open panic open web, open data

My name’s Russ

I work at the Australian Museum in Sydney

Three years ago on this stage, I presented a weird idea for a website

… based on - breaking up hierarchy - tag-driven assets - user involvement

So, what happened?

It has taken four years

It has involved lots of discussions and arguments

It has also changed shape many times

But, surprisingly we’re almost there !

Why share this story? (especially when the site isn’t even live)

I live in two worlds: - commercial - public service

The commercial world is often about rapid development and quick results

The public services world is about analysing, justifying and accountability

While our “public service” process has been frustratingly slow…

… it has had one unexpected benefit

Having to defend every aspect has meant that we had to carefully think about many issues before launch

Hopefully, some of the lessons we’ve learned will be useful to others in similar situations

quick background

The Museum’s website was first created in 1994

Our first major build was launched in 1997

The site then grew enormously…

Currently around 43,000 pages and 16 sites

trouble in paradise

The situation has gradually deteriorated over the last five years

Hard to maintain

Users can’t find content easily (On our site or via Google)

Users can interact more fully elsewhere

The Museum website is not as relevant any more

time for change

Four years ago we went to management with an idea

To build a rich, interactive website

Focusing on four key objectives :

Allow users to communicate more easily with the Museum and each other

Allow users to share their own content

Provide new and easier pathways to content

Allow all staff to publish easily

management reaction

Initial shock! Then: - one year of silence - one year of discussion - one year of planning - one year to build

how will it work

The overall concept

Only three main levels in the site: categories, sections, assets

Every piece of content will be an asset - no more “web pages”

There will be a range of different types of assets (page, fact sheet, image, movie, event, media release, publication etc)

Assets and sections can exist in multiple locations

Every asset will have five different navigation methods

Header Navigation Navigation Section Other sections Author tags User tags Footer links Related links

What’s in it for users

Comment on any asset

Add tags to any asset

Author and user tags will provide new methods of navigation and richer search

Collect favourites

Create favourite sets and share these sets with others

Upload their own images, movies, audios, comments, stories

Apply for expert status

help monitor answer questions encourage discussion create content

The system will allow users to move seamlessly through any type of content

What’s in it for staff

Every staff member will become an author

Publish assets directly (after training)

Own their assets

Create their own focused, passionate and personal blogs

Microblog instant news

The system will allow authors to publish all content via one simple system

some questions

When we go live, can we all sit back and relax?

No, we will need to work very hard to build the site and grow communities

Will we moderate comments and tags?

No, we will use a simple login , then allow all comments tags, uploads

Will a forced login alienate some users?

Yes. However, we will review the process after a 6 month period

What if information in comments is wrong?

Clearly identify author comments

Clearly identify author and user tags

Allow the community to self-moderate

Allow community to report abuse

What about tags that are irrelevant?

Just because they seem irrelevant to you, does not mean they are irrelevant to others

Who will deal with comments?

Authors responsible for comments associated with their assets

What if we are overwhelmed with comments?

We wish! We are going to have to work our arses off for every comment

Invited experts can assist staff in managing the community

Should staff be allowed to publish directly to the site?

In some cases assets need to be approved but in most cases YES !

Should we have a single voice?

A single corporate voice for some assets, different voices for types of assets & individual voices for blogs

How will we encourage tags and comments?

answer comments - encourage comments - reward good behavior - promote outside site - eventually let go

answer comments - encourage comments - reward good behavior - promote outside site - eventually let go

a summary

The journey has been slow and painful

But this slowness has has also had some unexpected benefits

Despite the frustration, it’s also been lots of fun

Enjoy your journey!

thank you