making and the commons, for europeana's "european cultural commons" conference ::...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23739734@N08/6197553025/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Making

commonsand the

Michael EdsonFor Europeana’s European CulturalCommons workshop

Warsaw, PolandOctober 12, 2011


Making

commonsand the

Michael EdsonFor Europeana’s European CulturalCommons workshop

Warsaw, PolandOctober 12, 2011

Making

commonsand the

Michael Edson

Here todayas a private citizen

Making

commonsand the

Michael Edson

Here todayas a private citizen

Not a spokesperson,policy maker,

decision maker

Making

commonsand the

Michael Edson

@mpedson

Making

commonsand the

Michael Edson

@mpedson

slideshare.net/edsonm

Making

commonsand the


Making

commonsand the


[the written-out version of this talk]http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/museums-and-the-commons-helping-makers-get-stuff-done-6779050

http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/museums-and-the-commons-helping-makers-get-stuff-done-6779050


Making

commonsand the


[This is also relevant]http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-prototyping-the-smithsonian-commons

http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-prototyping-the-smithsonian-commons


Making

commonsand the


[As is this]http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-version

http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-version



There’s a certain energy around someone who is making something


http://www.flickr.com/photos/specialkrb/3253320581/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Learning something

http://www.flickr.com/photos/specialkrb/3253320581/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmarksdesignskole/5534304473/sizes/l/in/photostream//

Or solving a problem

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdecom/4343923438/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmarksdesignskole/5534304473/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdecom/4343923438/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tortipede/6107303370/

There’s an intensity of focus, a sense of urgency, a twinkle in the eye

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tortipede/6107303370/

“The risk-takers,the doers,the makers of things…”

We accord special status to those whom President Barack Obama called

These makers are important—the future of our species might quite literally depend on their success, and with great pride we fill our museums with evidence of the things they've figured out and accomplished.


Museums, libraries, and archives are celebrations of human doing—but here we have a disconnect: while these institutions excel at celebrating things that makers have thought and done in the past, they can be surprisingly indifferent to the needs of people who want to get stuff done in the present and in the future.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteashton/177183362/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteashton/177183362/sizes/l/in/photostream/

18,000 museums in USA$20.7 billion

18,000 museums in USA$20.7 billion/year budget

18,000 museums in USA$20.7 billion/year budget

That’s more than the GDP of

half the nations on earth

Museums have vast collections of rare and notable physical and intellectual property, they have people with expertise and know-how. They nurture curiosity and knowledge creation through research, publication, exhibition, and public programming. They hold positions of trust and respect in their communities and they're heralded as places that, as Roy Slade, the Director of the Cranbrook Art Academy said, "reflect creativity, history, culture, ideas, innovation, exploration, discovery, diversity, freedom of expression and the ideals of democracy."

Museums have vast collections of rare and notable physical and intellectual property, they have people with expertise and know-how. They nurture curiosity and knowledge creation through research, publication, exhibition, and public programming. They hold positions of trust and respect in their communities and they're heralded as places that as Roy Slade, the Director of the Cranbrook Art Academy said, "reflect creativity, history, culture, ideas, innovation, exploration, discovery, diversity, freedom of expression and the ideals of democracy."

Museums have vast collections of rare and notable physical and intellectual property, they have people with expertise and know-how. They nurture curiosity and knowledge creation through research, publication, exhibition, and public programming. They hold positions of trust and respect in their communities and they're heralded as places that "reflect creativity, history, culture, ideas, innovation, exploration, discovery, diversity, freedom of expression and the ideals of democracy."

Roy SladeWhy Museums Matter

But walk into any museum in the countryand ask these 3 questions…

Can I get access to all your collections and resources?

Are experts available to help me understand key ideas and concepts?

Can I incorporate your collections and resources into new products, ideas, or creative works?




access

Can I get the raw materials of creation and innovation?




Expertise

Can I get the help of guides, connectors, and problem-solvers, whether they work for you directly or are part of your broader networks?




Re-use

Once I get raw materials and expertise, can I do new things with them?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trepelu/225518847/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Yes?

Yes?

Yes?



Yes?

Yes?

yes

NO

More often than not, the answer is



We received 1,200 public comments onSmithsonian Commons Prototype


“One of my biggest gripes doing presentations for the public on archaeology, is the number of museums that do not have their collections online. Much is kept hidden away for researchers only. We can read journal articles on valuable exhibits and sometimes a few drawings are available, but anything else requires either a visit or an application to do scholarly research.

“This is not fair to the public, since they pay either directly or indirectly for the valuable items kept for a limited number of people.

"“Further, many people cannot travel or will never travel to see some more distant institutions. I am hoping for the day when all museums small and large put their collections online, for the benefit of schools, colleges and the general public.

