The document discusses the evolution of mobile tours at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) since 2008, emphasizing the shift from leasing devices to empowering museums to create their own content and utilizing multiple platforms. It highlights the challenges in hardware distribution and the importance of content design for enhancing visitor experiences. The SFMOMA case study illustrates their collaboration with vendors to produce mobile content and the evolving visitor preferences towards using personal devices for tours.

1. When last we met…

2. Four Tests in Three Summers: Assessing visitor preferences in handhelds at SFMOMA Peter Samis Associate Curator, Interpretation San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Tate Handheld Symposium • 5 Sept. 2008

3. NEXT STEPS [Then:]

4. Purpose-built or Visitor-supplied ? Controlled platform Hi-fidelity audio, video & interactivity Free of associations & hassles of home & office Only about the art Focused, optimized for tour experience Rewrites the economic model: No need for museum to lease fleets of players No need to staff and sell players to visitors Free to visitors More casual but Quality of experience cannot be assured Questions we have now:

5. Does that mean we bypass the bells and whistles of Flash and the iPhone ?

6. Or do we opt for that expressive power and continue to supply the hardware on the old lease contract model ?

7. I, for one, no longer believe it will all sort itself out… “ in two years.”

8. Two years later…

9. When it comes to the World of Apps, the old lease contract model appears dead. And a new model hasn’t been invented yet.

10. The Grail: 1. A single CMS that publishes to multiple custom interfaces: In-house multimedia tour iPhone/iPad app Android app Platforms to come… 2. An affordable, practical device & distribution infrastructure that ensures equal access for all visitors, tech-savvy or not

11. What Museums have learned since 2008: We can create our own content—& enlist the help of script-writers & sound designers to do so We’re being empowered to publish it to multiple devices by a plethora of new mobile CMS vendors

12. But we haven’t figured out the hardware/distribution model.* Especially for blockbusters. * and this used to be the profit center for Antenna & Acoustiguide!

13. What was once a monolithic business model:

14. Has exploded into its component parts:

15. Has exploded into its component parts: [Fill in the matrix with the museum of your choice!] Your App Here? Completely outsourced Completely outsourced Completely outsourced Completely outsourced Completely outsourced Museum with Vendor Museum with Vendor Museum with Vendor Museum with Vendor Museum with Vendor Museum alone Museum alone Museum alone Museum alone Museum alone Mktg, Sales & Distribution Hardware Provisioning Publishing to devices Content: Media Production Content: Script Development

16. SFMOMA’s current permutation: SFMOMA with NOUS-guide SFMOMA SFMOMA SFMOMA Completely outsourced Completely outsourced Completely outsourced Completely outsourced Completely outsourced Museum with Vendor Museum with Vendor Museum with Vendor Museum with Vendor Museum with Vendor Museum alone Museum alone Museum alone Museum alone Museum alone Mktg, Sales & Distribution Hardware Provisioning Publishing to devices Content: Media Production Content: Script Development SFMOMA with Earprint

17. Case Study: What it looks like when one museum takes this on.

18. 2010: A rare opportunity to focus on the permanent collection

19. Jan 2009: We set to work. Artwork selection & content audit: Making Sense of Modern Art SFMOMA Artcasts Artist interviews Public programs Outside sources (e.g., Skowhegan Archive, Art21 etc.), and of course existing Antenna stops Hans Haacke, News as installed at SFMOMA in The Art of Participation

20. The question, always, is one of content design. Object : Viewer : Gallery Context Ranjani Shettar being interviewed in front of her installation Sing Along

21. We had chosen two able partners: NOUSguide in Vienna & Earprint in S.F.

22. Nous-Conductor software - CMS Interface design collaboration Programming support Custom iPod cases, lanyards, & charging carts Extending content to new platforms: iPhone, iPad & Android apps Brainstorming acoustic treatments Recording curators on-site in galleries, talent in studio Mentoring on “writing for the ear” Sound design & engineering Producing some stops altogether

23. NOUS-Conductor offered us flexibility & ease in adding new content Stephanie Pau reviewing a screen with Alex Wolf during training

24. As we collaborated with Vienna on user-friendly screen designs. Tim Svenonius wth a screenful of template design mock-ups

25. Meanwhile, we were bringing together the curators in the galleries and recording them…

26. One person started for each piece; others were free to respond or augment. What’s going on in this piece? What do you see that makes you say that? Sometimes they had a hard time answering in such concrete terms…

27. And at other times senior & junior curators sparked and riffed off each other. “ It’s like being in art history class!” “We rarely get to spend that much time looking at things.”

28. Content & screens were assembled…

29. Focus Group Findings People love a short stop followed by the Go deeper option. Casual & conversational tone works… First person, too. Visitors say they don’t want to hear from “any Joe Schmo.” Keypad may be easier than cover flow

30. 2010 Mobile Tour evaluation…. (Top box %) Made visit much more enjoyable… Strongly recommend… Very satisfied… Very easy did to use… Q. Guide Ratings Note: Percentages represent the highest rating Made artwks much more meaningful… Mobile Tours Impact A Visitors Experience F US I ON R ESEARCH + ANALYTICS

31. Q. . How did the Mobile Tour impact the amount of time you spent in the museum today? Mobile Tour Impact on Time Spent in Museum Mobile Tours Also Impact Time Spent F US I ON R ESEARCH + ANALYTICS

32. Q. Would you prefer to take a mobile tour using a device provided by a museum or your own personal device? 2008 Vs 2010: Mobile Guide Device Preference Mobile Device Preferences Are Shifting Among Guide Users and Non-users Mobile Tour Users Non Mobile Tour Users F US I ON R ESEARCH + ANALYTICS

33. Q. How likely would you be to pay $1.99 to download a SFMOMA Mobile Tour app on your own personal device? Likelihood to download a Mobile tour for $1.99 Non-Traditional Guide Users Offer the Largest Potential for Mobile Guide Downloads/Apps F US I ON R ESEARCH + ANALYTICS

34. Logistics

35. A new definition of “Asset Management”

36. Systems start out orderly…

37. And turn random!

38. App as space to try experiments

39. Use case 1: social media

40. Use case 2: augmenting our fleet of in-house players when we run out!

41. Making it Sustainable

42. Bootstrapping in the Mobile space = taking on added responsibilities Research Scripting Design Production Deployment Distribution Upkeep Evaluation Fundraising

43. Education/IET Curatorial IT Design Visitor Services Marketing & Comm CAO/Finance Development And intense inter-departmental collaboration:

44. This is not our experience!

45. In our effort to provide multimedia interpretation to our visitors free of charge, we have only begun to tackle the logistical infrastructure at which our vendors are past masters !

46. There’s an opportunity here for the right vendor. Who’s going to take it on? Probably someone who understands the hardware/ distribution business model.

48. Thank you.