Making and the Commons, for Europeana's "European Cultural Commons" conference :: Michael Edson

Makingand thecommonsMichael EdsonFor Europeana’sEuropean CulturalCommons workshopWarsaw, PolandOctober 12, 2011 http://www.flickr.com/photos/23739734@N08/6197553025/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Makingand thecommonsMichael EdsonFor Europeana’sEuropean CulturalCommons workshopWarsaw, PolandOctober 12, 2011

Makingand thecommons Here today as a private citizen Michael Edson

Makingand thecommons Here today as a private citizen Not a spokesperson, Michael Edson policy maker, decision maker

Makingand thecommons Michael Edson @mpedson

Making slideshare.net/edsonmand thecommons Michael Edson @mpedson

Making slideshare.net/edsonmand thecommons

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

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

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

There’s a certain energy around someone who is making somethinghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/23739734@N08/6197553025/sizes/l/in/photostream/

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

Or solving a problemhttp://http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmarksdesignskole/5534304473/sizes/l/in/photostream//

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmarksdesignskole/5186252613/sizes/l/in/photostream/

There’s an intensity of focus, a sense of urgency, a twinkle in the eyehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/tortipede/6107303370/

We accord special status to those whomPresident Barack Obama called “The risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things…” 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 theyve 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/75905404@N00/669525192/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

Museums have vast collections of rare and notablephysical and intellectual property, they havepeople with expertise and know-how. Theynurture curiosity and knowledge creation throughresearch, publication, exhibition, and publicprogramming. They hold positions of trust andrespect in their communities and theyre heraldedas places that, as Roy Slade, the Director of theCranbrook Art Academy said, "reflect creativity,history, culture, ideas, innovation, exploration,discovery, diversity, freedom of expression and theideals of democracy."

Museums have vast collections of rare and notablephysical and intellectual property, they havepeople with expertise and know-how. Theynurture curiosity and knowledge creation throughresearch, publication, exhibition, and publicprogramming. They hold positions of trust andrespect in their communities and theyre heraldedas places that as Roy Slade, the Director of theCranbrook Art Academy said, "reflect creativity,history, culture, ideas, innovation, exploration,discovery, diversity, freedom of expression and theideals of democracy."

Museums have vast collections of rare and notablephysical and intellectual property, they havepeople with expertise and know-how. Theynurture curiosity and knowledge creation throughresearch, publication, exhibition, and publicprogramming. They hold positions of trust andrespect in their communities and theyre heraldedas places that "reflect creativity, history, culture,ideas, innovation, exploration, discovery, diversity,freedom of expression and the ideals ofdemocracy." Roy Slade Why Museums Matter

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

Can I get access to all your collectionsand resources?Are experts available to help meunderstand key ideas and concepts?Can I incorporate your collections andresources into new products, ideas, orcreative works?

access 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?Can I get the raw materials ofcreation and innovation?

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

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 andRe-use resources into new products, ideas, or creative works?Once I get raw materials and expertise,can I do new things with them?

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

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

We received 1,200 public comments on Smithsonian Commons Prototypehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/trepelu/225518847/sizes/l/in/photostream/

“One of my biggest gripes doing presentationsfor the public on archaeology, is the number ofmuseums that do not have their collectionsonline. Much is kept hidden away forresearchers only. We can read journal articleson valuable exhibits and sometimes a fewdrawings are available, but anything elserequires either a visit or an application to doscholarly research.

“This is not fair to the public, since theypay either directly or indirectly for the valuableitems kept for a limited number of people.

"“Further, many people cannot travel or will nevertravel to see some more distant institutions. I amhoping for the day when all museums small and largeput their collections online, for the benefit of schools,colleges and the general public.

“Further, many people cannot travel or will nevertravel to see some more distant institutions.I am hoping for the day when allmuseums small and large put theircollections online, for the benefit ofschools, colleges and the general public.

“Further, many people cannot travel or will nevertravel to see some more distant institutions.I am hoping for the day when allmuseums small and large put theircollections online, for the benefit ofschools, colleges and the general public. Excerpt from comment #406 Smithsonian Commons Prototype http://smithsonian- webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Public+Com ments+on+Smithsonian+Commons+Prot otype+401-600

I am hoping for the day when allmuseums small and large put theircollections online, for the benefit ofschools, colleges and the general public.

