This document discusses transforming museum users into collaborators. It outlines SMK's "SMK Open" initiative from 2016-2020 that took a radically open approach, involving users in all stages with almost no restrictions. It acknowledges barriers like losing control but provides solutions like moderation strategies. It presents a scale from traditional to integrated approaches and tasks attendees with listing collaboration ideas for their own institutions. The goal is creating a sense of "we" by turning customers into friends responsible for the institution and its community.

1. The Social
MOVEMENT
We are Museums
7-6-2016
Transforming museum users into collaborators
Jonas Heide Smith, Head of Digital

2. "He that has once done you a kindness
will be more ready to do you another,
than he whom you yourself have
obliged."
- Benjamin Franklin

3. SMK - National Gallery
of Denmark
Established late 1800s
In central Copenhagen
260.000 works of art
spanning 700 years
170 employees
75% government funded
400.000 visitors/year

4. SMK Open
2016-2020
Radical openness
All platforms
No restrictions (almost)
Users involved in all stages

6. What you need...
Build a "we"
Courage to lose control
Internal understanding of the value of user contributions
Revised performance indicators (?)
A human face

7. What you (may) get...
Actual contributions
A constant feedback panel
Attention / marketing
General support in times of crisis
A new status in the community

8. @spyingcph @remosteen @mmhenriksen
@missmillemaria @hkristia @hvenegaard @remosteen
@kattensspind

11. Traditional
The museum decides
what is done and how
it's done.
Audience members
are recipients.
Demand-based
The museum surveys
users and adapts to
expressed
preferences.
Audience members
are empowered.
By special invitation
The museum conducts
controlled co-creation
experiments.
Audience members
become contributors.
Integrated
Audience involvement
a natural part of
museum practice.
Audience members
become collaborators.
The International Museum We-ness Scale
TM
Task: List 5 barriers and ways to overcome them

12. We-ness initiatives
Barriers
Fear of losing control
Fear on inviting the wrong content
Other stakeholders (partners,
volunteers, staff, founders) may
feel deprived of their role
May exclude non-guests even
further
May scare traditional users
Understanding how to contribute
Solutions
Formularing clear contract
internally
Start trusting the audience
Communicating best practice
and case histories
Moderation strategy
Scaffolding

20. Where to start?
Task: List 5 concrete ideas for collaboration that will work in your institution
Activities should be:
- Relatively free (i.e. uncontrolled)
- Easy to do
- Done as collaborations (where possible)
- Measurable
- Communicated
- Framed as experiments (possibly)
- Exclusive experiences (without excluding anyone)

21. Collaboration initiatives
Type here... Type here...

22. Creating a sense of "we" is an investment in legitimacy. It
turns customers into friends who feel responsible for the
fate of your institution. And it shows that you care not only
for your collection but also for your community.
Make friends, we all need them.
We are (all) museums.

23. Jonas Heide Smith
jhs@smk.dk
@jonassmith