What Can The Social Web Offer The Heritage Sector?

1. http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/cultural-heritage/events/asva-2008/ What Can The Social Web Offer The Heritage Sector? Acceptable Use Policy Recording/broadcasting of this talk, taking photographs, discussing the content using email, instant messaging, blogs, SMS, etc. is permitted providing distractions to others is minimised. Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath, UK B.Kelly@ukoln.ac.uk Resources bookmarked using ‘asvra-2008' tag UKOLN is supported by: by-nc-sa This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 licence (but note caveat)

2. Contents Introduction • Introduction • About Me • About You • About the Talk • Web 2.0 Context • What’s It All About? • Overview •Example of Museum Blogs • We Should Be Doing This! • Reasons For Having a Blog • Policies & QA • Technical Infrastructure • Sharing Best Practices • Where Do Social Networks Fit In? • What are Social Networks? • Using Social Networks • Conclusions • What Next? • Questions

3. About Me Introduction • Brian Kelly: • UK Web Focus: a national advisory post • Long-standing Web evangelist (since Jan 1993) • Based at UKOLN, University of Bath, with remit to advise HE/FE and cultural heritage sectors • Interests include Web 2.0, standards, accessibility and deployment strategies • Blogger since November 2006 • Awarded the IWR Information Professional of the Year in December 2007 • Facilitated half day blog workshops on Using Blogs Effectively Within Your Organisation at Museum & Web 2008, Using Blogs Effectively Within Your Library at ILI 2007 conferences and Introduction To Blogs And Social Networks For Heritage Organisations yesterday

4. About The Talk Introduction • By the end of the talk you should: • Be aware of key blogging concepts and tool • Have learnt about ways in which blogs can be used within a museum environment • Have identified potential barriers to the deployment of blogs within an institution • Have heard about and discussed strategies for overcoming barriers • Have learnt about tools and techniques for measuring a blog’s impact and success. • Have heard about and discussed best practices for developing a sustainable blogging service • Have had the opportunity to make plans for launching or enhancing your blog service

5. About You Introduction • In brief: • Do you have a work-related blog? • Do you have a social blog? • Do you use social networks (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, …) for work-related purposes or for social purposes? • Is your organisation intending to set up a blog? • What you hope to gain from this talk?

6. Web 2.0 Introduction • What Is Web 2.0? • Marketing term (derived from observing 'patterns') rather than technical standards - “an attitude not a technology” • Characteristics Of Web 2.0 • Network as platform • Always beta • Richer user interfaces (e.g. AJAX) • Software that gets better the more people use it • Remix and reuse • Syndication (RSS) • Mashups Web2MemeMap, Tim O’Reilly, 2005

7. The Social Web Introduction • “The social web is a term that can be used to describe a subset of interactions that are highly social, conversational and participatory” Wikipedia • Characteristics • Trust and openness • The long tail • Architecture of participation: • Blogs & wikis • Social networks • Social sharing & tagging • Examples Of Social Web • Facebook, MySpace, .. • Twitter & Jaiku Web2MemeMap, Tim O’Reilly, 2005

8. Key Blog Concepts (1 of 5) • What Is A Blog? • A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. • Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Blog Concepts Wikipedia definition See also handout Note that blog software can be used for other purposes (including building conventional Web sites). We will focus on conventional understanding of a blog.

9. Key Blog Concepts (2 of 5) Blogging • Providing a Blog • Blogs can be provided by: • Installing software locally (open source or licensed) • Using an externally hosted service (Blogger.com and Wordpress.com are popular) • Using existing systems (e.g. a VLE, a CMS, etc.) which has blog functionality provided • Using social networking services (e.g. Facebook, MySpace) which providing blogging or similar functionality

10. Key Blog Concepts (3 of 5) • Reading Blogs • Blog readers can: • Visit a blog site (conventional approach) • Use an RSS reader, which can be web-based (e.g. Bloglines, Google Reader, etc.) or a desktop RSS reader (e.g. Blogbridge) • Via a blog aggregator – view posts from lots of blogs • Use a mobile device (e.g. PDA, mobile phone, etc.) • Have blog posts delivered using email Blog Concepts

11. Key Blog Concepts (4 of 5) • Finding Blogs • I find blog posts (including links to my posts) using: • Technorati • Google blogger web comments • Blog directories • Referrer links to my blog • … Blog Concepts Technorati is to the blogosphere what Google is to Web space

12. Key Blog Concepts (5 of 5) • Since last year we now have ‘micro-blogs’: • Form of blogging that allows users to write brief text updates (usually < 200 characters) and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. • These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including IM, SMS, email or the Web • Micro-blogging helps to focus on the question: is a blog a publishing or a communications tool? Twhirl Twitter app used at MW 2008

13. Museum Blogs • Typically “the museum Web site” is: • “official” • formal • marketing-driven and branded • impersonal • Whereas typically, “the blog” is: • “un-official” • informal • away from brand pressures • personal Museum Blogs Note see MuseumBlogs.org for a directory of over 270 museum blogs, an aggregation of 90,000+ posts and a search across the blogs Acknowledgment to Mike Ellis, Eduserv