“Further, many people cannot travel or will never travel to see some more distant institutions.

I am hoping for the day when all museums small and large put their collections online, for the benefit of schools, colleges and the general public.

“Further, many people cannot travel or will never travel to see some more distant institutions.


Excerpt from comment #406Smithsonian Commons Prototypehttp://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Public+Comments+on+Smithsonian+Commons+Prototype+401-600

http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Public+Comments+on+Smithsonian+Commons+Prototype+401-600




Most museums, libraries, and archives aren’tfocused on people

like this…



Most museums, libraries, and archives aren’tfocused on people

like this…

People like this, with practical digital

requirements, didn't exist on planet Earth20 years ago!


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

This is what we now know


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)


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]


Put these together with an audacious mission and

something interesting is going to happen

Smithsonian Institution

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

Smithsonian SecretaryG. Wayne Clough

What is a Commons?




American Experience

What is a Commons?




American Experience

It is, we think, a way of getting a lot of hard work done

What is a Commons?

A set of resources maintained in the public sphere for the use and benefit of everyone

What is a Commons?

What is a Commons?

Unnecessarily restricted content is like a virus that spreads through the internet, making the intellectual property provenance of each generation of new ideas less and less clear.

(from Imagining a Smithsonian Commons)


What is a Commons?

What is a Commons?An organized workshop where the raw materials of

knowledge can be found and assembled into new things.

12 ingredients of a commons


1. Federated (brings things together)Smithsonian Collections Search Center

http://collections.si.edu/search/

http://collections.si.edu/search/


2. Designed for YOU

Every user is a hero in their own epic journey

Via Kathy Sierra


3. FindableiStockphoto


4. ShareableBrooklyn Museum

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/157722/Morris_Kantor

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/157722/Morris_Kantor


5. Reusable Example: Flickr


6. Free“Free resources are crucial to

innovation and creativity”

Lawrence Lessig


6. FreeThe Internet Archive

http://www.archive.org

“we provide free access”

http://www.archive.org/


7. Bulk downloadPowerhouse Museum

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/download.php

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/download.php


8. Machine readable data.gov


9. High resolution NASA

http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/panoramas/spirit/

http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/panoramas/spirit/


10. Collaboration without control

“we are living in the middle of a remarkable increase in our ability to share, to cooperate with one another, and

to take collective action, all outside the framework of traditional institutions and organization …Getting the

free and ready participation of a large, distributed group with a variety of skills has gone from impossible

to simple.” Clay Shirky


10. Collaboration without controlMIT Open Courseware

http://ocw.mit.edu

http://ocw.mit.edu/


11. Network effectsOpenStreetMap

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

http://www.openstreetmap.org/


12. The Public Domain

The Public Domain is not “some gummy residue left behind when all the good stuff has been covered by

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

James Boyle


… and a 13th?

http://www.weather.gov/disclaimer.php

http://www.weather.gov/disclaimer.php


… and a 13th?

TRUST


… and a 13th?

TRUST

Why don’t we just let the private sector do this?

We are in the forever business. By putting something online—be it a cultural treasure, a folk song, a fossil of a bug, a lecture, or a community—we are asking people to trust us. We're not going to scam you. We're not going to violate your privacy. We're going to be honest about what we do and don't know, we're going to be open to new ideas and points of view, we're going to help each other figure out the world, and these promises are good forever.

Museums are among the few organizations in our culture that enter into those kinds of promises, and we take that responsibility very seriously.


• Federated • Designed for users• Findable• Shareable• Reusable• Free

• Bulk Download• Machine Readable• High Resolution• Collaboration w/o

control• Network effects• Public Domain• Trust

What is a Commons?

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



What is a Commons?

Text version of this talk: Museums and the Commons: Helping Makers Get Stuff Done


Imagining a Smithsonian Commons• http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-version

Prototyping the Smithsonian Commonshttp://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-prototyping-the-smithsonian-commons






What is a Commons?

Text version of this talk: Museums and the Commons: Helping Makers Get Stuff Done


Imagining a Smithsonian Commons• http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-version

Prototyping the Smithsonian Commonshttp://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-prototyping-the-smithsonian-commons

Also, a video

A 15-minute talk at the Walker Art CenterVideo (starts at minute 12): http://channel.walkerart.org/play/opening-the-field/

Updated 6/21/2010






http://channel.walkerart.org/play/opening-the-field/





Thank You!

Michael Edson

http://slideshare.net/edsonm

@mpedson

http://slideshare.net/edsonm

making and the commons, for europeana's "european cultural commons" conference ::...

Technology

meunderstand key ideas

museums matter

collections andresources

vast collections of

collectionsand resources

talk http

makingand thecommonshere

expertiseare experts