Social Mobile Museums: The Missed Opportunity

Frankly, Green + WebbCreated for: Presented by: Date issued:GEM London Social Media Lindsey Green 21st June 2012

Frankly, Green + Webb

The Missed Opportunity


We know that audio and multimedia guides helps

visitors

We should start using smartphones to deliver guides

How did we start thinking about using smartphones in museums?

Yes, but those devices are

expensive and a real pain

Plus everyone has one of those smartphones now

Yes, we should make an app

that’s a guide…


The secret is…

Audiences aren’t using their own smartphones to take guides


Audiences use guides if you hand them out on smartphones.

Audiences are using smartphones to do other things than take your guide.

But why?


“I don’t want to run my

battery down”

“I’m not sure how to get access

to the wifi”

“What guide?”

“I don’t think I have enough time to download”

“I’m not really sure what I’m

meant to do”

“I don’t want a guide”


“I don’t want to run my

battery down”

“I’m not sure how to get access

to the wifi”

“What guide?”

“I don’t think I have enough time to download”

“I’m not really sure what I’m

meant to do”

“I don’t want a guide”


We have a choice to make:

•Ignore that people are using smartphones

•Change our approach to mobile interpretation beyond the audioguide model


Yes, we should make an app that’s a guide…Could we do this

differently?


Look at how we think about mobile compared to our visitors…


Delivery platform for:

Information

Photos

Videos

Stories

Facts



These are the functions the adults are using…

Share

Create

Plan/Check

OfCom Communications Market Report: UK 4 August 2011


Create

Share

Entertain

These are the functions the teens are using…

OfCom Communications Market Report: UK 4 August 2011


My phone is where I go to…

travelmaps

web

weather

games

puzzles

news

web

emailsresults

photo

video

draw

record

videos

games

music

talk tweet

listen

microblogcomment

location

Entertain

Share stories and ideas

Play

Plan

Create

Check


Your audience see this as multifunction tool – for doing what they want to do.


What if we see smartphones just as a tool to facilitate those behaviors?•Share stories and ideas•Entertain•Planning•Checking•Playing •Creating



Create Activity

Developing a series of cards each with a drawing/photography/recording activity

Sharing stories

Place a label next to an object - conversation or activity in response to a specific object - tweet or add comment to microblog

Experience

Spotify or YouTube for the curators playlist to add music – ask the visitors to add own suggestion

Create

Develop a handout for activity around investigating colour or form, create personal response

Check

Structure a research activity around investigation on the mobile web

Plan

Add a note to wall panel to identify where a particular event happened or object is. Show a journey


Create Activity


Sharing stories


Experience


Create


Check

Structure a research activity around investigation on the mobile web


Create Activity


Sharing stories


Experience


Create



Create Activity


Sharing stories


Experience



Create Activity


Sharing stories



Create Activity



Opportunity for organisational learning?


Look at available

data

Bring in stake-holders

Experiment

One of the advantages of this approach is…

It’s easy to get started


Look at available data

•Does your audience profile match smartphone users

•Website analytics – are mobile users hitting your site


Bring in stakeholders

•Can you make others feel more comfortable with the technology?

•Find the advantage for those facing the visitor.

•Develop a clear policy on phones for visitors and visitor facing teams

•Will there be negative impacts on them?

•How to deal things when they go wrong?


Experiment

•Asking/Making/Directing

•Organisational voice

•Using devices in your organisation

•Different responses

•Feedback into your institution


Make sure you collect more data

•Survey monkey works with mobile

•Monitor the services you ask them to use…


A New Opportunity


e: [email protected]

t: @FranklyGW

Images thanks to Flickr Commons:

The hidden treasures of the Worlds Public Archives

http://www.flickr.com/commons

Created for: Presented by: Date issued:GEM London Social Media Lindsey Green 21st June 2012


If you’re wanting help thinking more about this and the other opportunities and challenges around digital interpretation – get in touch.

Our work is a mixture of:

•Design research for helping understand how audiences use digital technologies in the cultural heritage sector

•Strategic planning and concept development - for funding applications such as heritage lottery funding

•Implementation i.e getting in up to our elbows in order to help these types of projects get up and running. Find out more at:

http://www.franklygreenwebb.com

Education

Social Mobile Museums: The Missed Opportunity