A New Dynamic – Technology & the Social History Curator

Nick Poole, Collections Trust

11.07.09

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Alongside the established and continuing historiographies of politics and government, religion, thought and economic growth, were to be placed histories of family structure, marriage and childhood, adolescence, old age and death; of social stratification and class relations; of popular attitudes and values, literacy, crime and social control; of gender relations and sexuality; of kinship and neighbourhood, deference and resistance, work and leisure, geographical and social mobility, living standards and consumption and the social basis of participation in religious and political movements.’

The challenge to Social

Historians is to assimilate,

digest, interpret and reflect back

to society the great socio-

cultural, demographic,

economic and consumer shifts

which shape contemporary

culture.

Synopsis...

The rise and rise of new technologies, allied to Globalisation and profound shifts in consumer behaviours and attitudes, are creating powerful currents in society, including:

• Social collectivism

• Digital (dis)enfranchisement

• Social media

It’s not so much computers which are changing society, it’s

a) what people are doing with them and

b) the extent to which barriers to creation and distribution of content have evaporated

“Technology changes. People don’t”

Technology by itself can’t cure society’s problems, but it can be disruptive – levelling out information asymmetry, equalising consumer and corporation.

It can also create new problems

In parts of rural India and Africa, the Internet has bypassed the desktop and gone mobile...farmers can share prices, children can learn, people can mobilise & lobby

How will your kidsConsume culture?

And their kids...?How will your kids consume culture?

How will your kidsConsume culture?

And their kids...?At the moment, it’s still

‘do it online or do it offline’, in 10 years

time, it will just be ‘do it’

How will your kidsConsume culture?

And their kids...?

People are plural – occupying many roles, personas, tribes, jobs

and managing an incredibly complex set of reference points and

channels

The wired citizen...

Personal electronic devices are convergent and mobile

Domestic Internet use is at critical mass

Ultraportable laptops are free with your pay-as-you-go broadband

Digital switchover has happened

Turning off FM

The New Social Contract...Everybody has a basic human right freely to participate

in the cultural life of their community.Many users are moving from passive consumption to

active co-creation. The process of interpreting and assigning meaning to

objects is becoming more open and democratic.A profound challenge to 100 year old notions of

academic objectivity and curatorial authority.

“The Future of Museums lies on

the Internet”09.07.09

Three questions:

How do we curate the torrent of ephemeral bits which make up peoples lived experience

What is the proper role of a ‘curator’ in this kind of co-creative environment

How can technological tools, methodologies and philosophies assist us in the day job?

How do we curate

mass-participation

and online culture?

...Yesterday, a fire broke out at 76 Dean Street, Soho at about 16.30...

...first tweet on Twitter 16.30...

... within 10 minutes, there were 97 pictures of the fire on Flickr...

...first tasteless joke about Dean Street fire on Twitter 17.14...

We don’t!

There’s too much of

it – we have to collaborate with

the public & trust

history to curate

itself

What does it mean to be a curator in this environment?

It’s not an either/or, it’s a both/and

The role of curator as mediator, journalist, documenter, interpreter and trusted guide is more important than ever before, but the idea of ‘authority’ is coming under severe test.

It’s easier for Social History curators!

A New Contract with Our Users

1. You will talk, we will listen

2. They’re your collections

3. Many voices is better than one

4. We will come to you

5. We will provide a platform for culture, it’s not our job to construct it

6. You have a right to culture

How can social historians harness the power of these new tools?

By using them...

The society which social history reflects is changing fast

Technology is both driving that change and helping to document it

We have both an unprecedented challenge and an unprecedented opportunity.

Jimmy Wales – “the greatest achievement of Wikipedia is that in future, history will no longer be written by the victors."

Nick PooleChief ExecutiveCollections Trust

www.collectionstrust.org.ukwww.collectionslink.org.ukwww.openculture.collectionstrustblogs.org.uk

nick@collectionstrust.org.uk

01223 316 028