28. Stay in touch.
Smithsonian Mobile
Daniel Davis
davisdan@si.edu
@bigenola
Smithsonian Crowdsourced Transcription
http://si.edu/mobile
http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Mobile
#SImobile & #mtogo
http://transcription.si.edu
Editor's Notes
Today I want to give you a little background on how the Smithsonian Mobile Strategies and Initiatives has been experimenting with crowdsourcing
The Smithsonian’s mission is the increase and diffusion of knowledgeand the interpretation of that vision through the lens of Smithsonian Mobileis to
Recruit the World to increase and diffuse knowledge And enlist collaborators globally
By collaborating with the people we serve, we’ll put the Smithsonian not just in people’s pockets and on their mobile devices; we will put the Smithsonian, its work, future and brand in their hands.
Chris Anderson picked up on this theme at the Smithsonian 2.0 conference, suggesting the “crazy idea” of working with citizen curators to turn the Smithsonian into a Wikipedia of the Physical World. In management, Joy's Law is the principle that "No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else,” attributed to Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy.
After thinking about this idea we realized that crowdsourcing at the Smithsonian is not really new – In the mid 19th c weather observations were submitted by telegraph to the Smithsonian, where weather maps were created. Back in 1858, Secretary Henry posted a daily weather map in the Smithsonian and this led to the development of the National Weather Service
The Smithsonian has long relied on volunteers to fill essential roles at our museums, zoo, and research centers. Digital technology allows us to expand our volunteer corps to include many more individuals who may not be able to work with us on-site. All they need is a computer and internet access.
In the museum community, mobile has developed out of the common practice of making available audio tours. But with the availability of these powerful mobile devices
we’re looking at how we can go from headphones …
to microphones. It’s about thinking outside the traditional way that we present information to our visitors
it’s going “From we do the talking to …
To we help you do the talking.”
Amy Sample Ward usefully identifies two different kinds of engagement of mass audiences:“Crowdsourcing invites diversity by encouraging anyone with an idea or interest to participateCrowdsourcing levels the playing field so it isn’t just your “favorites” or those you already know that get to play”http://amysampleward.org/2011/05/18/crowdsourcing-vs-community-sourcing-whats-the-difference-and-the-opportunity/
You’ve probably all seen some version of this pyramid, or an “engagement ladder” like this. It tells us that in fact the majority of that work is done by a tiny number of people at the top of the engagement pyramid: the specialists and enthusiasts in niche subjects.
And the base of the engagement pyramid is very broad. In the Wikipedia example, 400m visitors per month, compared to the 85,000 people contributing articles nearer the top of the pyramid.
Here the community base can be much narrower and still achieve the project’s desired results. The community has special skills and interests as well as a very well-developed network, so a smaller number of individuals in the eco-system get the job done.
To date we have launched more than 40 mobile apps and websites, and more than that number again of podcasts and other downloadable audio, video and text content that people are using every day on their mobile devices.Today I want to focus on a fewthat seek the visitor’s collaboration.
Leafsnap is an electronic field guide that we produced with University of Columbia and the University of Maryland. The thing that makes this guide so powerful is not the computing solution (though impressive), nor the database of leaves and tree attributes (though comprehensive), but rather the human ingredient that is required to make the app “work.” This is not point and click barcode scanner for trees. Rather, the aim is to engage you in your environment and help you both learn about the trees around you, and develop basic skills for recognizing new species. It recruits you to help the Smithsonian and the world with the important work of recording and tracking the biodiversity of the planet.
Your geo-coded photos of trees are uploaded to the project database and marked on a Google map in the app to add to our understanding of where different tree species are found, and in what quantities. This means the app produces true “network effects”: it gets smarter and better at the job of identification the more it is used and the more photos are added to the dataset. But most importantly, Participants learn in the most potent method possible: by doing – and not insignificantly they use their own smartphones as tools in the process.
This app is a digital mobile guide to all the Smithsonian where you can find out what’s on where, see the highlights and exhibitions, search our collection, access tours, podcasts and other apps. But we had a Practical problem: no budget for creating content or maintaining app. So we plan on building this app collaboratively, inviting users to add tips, comments and their own photos from their visits to help the next visitor. To date, it has very good download numbers but we haven’t seen the rich collaborative effort we were hoping for. We need to get better and articulate better what we would like people to do and make it easier for users to participate.
Created by the Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program within the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), "Stories from Main Street" is the Smithsonian’s home for stories from rural America. Local museums, historical societies, libraries and the public are encouraged to tell the Smithsonian about their unique experiences in America’s small and rural communities and share photographs, recordings and videos to help us all learn what’s special about your town.
228 available for playback through the app Tennessee and West Virginia have been our most active states where the exhibition is on tour. We had a single contributor talking about the town where she grew up in upstate New York in over ten entries!
None of these apps has had a dedicated marketing budget, but are actively trying to organize events to solicit contributions to AAS.
And then you get the zingers, that really make you sit up and realize the potential of Joy’s law: how the crowd can help the museum do a better job.
In July of this year, the Transcription Center was launched on the web in “open beta” mode. It currently features 33 projects contributed by AAA, ACM, FSG, NMAH, NMNH, SIA, and SIL. To date, more than 1100 volunteers have dedicated 1200 hours in total and transcribed over 1800 pages. We are learning a lot in this pilot phase and refining the system continuously. We look forward to expanding the set of collection materials offered on the site over the coming months.
our challenge now is to learn how to set goals for the numbers of “watchers” we need in order to have an engagement eco-system with a healthy number of contributors and even “curators” at the top of the pyramid. We’re working to figure out how to serve both on-site audiences and remote “visitors” who might download our apps but never visit the museum. We need to learn how to combine an appeal for both the “mass market” and our niche audiences – the communities who identify most closely with museums’ niche collections, content, and subject-matter expertise – in the same mobile experience and product.
