Going Mobile at Balboa Park

Going Mobile at Balboa Park Nancy Proctor http://MuseumMobile.info Visitor-led mobile content & experience development

Housekeeping
Questions & comments:
Hashtags: #mtogo #bpocmob
http://wiki.MuseumMobile.info
Ideas for continuing the discussion:
http://tatehandheldconference.pbworks.com
https://mcn2010.pbworks.com

Theory: audience-led mobile content & experience design
Practice : key messages, audiences & their questions
Pulling it all together : building your mobile interpretation plan
Agenda for Today:

In 15 seconds or less:
Introduce yourself by name and affiliation;
Read your burning question or issue.
Introductions

Interpretation is essential
Why mobile?
A new approach to designing mobile interpretation and experiences
From headphones…
Part 1: Theory 40 slides to microphones

Part 1: The Theory Audience-led mobile interpretation design

Opening our eyes

Interpretation is as essential to the Museum as cutlery is to a banquet Beth Lipman, Bancketje (Banquet) 2003 

If the Museum doesn’t provide it: Beth Lipman, Bancketje (Banquet) 2003 
Some visitors may bring their own,
Some may eat only the finger food,
Some may choose another restaurant,
Many will go away hungry,
feeling uninvited and unwelcome .

Tate Modern’s Principles of Interpretation
Interpretation is at the heart of the gallery’s mission.
Works of art do not have self-evident meanings.
Works of art have a capacity for multiple readings; interpretation should make visitors aware of the subjectivity of any interpretive text.
Interpretation embraces a willingness to experiment with new ideas.
We recognise the validity of diverse audience responses to works of art.
Interpretation should incorporate a wide spectrum of voices and opinions from inside and outside the institution.
Visitors are encouraged to link unfamiliar artworks with their everyday experience.

Where is interpretation?

Photo by Mike Lee, 2007; from SAAM Flickr Group Audiences now access our content through a wide range of platforms beyond the museum’s walls and website

The Museum has become a Distributed Network

The Museum is transforming from Acropolis…

… into Agora

A Community
A Site for Socratic Dialogue
A Marketplace for Ideas & Interpretations
An Opportunity for Civic Engagement
A Social Media Platform
The Museum as Agora is:

Why mobile?

Mobile web use is surging
More than 63 million people accessed the Internet from their mobile devices in 2009 - double the number until Jan 2008 Comscore March 2009.
Nielsen reports surge in mobile web use driven by “Women, Teens, and Seniors” 30 September 2009 http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/mobile-web-up-34-percent-july-09/
English-speaking Hispanics are ardent users of wireless access, whether that is on a handheld device or a laptop computer. Overall, English-speaking Hispanics are the heaviest users of wireless onramps to the internet. Pew Internet Wireless Internet Use April 2009
6 October 2009 Nancy Proctor, proctorn@si.edu DRAFT

April 2009 study by Pew Internet & American Life Project:
32% of Americans have at some point used the internet on their mobile device.
19% of Americans said they had yesterday accessed the internet on their mobile.
50% say it is very important to them to have mobile access in order to stay in touch with other people.
46% say mobile access is very important for getting online information on the go.
17% say mobile access is very important to them so they can share or post online content while away from home or work.
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/12-Wireless-Internet-Use.aspx?r=1
6 October 2009 Nancy Proctor, proctorn@si.edu

Convergence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8 6 October 2009

At least half of the Museum’s platforms are already mobile. 6 October 2009

Fraunhofer Institute, Kunstmuseum Bonn: ‘Beat Zoderer’ exhibition (Listen project) 2003 Fraunhofer Institute, Kunstmuseum Bonn: ‘Beat Zoderer’ exhibition (Listen project) 2003 It’s NOT about the Technology

Thinking outside the audiotour box Means thinking about content & experience

Recent Research & Resources http://wiki.MuseumMobile.info/research
2009
CHNM survey on Museums and Mobile Adoption
Learning Times International Survey on handheld use in museums.
2008
Whitney Museum of American Art: Audio Guide Technologies Survey Final Report
2007
Matthew Barney: Multiplatform interpretation at SFMOMA
La Placa Cohen Culture Track 2007 (with Antenna Audio)

