Tim O’ReillyWhat is Web 2.0

…But think expansively about what constitutes a

platform.


3. Edge to core

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcocastelli/3313416138/sizes/l/in/photostream/


3. Edge to core


“Innovation at the Edges:A Commons in the Middle”

Smithsonian Web and New Media Strategy


3. Edge to core


Innovation becomes infrastructure


3. Edge to core



Help it!


3. Edge to core



Help it!

Even if the edge and the core are outside your own

organization


Smithsonian Strategic PlanGrand Challenges

1. Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

2. Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

3. Valuing World Cultures4. Understanding the

American Experience

4. Focus on mission

4. Focus on mission65 million people died in

World War II

4. Focus on missionThe National WWII Museum isvery focused on their mission

5. Place the bet

1. What world am I living in?

2. What impact does my country,my city, my organization want tohave in that world

3. What should I do today?

1. What world am I living in?

2. What impact does my country,my city, my organization want tohave in that world

3. What should I do today?

Keeping these three things in working memory at the same time is what we have to practice and get good at.

This is it. This is the job.

Think BigStart SmallMove Fast

5. Focus on mission

Thanks!

@mpedson


Addendum 1

The following slides were added to the“They Nailed It” section for

Sharing is Caring: Digitized Cultural Heritage for AllCopenhagen, Denmark, November 11, 2011

They are specific to that conference’s focus, intellectual property policy and openness in heritage organizations.

;)

Addendum

• 2001: Creative Commons founded• 2001: MIT Open Courseware founded• 2002: Lawrence Lessig’s The Future of Ideas • 2002: Howard Rheingold’s Smart Mobs• 2006: Wikinomics (IBM)• (2008: Smithsonian Web and New Media Strategy)

They nailed it5 – 10 years ago

Addendum

2001Creative Commons founded

Addendum

2001Creative Commons founded

http://katiejane12.wordpress.com/2011/05/14/my-creative-commons-license/

Addendum

2001MIT Open Courseware founded

Addendum


“I was amazed that a university such as MIT would

freely give access to its educational information.”

Triatno Yudo HarjokoUniversity of Indonesia

Addendum


Other universities may be striving to market their courses to the Internet masses in hopes of dot-com wealth. But the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has chosen the opposite path: to post virtually all its course materials on the Web, free to everybody.”

Addendum


Other universities may be striving to market their courses to the Internet masses in hopes of dot-com wealth. But the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has chosen the opposite path: to post virtually all its course materials on the Web, free to everybody.

Addendum


''Selling content for profit, or trying in some ways to commercialize one of the core intellectual activities of the university seemed less attractive to people at a deep level than finding ways to disseminate it as broadly as possible.'’

[Professor Stephen Lerman]Faculty Chairman

Professor Stephen Lerman

Addendum


''Selling content for profit, or trying in some ways to commercialize one of the core intellectual activities of the university seemed less attractive to people at a deep level than finding ways to disseminate it as broadly as possible.'’

[Faculty ChairmanProfessor Stephen Lerman]

Addendum


100 million users in first 10 years

Addendum


Addendum


“If the Internet teaches us anything,it is that great value comes from leaving core resources in a commons, where they’re free for people to build upon as they see fit.”

Addendum


Addendum

2005

A dumb company gave away $10 million in IT patents…

Addendum

2006Addendum

$100 million investmentreturned to the Linux commons

…generated a 500% profit

2006Addendum

2008The Public DomainJames Boyle

Addendum


“The public domain is not some gummy residue left over when all the good stuff has been covered by property law.

The public domain is the place we quarry the building blocks of our culture.

Addendum


“The public domain is not some gummy residue left over when all the good stuff has been covered by property law.

The public domain is the place we quarry the building blocks of our culture.”

Addendum

2008Smithsonian InstitutionWeb and New Media Strategy

Addendum

Goal 7. Business Model

“The Smithsonian’s basic business model is to create social and economic value through the increase and diffusion of knowledge…Ultimately, the most valuable business asset we can cultivate—and the one that is most fundamental to our core mission—is a community of engaged and committed Smithsonian enthusiasts.”

Addendum

Goal 7. Business ModelAddendum

Goal 7. Business ModelRevenue Generation in Harmony with Mission

Attempting to directly monetize access to, and use of, museum content does not appear to be a sustainable business model. Through these low-margin business practices, we alienate users, perpetuate the practice of institutions charging each other, discourage research and publications, and undermine our civic mission.

It is likely that the Smithsonian will make more money by promoting “free” resources to a large audience than it can make charging small amounts for small transactions to a small audience, and it is a much better fit with the mission.

Addendum

(Thanks again!)