Cultural Digital newsletter #91
Cultural Digital
Hello
This week there are lots of people having opinions about things. Plus some VR/AR stuff, and people talking about things they've launched. But first, trippy random number generators…
The Hardest Working Office Design In America Encrypts Your Data–With Lava Lamps. Cloudflare's 'Wall of Entropy' sits in their reception area and is made up of 100 lava lamps that act as random number generators. Smart.
Ed Vaizey: the tech revolution is barely touching the world of culture – and it should be. This turned out to be an unpopular view in some quarters. Which (not for the first time) I find bizarre and frustrating. Every time someone says "more could be done" there's outrage from people involved in doing said thing. But a) these comments are most likely addressing the people not yet on board, and b) surely a more productive response would be "damn right - how can we make that happen?".
Why don’t nonprofit sites convert? "What goes wrong is that nonprofit stakeholders are so passionate about their mission — a passion that only deepens, the longer they work there — that they design an experience which reflects their passion for the mission, instead of one which maps to a member’s mental model". To massively over-generalise, I think websites in the cultural end of the nonprofit world tend to hit this issue when they start talking about their education and fundraising work. Btw, this piece is from Jeffrey Zeldman who, if you don't know the name, looms large in web history.
Should we make an app? Lindsay from Frankly, Green + Webb giving a really good, balanced view of how apps are used in museums. "What I want to explore here is the area where the majority of organisations have invested, where the most challenges are experienced and where we’re beginning to see the most backlash – using mobile as a tool to augment the physical experience".
Digital Works #3: Robots, humans, segmentation and investment. A write-up from the recent event, with slides from Sarah Gee on segmentation and individual giving, Will Stanley on crowdfunding at the Science Museum, and Emma Forward at ecommerce at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Labs - Library of Congress. "A place to encourage innovation with Library of Congress digital collections". Come to think of it, I've never seen these things referred to as 'laboratories'. It's always the shortened form. What's up with that? Or is it 'labradors' and I've been missing the point entirely?
Virtual and augmented reality
Virtual Reality Sessions: Lessons learnt for the cultural cinema sector. "What role could cultural cinemas and independent arts venues play in the presentation of VR? Are our audiences interested in this rapidly evolving medium and if so, how do they want it framed?" Good stuff from the Pervasive Media Studio.
VR meets the Smithsonian. "An elaborate VR pilot program sheds light on what the museum experience might look like for the next generation".
Why should musicians care about Virtual Reality? I'm not sure this post quite answers the question it poses, but it does have a good overview of some of the projects out there.
Inside Facebook’s plan to turn the world into the MoMA. "Augmented reality art, which you can only see through special apps on your phone, is coming. And with it, questions about what’s real and what’s not".
People talking about things they've launched
Museum Nice and Simple Ticketing — front-ending Tessitura from ACMI
Deeper, more meaningful art-experiences with digital about the Clyfford Still Museum's new collections site
The National Trust on its digital roadmap (and moving from Waterfall to Agile)
Jobs
There are digital-related jobs available at the Natural History Museum, Kew Gardens, and National Museums Liverpool.
Seen anything worth sharing with others? Pass it on, spread the word, and perhaps even make someone's day.
Have a great week.
Chris Unitt
When not writing emails like this, I run a digital analytics and user research consultancy called One Further, working with some truly excellent cultural organisations.