Who is your target audience?
Tied to mission & key messages
What are the desired outcomes? What do we want them to know, think and/or feel?
What platforms do they already use? How do they use them elsewhere & what excites them?
Traditional audio tours
Cellphones or smartphones
Podcasts
Mobile social media: SMS, Twitter, FB…

A Minority of Visitors Use Technologies in the Galleries 2006 study by Randi Korn & Associates at SFMOMA BUT they use technology everywhere else: WWW = Whatever, Whenever, Wherever

Question mapping in the gallery: What do they want to know?
Semi-structured interviews
FAQs and comments cards
Questions posed to staff…

Collecting questions…
Online question collection:
Specialized Q&A services, e.g. AJOA
Comments on social media sites
Include audience research in order to segment
Go deeper with more experienced museum visitors
Where are visitors not being served by existing interpretation?

Organize & Filter
Group questions:
Thematically
By object
By location
Prioritize by mission and key messages
Prioritize questions that elicit great stories

Organize questions Painting Sculpture Folk Art Architecture Dramatic change in style in display Why multiples of same work? Lures aren’t art Story behind the architecture Triple painting?! Memory vessels: idea, ones with stones… Glad you dead you rascal you?!

Which content modalities?
+ - + - + - + - + Soundtracks
o o o o Soundbites
x x x x Interactives
| | | | Links
^ ^ ^ ^ Feedback
§ § § § Social media
Narrowcast/ Offline or Networked Networked only

Soundbite Sample

Soundbites
Are ‘atoms’ of information.
Commonly called ‘stops’ – or ‘starts’!
Facilitate going deeper on a specific object/subject.
Usually require a visual (actual object or image).
Can be collectable & portable to other platforms e.g. via bookmarking, saving or sharing.
Can be reused across the museum’s analog & digital platforms as well as those of third parties.

Soundtrack Sample

The Soundtrack
Recalls original ‘linear’ audio tours.
Provides a sequential narrative and contextual information: tools for understanding the principles of the displays, both in the gallery and beyond .
Immersive, but may be divided into a number of connected segments.
‘ Downloaded’ for audiences on-site and beyond.
Like a good album, book or catalogue, should be possible to enjoy over & over again…

Soundtracks & Soundbites Combined

ArtBabble: the ideal interface http://www.artbabble.org/video/meet-william-christenberry

Identify soundtracks & soundbites Painting Sculpture Folk Art Architecture Dramatic change in style in display Why multiples of same work? Lures aren’t art Story behind the architecture Triple painting?! Memory vessels: idea, ones with stones… Glad you dead you rascal you?!

Architecture Tour
History of the building, style, architect
----------+--------------+------------------+--------
O O O
Tiles Skylights Ironwork

Folk Art Tour
Why is folk art, art?
----+-------------------+------------------+-----------
/ / /
O O O
Lures Memory vessels Glad you dead…

How best to tell the story & create the atmosphere?
Monologue:
Artists & curators
Staff
Related experts
Professional narrators
Reinactments/ plays
Interview
Dialogue
Vox pop / comments
Music

Knowledgeable or insightful – trusted
Relates to the mission or key messages
Good communicator with target audience
Engaging voice
Confident manner
Makes it relevant
Facilitates the desired outcomes
Who best to tell the story?

The audiences talk back
Comments and questions (audio/text/links)
Search-research-share
Bookmark/Email/SMS to self
Collect (MyCollection, ArtStream)
Share (Twitter, Facebook, SMS)
Forum
Voting (show the polls!)
Quizzes/games (multimedia/SMS)
Mobile giving

The right vehicle for your content Audio player Multimedia player Cellphone Personal media player Smart Mobile Browser phones Mobile App Soundtrack x x (x) X X X Soundbite X X X x X X Interactive X X X Link X X x Feedback X X X Social media X X

Platform considerations
What does your content map require - ideally?
What kind of location-based/content triggering solution do your visitors & experience need – really ?
What do your sponsors/funders require?
Can you support network connectivity at your site?
Can you manage user-generated content?
Can you support multiple platforms?
Users’ own devices or supplied on-site?
Can you update content across the platform(s)?
What is your upgrade path (in at least 2 year increments)?