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.http://www.flickr.com/photos/46758972@N00/2442068480/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Most museums, libraries, and archives aren’t focused on people like this…http://www.flickr.com/photos/46758972@N00/2442068480/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Most museums, libraries, and archives aren’t People like this, with focused on people practical digital like this… requirements, didnt exist on planet Earth 20 years ago!http://www.flickr.com/photos/46758972@N00/2442068480/sizes/l/in/photostream/

This is what we now know

Global audiences forming around niche interests

“No matter what business you’re in, most of the smartpeople work for someone else”

A Trillion hours/year of time available for creation andcollaboration. (via Clay Shirky)

In 12 years this device will be1,706 X more powerful than my desktop computer

Billions of connected mobileusers. Voice, data, cameras, GPS, sensors…

Your users are heroes in theirown 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 Plan Grand Challenges 1. Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe 2. Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet 3. Valuing World Cultures 4. Understanding the American ExperienceSmithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough

What is a Commons? 1. Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe 2. Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet 3. Valuing World Cultures 4. Understanding the American Experience

What is a Commons? 1. Unlocking the Mysteries of the UniverseIt is, we think, a way of getting 2. Understanding and a lot of hard work done Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet 3. Valuing World Cultures 4. Understanding the American Experience

What is a Commons?A set of resources maintained in the publicsphere for the use and benefit of everyone

What is a Commons?

What is a Commons?Unnecessarily restricted content is like avirus that spreads through the internet,making the intellectual propertyprovenance of each generation of newideas 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

12 ingredients of a commons1. Federated (brings things together) Smithsonian Collections Search Center http://collections.si.edu/search/

12 ingredients of a commons2. Designed for YOU Every user is a hero in their own epic journey Via Kathy Sierra

12 ingredients of a commons3. FindableiStockphoto

12 ingredients of a commons4. Shareable Brooklyn Museum http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/157722/Morris_Kantor

12 ingredients of a commons5. ReusableExample: Flickr

12 ingredients of a commons6. Free “Free resources are crucial to innovation and creativity” Lawrence Lessig

12 ingredients of a commons6. FreeThe Internet Archive “we provide free access” http://www.archive.org

12 ingredients of a commons7. Bulk download Powerhouse Museum http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/download.php

12 ingredients of a commons8. Machine readabledata.gov

12 ingredients of a commons9. High resolutionNASA http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/panoramas/spirit/

12 ingredients of a commons10. Collaboration without control

“we are living in the middle of a remarkable increase inour 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

12 ingredients of a commons10. Collaboration without control MIT Open Courseware http://ocw.mit.edu

12 ingredients of a commons11. Network effects OpenStreetMap http://www.openstreetmap.org/

12 ingredients of a commons12. The Public Domain

The Public Domain is not “some gummy residue left behind when all the good stuff has been covered byproperty law. The public domain is the place where we quarry the building blocks of our culture.” James Boyle

12 ingredients of a commons… and a 13th? http://www.weather.gov/disclaimer.php

12 ingredients of a commons… and a 13th? TRUST

12 ingredients of a commons… and a 13th? TRUSTWhy 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, afolk song, a fossil of a bug, a lecture, or a community—we are asking people to trust us.Were not going to scam you. Were not going to violate your privacy. Were going to behonest about what we do and dont know, were going to be open to new ideas andpoints of view, were going to help each other figure out the world, and these promisesare good forever.Museums are among the few organizations in our culture that enter into those kinds ofpromises, and we take that responsibility very seriously.

13 ingredients of a commons• Federated • Bulk Download• Designed for users • Machine Readable• Findable • High Resolution• Shareable • Collaboration w/o• Reusable control• Free • 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: HelpingMakers Get Stuff Done http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/museums-and-the-commons- helping-makers-get-stuff-done-677905Imagining a Smithsonian Commons• http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-versionPrototyping the Smithsonian Commons http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-prototyping-the- smithsonian-commons

What is a Commons?Text version of this talk: Museums and the Commons: HelpingMakers Get Stuff Done http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/museums-and-the-commons- helping-makers-get-stuff-done-677905 Also, a videoImagining a Smithsonian Commons• http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-versionPrototyping the Smithsonian Commons A 15-minute talk at the Walker Art Center http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-prototyping-the- Video (starts at minute 12): smithsonian-commons http://channel.walkerart.org/play/opening-the-field/ Updated 6/21/2010

Thank You! Michael Edson @mpedsonhttp://slideshare.net/edsonm

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Making and the Commons, for Europeana's "European Cultural Commons" conference :: Michael Edson

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