MENAlab-A consortium of websites dedicated to bringing the history of the Middle East and North Africa to a wide audience

http://middleeastnorthafrica.com/

Format: Podcast program/blog

Mission: “A weekly internet radio program in English and Turkish offering interviews with scholars and researchers on emerging topics in the study of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East.”

Administrators: Chris Gratien (Georgetown), Emrah Safa Gürkan (Georgetown)

http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/

Format: Podcast program/blog

Mission: “Creating podcasts on the latest research on Eurasian borderlands”

Administrators: Michael Połczyński (Georgetown), Paulina Dominik (SOAS)

www.thewildfield.com

Format: Podcast program/blog

Mission: blogs and podcasts “that offer a fresh blend of content related to the history, society, and culture of North Africa.”

Administrators: Graham Cornwell (Georgetown)

http://tajine.ottomanhistorypodcast.com

Format: Blog

Mission: “creating a storehouse of information for scholars researching the Middle East and the Islamic world at large”, acquainting scholars with archives, libraries and collections.

Administrators: Chris Markiewicz, Nir Shafir

http://hazine.info/

Format: Blog

Mission: “exploring the art and architecture of the Ottoman Empire and beyond, looking at the stories behind the buildings and objects that have been left behind”

Administrator: Emily Neumeier (U of Pennsylvania)

http://www.stambouline.com/

Format: Blog

Mission: Providing a venue for research on Polish-Ottoman/Turkish history

Administrators: Micheal Połczyński (Georgetown), Paulina Dominik (SOAS)

http://poloniaottomanica.blogspot.com.tr

Format: Blog

Mission: “a close to the source document blog displaying primary sources and archival materials intended for use by researchers”

Administrator: Sam Dolbee (NYU)

http://www.docblog.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/

Format: Blog

Mission: “bringing you a range of original, visually appealing and intellectually engaging maps harvested from archives and libraries around the world”

Administrator: Nick Danforth (Georgetown)

http://www.midafternoonmap.com/

Main Issues: Collaboration

• Creating a community of scholars that otherwise may not be able to work together

• Cannot be fully realized without a certain amount of direct contact

• Once started, space and time (to a certain degree) not necessarily a constraint

• Importance of cloud technologies, dropbox, etc.

• Coordination- release of material

Building a Team

Co-administration

Finding participants

Getting past the “fear factor”

Limiting and expanding participation?

Use(fulness)

Why are scholars doing this?

Utilizing media to disseminate research, ideas, documents that may otherwise go unnoticed, or that are not reaching potential audiences

Familiarizing our audiences and ourselves with a broad spectrum of research related to our fields

Bibliographies

Format

Building a website Blogger, Wordpress, Wikis, Databases

domain names, creating a brand (of sorts)

The learning curve: Identifying your interests, developing your skills

Audio vs. visual content

Costs

AdvertisementFacebook has been monetized

Equipment

Domain name

SoftwareMostly free

Content

What limits should be set? Ottoman History Podcast vs. The Wild Field

Vetting sources/contributors

Equipment, editing

Peer review?

Creating rubrics

Actual creation of content: Well, it’s a lot of work.

Dissemination

Building an audience: Advertisement (Facebook, Twitter, listservs)

Reaching an interdisciplinary, multi-national audience

MENAlab network advertisement

Built-in statistical analysis tools

If well produced and useful, content will probably appeal to audience

Produced in multiple languages

Intellectual Property

Why not affiliate with an institution?

legally “fair use” – material used for educational activities

Addressing the fears of participants – redefining intellectual space?

Timing

When is the best time to engage in these types of activities?

For various reasons, administrators are all PhD candidates or newly-minted PhDs

Staying current, staying alive

Utilizing personal networks

Future Projects

Utilizing crowdsourcing and cloud technologies to create online databases, pedagogical tools

Example: Ottoman Inscription Archive

The Ottoman Inscription Archive20

How do You Use the Ottoman Inscription Archive?.

1. Colntributor enters info into form on mobile device

3. Contributor views info

on mobile device map

• Sponsor: …

• Date: …• Photo: …

2. Contributor uploadsinfo to GISCloud

database

The Ottoman Inscription Archive21

OIA Database• Sponsor: …• Date: …• Photo: …• Translation:

…………

How do You Use the Ottoman Inscription Archive?.

1. Translator viewsinfo in databaseusing OIA website.

2. OIA administratorupdates database

3. Inscription scholaranalyzes info indatabase usingOIA website