Web 2.0 and Social Networking for Museums, Libraries & Archives
Opportunities For Exploiting Web 2.0
A summary of the discussion groups on oppoertunities for exploting Web 2.0 at the UKOLN workshop on Exploiting the Potential of Web 2.0 and the Social Web organised on behalf of Renaissance West Midlands on 27th February 2009 is given below.
Note that the original source material for these notes is available on the workshop wiki.
Group 1:
- reaching broader audiences, different people that would otherwise find difficult to previously get
- a means of advertising, using different channels of communication
- using marketing tools as a functionality
- SN sites already have an associated audience already, for example, myspace and bebo targeting younger audiences. With facebook slightly older with 30+. Therefore good for research & audience development
- creating content is easy, and easy to put up, people are able to make themselves available to the information
- another way of seeing and ?saying a different side to the museum
- able to get profiles of those who is visiting & therefore the demographic
- natural reaction for most to 'click' and become a friend, sign up to posts, newsletters, etc.
- see what everyone else is doing and clicking because they have - almost viral in nature
- instant, does so much more than static website
- blog, chat, communicate
- very little training for staff, as well as users
- two-way interaction/dialogue which can improve service
- tap straight into source, i.e. you get to who you want to speak to, the curator etc.
- different style allowed, off-centre approaches more acceptable in terms of the conversational style, which you may not otherwise be allowed to do on the static LA site and corporate id. also in terms of the audience engagement, ability to draw people in
- educate people as to how this maybe used
- making collections accessible, think outside the box, non-conventional, artefacts posing challenges
- about getting things out there
- demonstrates diversity in ways of thinking
- have to let it grow and see what happens, very organic being
- provides alternatives and opportunities for the individual and the organisation
- free to express and comment
- do or die scenario, if you don't do it, someone else will
- global
- no financial outlay, cost effective, lots of stuff is free
- integrates with the traditional static website by filling in the spaces, grouping things together between the static sites
- integrates with exhibitions
- get feedback instantly, straight from the horses mouth, really opening up
- constantly changing and updating
- more accessible museum for everyone
- getting people through the virtual door, perhaps even the physical door
- invest in shared expertise
- big numbers to reach virtual visitor
- can be different type of user, for example, you can create, populate, grab&go, or critique, depending on your profile as a user
- dynamic
- interactive
- mapping artefacts [geographically] across the world from your collections at the museum, through google maps perhaps. may need a little bit of extra research to help it along
- connecting past and present
- organic
- able to put in non-standard titles to objects, avoid 'this is a 12th century example of ...'
- regularly tested by the users, if it doesn't work / not good they will not use it
- make use of tech. advancements quickly and tests them out by using them
- work with groups essential to museums
- open to everyone because it's developed by everyone
- variable ways of designing by content to reach people
- engaging with younger audience
Group 2:
Gave verbal feedback
Group 3:
Gave verbal feedback