Museums and Digital TechnologiesWhat’s happening in U.S. museums in 2016

A little context

I work at PEM

PEM looks like this…

and like this…

What I do…

Four trends that are accelerating change in U.S. museums:1) indoor navigation and

location-based services,

2) new ways of seeing: 360 & 3D video/AR/MR/VR

3) external pressure to change - grassroots initiatives.

4) internal pressure to evolve - digital transformation

Indoor navigationGiving people what they want, based on where they are

The Holy GrailYour phone is able to provide you with content relevant to where you are in the museum, without you telling it, or punching in a number, or scanning a QR code, or…

An early winThe Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)

Hobart, Australia, 2011

Universal distribution + brute force Wifi

This year’s success storySan Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) & Detour

San Francisco, USA

A huge critical success

The recipe for success?• Unusual content

• Choice of content

• Up-to-date content

• An indoor map that really works

new ways of seeingThe brave new worlds of 360º, 3D, AR, MR, VR

Why?Platforms are pushing it – for now.

360º video: Not quite ready, but very exciting

The bad news: It’s still in the hobbyist stage

More bad news: It’s not yet supported in all browsersChrome Safari

The results:Hopefully you’ll see something when you click on the video

VR: From fad to fixture?

Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add

Still 5-10 years from mainstream adoption

And let’s not forget big screens!

National World War II Museum

External pressure to changeThe network effect and grassroots initiatives

#hashtag activismThe modern Internet gives individuals great ability to make their voices heard in ways that were impossible in the last century.

The “signal boost” that can happen when like-minded individuals share content and spread it through their personal networks can cause ideas to spread rapidly.

The # sign has become an important part of everyday life.

Examples of hashtag campaignsSocial issues:

#svegliamuseo – “Wake up, museums!” Campaign to shame Italian museums into paying more attention to digital

#DropBP – Campaign to get the British Museum to drop British Petroleum as a sponsor

#MuseumWorkersSpeak – Campaign to highlight and change unfair labor practices in museums.

#museumsrespondtoferguson – Campaign to mobilize American museums against violence against African-Americans.

Awareness raising:

#askacurator

#empty___ (#emptymet, #emptymfa, etc…)

#InstaSwap (London, NYC, LA, etc…)

#historichousecrush

Another example: Drinking About Museums• Informal, unofficial

• No central authority

• No membership rules

• Leverages social media

The network organizational model

“The shift from hierarchical organizational structures to networked ones is the dominant theme of the current era.”Catherine Bracy, at the Museum Computer Network 2016 conference

20th century organization

21st century organization

Network organization

The challenges of the network model

An example: Museumhive

• An informal, community-centered gathering,

• A hybrid structure which involves members who come and go,

• Participation is wide,

• The barrier to entry is as low as we can make it,

• There is a tangible outcome to the effort

The network changes how we perceive everything

“Art is nothing important. Where its important is where it connects people to people, and people to events, and people to things. It’s a social network of objects.” David Newbury, Museum Computer Network 2016 conference

An example: CODE | WORDS

What was the rationale?A peer-organized response to a perceived lack of informed discourse around issues of theory and digital technologies within the museum space.

How it worked

Rob Stein me Suse Cairns

+ +

Museum professionals PhD student

We talked a lot about wanting to affect change

We talked more, with peers all over the world

We organized a group around ideas• Making the value statement for museums in a digital age - How can museums

measure what’s important and not just what’s easy?

• Digital curation - What does it mean to collect and preserve digital media, art, and information?

• The politics of new technologies - New takes on power, audience, and authority.

• Dialogue and discourse in museums - Who’s talking and who’s listening?

• Creativity, innovation, and technology - Is there a relationship between the three that’s unique to museums?

• Eschewing both techno-fetishism and techno-fandom. - Technology can’t solve all the problems in the world, or the museum.

Used free tools to spread the word

What did it generate?• A collection of essays on Medium (a free-to-use publishing platform)

https://medium.com/code-words-technology-and-theory-in-the-museum

• >50,000 views to date

• Several conference presentations and collaborations

• And a book!

And it goes on…CODE | WORDS v2.0

Internal pressure to evolveDigital transformation

The tension between strategy and culture

“You need to know what you’re doing digitally. You need to have a convincing story. We call this story a strategy.”

Visser/Richardson

Strategists know that digital media touches every aspect of a modern museum

Pragmatists know that culture is more important than strategy

‘A digital culture will get you through a time without a digital strategy much more than a digital strategy will get you through a time without a digital culture”

-Nick Poole

“Culture is the manifestation of values.”-Jan Gunnarson

What are the obstacles?

An example: What this looks like at PEM

Staff contributers to the PEM blogAmy Curtis

Annie Lundsten

Austen Barron Bailly

Barbara Pero Kampas

Becky Vitale

Caitlin Lowrie

Carla Galfano

Caryn M. Boehm

Catherine Robertson

Chip Van Dyke

Claire Blechman

Craig Tuminaro

Dan Finamore

Dave O'Ryan

David Thibodeau

Delia Faria

Dinah Cardin

Doneeca Thurston

Ed Rodley

Edie Shimel

Ellen Soares

Elliot Isen

Emily Fry

Eric Wolin

Gail Spilsbury

Gavin Andrews

Gordon Wilkins

Janet Blyberg

Janey Winchell

Jay Finney

Jim Olson

Juliette Fritsch

Karen Kramer

Kathy Fredrickson

Katie Theodoros

Kerry Schneider

Kurt Weidman

Leanne Schild

Linnea DiPillo

Lisa Incatasciato

Lisa Kosan

Lucille Wymer

Lynda Hartigan

Lynne Francis-Lunn

Maddie Kropa

Martine Malengret-Bardosh

Matthew Del Grosso

Meg Winikates

Melissa Woods

Michelle Moon

Mimi Leveque

Nicole Polletta

Paula Richter

Penny Bigmore

Rebecca Bednarz

Sarah Jennette

Shoshana Resnikoff

Sidney Berger

Siri Schoonderbeek

Sona Datta

Susan Flynn

Susanna Brougham

Victoria Glazomitsky

Walter Silver

Whitney Van Dyke

The goal: build digital literacyWorking in digital spaces – Social media platforms, Wikipedia, Google Art Project

Professional development – Vital for staff to understand enough about the digital realm to make informed decisions

Cultural transformation – Incorporating digital in existing processes rather than developing separate ones.

Staff empowerment – Opportunity for staff to demonstrate digital skills they have

What does a 21st century curator look like?

They expose the inner workings of the museum, through their own unique lenses

The goal? 100% participation• All the curators establish social media presences

• Move on to executive leadership

• Continue to encourage all staff to participate as they see fit. This is not a mandate, but a request.

In closing…

"Creating culture is always more rewarding than consuming it."

–Mihaly Csikszentmihályi

Вопросы?/Questions?

Спасибо! / Thank you!

Ed RodleyPeabody Essex Museum (www.pem.org)Tel: +1 978 542-1849Email: ed_rodley@pem.orgSocial Media: @erodley