Mission: SI: Increase and diffusion of knowledge. AA: Be the resource and facilitator for experiencing, understanding and engaging with American art in the US and the world. Objectives: Repeat visitors; Membership sales; Integration into the curriculum

Break Please have paper & pen/pencil when you return for Part 2…

Part 2: The Practice Key messages, target audiences & their questions

Identify your target audience(s)
Explorers
Facilitators
Experience seekers
Professionals/Hobbyists
Rechargers
Virtual visitors
Non-visitors
Falk’s Identity Segmentations

Key messages
Please list one to three main ideas visitors will take away from visiting the site or exhibition. What objects or didactic components of the presentations will help them learn this?
Describe the rationale and originality of the presentation. Is the site or exhibition bringing new scholarship to the field, exposing an under-recognized subject, etc.? Why is this presentation important now?
Please note other interpretive components at the site that should be considered (labels, docent tours, audio tour, in-gallery videos, interactive feature, blogs, etc.). Are you aware of existing media created by other organizations that address the key messages/topics of this presentation?
SFMOMA's "Interpretive Goals Questionnaire” http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/samis/samis.html

Working with objects & questions
Display your object
Write down questions about your partner’s object
Ask each other your questions
Analyze the kinds of questions: can you group them? E.g.
Formal
Functional
Existential
Relational
Emotional
Roughly what % of questions fall into each category?

Question-mapping

Lunch & On-site Question-mapping

Part 3: Putting it all together Building your mobile plan

Set up your worksheet
Mission
Objectives
Target audience(s)
Key messages

1. Organize & Filter Questions
Group questions:
Thematically
By object
By location
Prioritize by mission and key messages
Prioritize questions that elicit great stories
10 min

2. Identify content modalities
+ - + - + - + - + Soundtracks
o o o o Soundbites
x x x x Interactives
| | | | Links
^ ^ ^ ^ Feedback
§ § § § Social media
Narrowcast/ Offline or Networked Networked only 10 min

3. Choose your voices
Monologue:
Artists & curators
Staff
Related experts
Professional narrators
Reinactments/ plays
Interview
Dialogue
Vox pop / comments
Music
10 min

4. Engage in a dialogue
Comments and questions (audio/text/links)
Search-research-share
Bookmark/Email/SMS to self
Collect (MyCollection, ArtStream)
Share (Twitter, Facebook, SMS)
Forum
Voting (show the polls!)
Quizzes/games (multimedia/SMS)
Mobile giving
10 min

5. Choose your platform
What does your content map require - ideally?
What kind of location-based/content triggering solution do your visitors & experience need – really ?
What do your sponsors/funders require?
Can you support network connectivity at your site?
Can you manage user-generated content?
Can you support multiple platforms?
Users’ own devices or supplied on-site?
Can you update content across the platform(s)?
What is your upgrade path (in at least 2 year increments)?
10 min

Mission: SI: Increase and diffusion of knowledge. AA: Be the resource and facilitator for experiencing, understanding and engaging with American art in the US and the world. Objectives: Repeat visitors; Membership sales; Integration into the curriculum

http://picasaweb.google.com/anup.rao/HaifaAkkoIsrael#4954285426665324562 From Headphones to Microphones: From “ we do the talking” to “we help you do the talking.”

A Smarthistory Dialogue

http://museummobile.info/ wiki, blog & podcasts
Conferences:
Museums & the Web, April 13-17, 2010, Denver, CO
Tate Handheld Conference Sept 2010, London & 2008 archive: http://tatehandheldconference.pbworks.com/
MCN Oct 28-30, 2010, Austin, TX
Online HandheldConference archive (June 2009) & forthcoming: http://www.handheldconference.org/program/
Beth Harris & Steven Zucker, SmartHistory http://SmartHistory.org
Koven Smith: http://prezi.com/67549/ & http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/smith/smith.html
SFMOMA (Peter Samis & Stephanie Pau): http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/samis/samis.html & http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/samis/samis.html
Nancy Proctor: [email_address] @nancyproctor http://MuseumMobile.info
With many thanks to Kate Haley-Goldman for her help with this paper!
Opportunities to continue our work:

Going Mobile at Balboa Park

by nancyproctor on Feb 17, 2010

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