‘Doing digital’ in Brighton

The digital evolution of the Royal Pavilion and Museums

Kevin Bacon

Digital Development Officer

I will not…

• Be an expert

• Show off

Who are we?

Royal Pavilion

Preston Manor

Booth Museum of Natural History

Hove Museum & Art Gallery

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery

What do we have?

World Art

Decorative Art

Local History

Fine Art

Natural History

Film and Media

Costume

Archaeology

A digital timeline

• 1995-2000: small scale digitisation / digital engagement projects eg. Brighton & Hove in Pictures, My Brighton

• c2000: first website, shared with Brighton libraries• 2003/4: first major programme of digitisation, combined with collection management

system• 2009: Introduction of existing website• 2009: Online booking introduced• 2010: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr• 2010: Introduction of Asset Bank DAMS and online Image Store• 2011: Appointment of Digital Development Officer• 2011: BrightonMuseums smartphone app• 2012: Map the Museum crowdsourcing project• 2012: You Tube channel• 2012-2015: ACE Renaissance Major Partner museum, with strong digital programme

Where are we now?

The uncooked middle

• Existing website is poor…• … but completing evaluation as preparation for tender

process

• Online collections site is inadequate…• … but working with Orangeleaf on new online collections

to launch in August

Lessons learned

• Need for agility in structures that support web presence eg. coherent partnerships, clear ICT support, good developer relationship

• Need to develop on basis of evidence

• Battleship vs speedboats

What drives digital development?

Digital Strategy

• No standalone explicit digital strategy

• Embedded in Forward Plan: Culture Connects

• Working on formal digital strategy this autumn

Towards 2020: Culture Connects

‘The Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove aims to inspire, illuminate and challenge its visitors and virtual users. It does this by

caring for and interpreting its outstanding collections and historic sites to support discovery, enjoyment and learning….

… It operates in a digital world making collections and knowledge available on line and providing a platform for user generated content

and debate.’

Strategic Aims

• Connecting people with museums and changing lives

• Developing and caring for cultural, scientific and natural resources (collections & buildings)

• Building a sustainable and resilient organisation

• Exercising leadership

Connecting people with museums

• Roll-out of wifi across sites

• Digital engagement projects with focus on young people and communities

• Promotion of open data and re-use of digital assets

• Evolving social media use

Developing collections and buildings

• Digitisation, particularly material stored at The Keep

• Collection of user generated knowledge

• Digital systems for archiving and record keeping

Building a sustainable organisation

• Staff training eg. DAMS, social media

• Marketing

• Online fundraising

• Heritage Learning Consortium

Leadership

• Work with Museum Development Service to support digital work in region

• Digital Development Assistant can offer onsite advice

• Sharing information, informal advice

http://bit.ly/18Ioqo1

BrightonMuseums app

• Basic brochure app

• Free app available for Android and iPhone

• Aimed at weekend visitors and regular users

• Features promotion for £1 off Royal Pavilion admission

• Developing as platform for gallery content eg. LGBT tour

http://bit.ly/18Ioqo1

BrightonMuseums appWhat works?

• Over 5000 downloads in 2012-13

• 30% conversion rate into paying customers

• Good user feedback

What doesn’t work?

• Android development a struggle

• No data on how people use the app

• Encouraging use as a gallery aid is difficult

www.mapthemuseum.org.uk/

Map the Museum

http://bit.ly/18Ioqo1

Map the MuseumWhat works?

• Kickstarted internal conversation about open data and crowdsourcing

• Some professional interest eg Museum ID article, conference piece

• Demonstrated that fast, hacky, iterative development can work for us

What doesn’t work?

• … disappointing level of engagement

• 90% of users from outside Brighton & Hove!

http://rpmcollections.wordpress.com/category/digital/new-cabinets-for-new-curiosities/

New Cabinets for New Curioisities

http://rpmcollections.wordpress.com/category/digital/new-cabinets-for-new-curiosities/

New Cabinets for New Curiosities

What worked?

• Pushed through first release of Airfix model open data and image sets

• Developed professional links supporting Brighton Digital Festival

• First piece of data driven digital art from collections

What didn’t work?

• Only one submission!

• Highlighted language and conceptual issues around museums and digital assets eg.’what are digitised collections?’

Blogger in Residence

‘I’m tapping away at the laptop when this dude comes up in a dark blue three-cornered hat, like a comedy Napoleon.... what we talk about is why the Royal Pavilion wasn’t built facing out to sea and what that means about George IV’s disinterest in nature, versus people’

Chris T-T

http://rpmcollections.wordpress.com/category/authors/guest-author/chris-t-t/

http://rpmcollections.wordpress.com/category/authors/guest-author/chris-t-t/

Blogger in ResidenceWhat works?

• Reach to non-traditional audiences through non-curatorial voice

• 4/5 top blog posts written by Chris

• Produced our first podcasts

• Huge interest in opportunity when offered

What doesn’t work?

• Some complaints about content

• Internal divisions over approach

www.murderinthemanor.org.uk

Murder in the Manor

www.murderinthemanor.org.uk

Murder in the ManorWhat works?

• Very good response from young writers

• Extremely good level of engagement: 30 mins average dwell time on tour, compared with 3 – 4.5 mins on other sites

• Site is used by schools

What doesn’t work?

• No hard evidence of success as marketing initiative

• Internal disputes over fictive content

• Visitor numbers a little disappointing although stable

Story Drop

How have we changed?

1. More data driven

• Increasing use of Google Analytics data in development decisions

• Moving away from focus on systems (eg. Mimsy XG) to thinking about more fluid use of data

• New online collections will have an API for data re-use. Encouraging use with Game Jam in September.

How have we changed?

2. More mobile friendly

• All websites now built on ‘mobile first’ basis

• Roll out of wifi to support mobile based social media use in gallery

• Mobile enhanced content in galleries

How have we changed?

3. More open to other voices

• Ongoing blogger in residence programme

• Developing model of young people creating rich, fun experiences to promote to schools

• Collection of user generated content through online collections

• Use of web media as a space for dialogue

How have we changed?

4. More playful

• Use of digital media to converge artistic practices around our collections and buildings

• Use of fictive approach in creating new content

• We consider the counter-curatorial!

Thank you

Kevin Bacon

kevin.bacon@brighton-hove.gov.uk

@fauxtoegrafik