14. Why Have A Blog? • Reasons individuals & organisations have blogs: • We want to communicate • We have something to say • Reasons museums might use blogs: • Blogs are great at the niche or long tail • Museums are great at the niche or long tail... • There is a compelling mystique about museums: • “why do they collect that and not this?” • “what made them choose that exhibition?” • “why is this particular object special?” • “how do they make their money?” • Museums want to connect with audiences … • … and blogs allow you to communicate with your most loyal and enthusiastic visitors Museum Blogs Acknowledgment to Mike Ellis, Eduserv

15. What Makes A Good Blog? • Want to be a successful blogger? • Blog with passion and because you want to! • Have a personality, a defined tone of voice • Find a niche (or at least well-defined) area of interest • Build your community: two-way engagement • Create well written, intelligent posts • Don’t just regurgitate, but find a new angle (be a thinker not a linker) • Link a lot, and read the links you link to  Museum Blogs Like all simple rules, these can be broken – but may be a useful guide for your planning Acknowledgment to Mike Ellis, Eduserv

16. Brooklyn Museum • Brooklyn Museum blog: • Engages with its audiences • Reflects museum’s mission • Part of wider use of Web 2.0 services (Flickr, …) Examples of Museum Blogs Papers about approaches published at MW 2007 and MW 2008 conferences

17. fresh and new(er) – Seb Chan / Powerhouse • fresh + new(er): • Technology focussed • A way of showcasing and “launching” • A “sounding board” for discussion • Strikes a good balance between institutional and personal Examples of Museum Blogs http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/dmsblog/ Thanks to Mike Ellis

18. English Cut • English Cut blog: • Not a museum blog! • It’s about a tailor! • It’s “behind the scenes” – all the things you wanted to know but never asked • Personal, engaging, different • Has caused considerable stir, not to mention traffic (and hence business...!) Examples of Museum Blogs http://www.englishcut.com/ Thanks to Mike Ellis

19. Bowers Museum Blog • Bowers museum blog: • Showcases the “object of the week” • Gives focus to posts • ...and a defined “check back in X days” • But not enough commenting or linking! Examples of Museum Blogs http://bowersmuseum.blogspot.com/ Thanks to Mike Ellis

20. Reflections • Thoughts on these examples: • Varieties of different approaches • Personal aspect is what makes these tick • .. finding out about the people behind the formality • Perhaps that is what people want from museums?! Examples of Museum Blogs Do you now what to set up your own blogging service?

21. The Purpose Of Your Blog (1) • Why have a blog for your museum? • See suggestions made at blog workshop at Museums and the Web 2008 conference Establishing A Blog

22. The Purpose Of Your Blog (2) Establishing A Blog

23. Reflecting Current Views • CEO at HLF argued the need to: • Demonstrate that users are “really … engaged” with digitised services • CEO at MLA, on a NOF-digi project: • “How they would engage with it?” Establishing A Blog Blogs would appear to provide a means (a) for users to engage with digital content and (b) to demonstrate such engagement 

24. Overcoming Barriers • You may need to identify & then overcome institutional barriers: • It’s a fad • It’s not our job • I’m too busy • It will bring the museum into disrepute • I feel threatened • … Establishing A Blog

25. Quality Assurance • Establish: • A blog policy covering scope, target audience, … • Editorial processes • Processes for handling problems • Identify & address training requirements • … Establishing A Blog

26. Technical Infrastructure • You’ll need to establish the technologies to be used: • In-house blog software or externally-hosted? • Dedicated blog software or functionality provided by CMS, … • Selection of the software Establishing A Blog

27. Measuring Impact • How do you: • Measure the impact of your blog service? • Use metrics to identify what works & what doesn’t? • Justify ROI? • Report to funders? • See Seb Chan’s paper at MW 2008 Establishing A Blog

28. Support for museum professionals A presence for your institution Social Networks • What can social networks such as Facebook offer? Social Networks • But note need to be aware of: • Privacy issues • Ownership of data • Dangers of data lock-in • … User groups – which may support you, or not See Introduction to Facebook: Opportunities and Challenges For The Institution slidecast on Slideshare for further information

29. Micro Blogs Micro Blogs • Micro blogging: • Started off as “what you are doing” • Restricted to ~ 140 characters • Popularity of use in Facebook status led to other applications • Find out what your friends & colleagues are doing, without the intrusiveness of email

30. Twitter Micro Blogs • Twitter: • Best known of the micro-blogging applications • Web application, with desktop & mobile clients • Uses: • Community-building • Support from your peers • Marketing • … See <http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/category/twitter/>

31. Video Blogs Video Blogs • Seesmic: • Described as a video micro blogging service • Web-based or desktop clients • Advantages: • Talking is easier (easier than writing) • Popularity of Web cams • Possible growth for mobile phone access

32. Building a Community • Social networks provide a great opportunity to support the development of a community of practice. • Variety of options: • Ning group(s) • Facebook • Blogs (comment on your peers) • … The social networks can be used to facilitate formal and informal contacts with your peers as well as engaging with your user community

33. Support For The Community • UKOLN is engaging with the cultural heritage sector: • Dedicated cultural heritage area of Web site • Briefing documents for culture heritage sector • Possibilities of joint project work • Exploring possibilities of workshops, etc. • … • Send email to b.kelly@ukoln.ac.uk

34. Conclusions • To conclude: • Blogs are starting to be used within museums and cultural heritage organisations • There’s a need to clarify the purpose and establish best practises • There may be institutional barriers to overcome • But it’s worth it – isn’t it?

35. Questions • Any questions or comments? • What will you do differently?