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Becoming Authentically Digital

Date post: 22-Aug-2014
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Museums have been hanging out on the web for almost two decades now, but are still not truly digital. Held back by metaphors left over from their brick-and-mortar operations, museums continue to under-resource, under-prioritise, and under-think their digital efforts. As a result, museums’ digital presences still exist primarily as surrogates for their buildings, and have failed to become the digital temples of innovation, interaction, and experience that they could be. So museums are at a crossroads. They can continue on our current trajectory — a path towards slow death paved with blockbuster exhibitions — or they can become authentically digital, and evolve into the museums that the 21st century needs them to be. In this talk, Koven J. Smith (museum consultant to the stars and the guy who thought up the phrase “Drinking About Museums”) will address what it will mean for museums to address digital practice as a core function, and how doing so will transform both internal practice and external interaction. Sacred cows will be slaughtered, strawmen will be knocked over with reckless abandon, and half-baked theories will abound. Let’s roll.
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Becoming Authentically Digital Koven J. Smith Kinetic Museums Consulting Denver, CO, USA @5easypieces
Transcript
Page 1: Becoming Authentically Digital

Becoming AuthenticallyDigitalKoven J. SmithKinetic Museums ConsultingDenver, CO, USA@5easypieces

Page 2: Becoming Authentically Digital

“...there’s no prize for the best 19th Century enterprise still operating in the 21st Century.” Khoi Vinh (subtraction.com)

Page 3: Becoming Authentically Digital

The Web is the future!

Page 4: Becoming Authentically Digital

Michael Edson (Smithsonian) -“Museums In the Age of Scale”

• NGA - 4.6 million annual visitors• Wikipedia - 5+ billion annual visitors• More than half of learning goals not met

Page 5: Becoming Authentically Digital

We’re making all the right moves:

• We have, like, blogs and stuff• We’re getting likes on Facebook• We’re creating Digital Media departments• We’re hiring Chief Digital Officers• We have so many iPads on railings

Page 6: Becoming Authentically Digital

We’ve tricked ourselves.

Page 7: Becoming Authentically Digital

Ta da.

Page 8: Becoming Authentically Digital

Microsoft design principles:

• Pride in craftsmanship• Be fast and fluid• Do more with less• Win as one• Authentically digital

Page 9: Becoming Authentically Digital

Authentically digital:"Instead of looking to the real world to inform our design metaphors, this principle embraces the limitless capacity of innovation that is found in a digital landscape. Instead of awkwardly trying to tie digital assets to their real life counterparts, we embrace the power of our medium."

Page 10: Becoming Authentically Digital

SPARS codes

Page 11: Becoming Authentically Digital

Yes, indeed. Carloads of teenagers.

Page 12: Becoming Authentically Digital

Adriel Luis : If my co-workers say “I don’t get this,” it’s automatically in the digital department.

Page 13: Becoming Authentically Digital

(mySociety review of

Parliament’s online

offerings)

"[D]igital is shorthand for ‘we accept the internet values of usability, needs focus

and agility’.”

Page 14: Becoming Authentically Digital

Yr museum’s SPARS code:

• D for usability• A for agility• D for needs focus

Page 15: Becoming Authentically Digital

Authentically digital:"Instead of looking to the real world to inform our design metaphors, this principle embraces the limitless capacity of innovation that is found in a digital landscape. Instead of awkwardly trying to tie digital assets to their real life counterparts, we embrace the power of our medium."

Page 16: Becoming Authentically Digital

Skeuomorphism:“...design elements based on symbols borrowed from the real world, for the sole purpose of making an interface look familiar to the user...they are also relics of another time, relics that tie an interface to static real-life objects that are incompatible with the fluidity and dynamism of digital interfaces."

Page 17: Becoming Authentically Digital

Our entire approach to the web is based on skeuomorphs.

Page 18: Becoming Authentically Digital

LACMA, 1997

Page 19: Becoming Authentically Digital
Page 20: Becoming Authentically Digital

Anti-Pattern:A frequently used design pattern that either outright doesn’t work or is counter-productive.

Page 21: Becoming Authentically Digital

So, um, how do we do this?

Page 22: Becoming Authentically Digital

Keep these principles in mind:

• Create usable products• Focus on real needs• Structure for agility• Eliminate skeuomorphs and anti-patterns

Page 23: Becoming Authentically Digital

1. Create usable products.Dan Hon: “Once you’ve seen something with a good user experience, it’s hard to justify other experiences in the same category having a sh*tty user experience.”

Page 24: Becoming Authentically Digital

2. Focus on real need.Beware of “Case Study Envy.” (h/t to Colleen!)

Page 25: Becoming Authentically Digital

3. Structure for agility.Or, why I don’t believe in Digital Media departments…

Page 26: Becoming Authentically Digital

4. Eliminate skeuomorphs and anti-patterns.

• “Plan your visit.”• Objects• Collections• Exhibitions

Page 27: Becoming Authentically Digital

5. Touch screens.

Page 28: Becoming Authentically Digital

Thanks!Koven J. SmithKinetic Museums Consultingread me: kovenjsmith.comhire me: kineticmuseums.comdisagree with me: @5easypieces


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