Michael Edson @ UGame ULearn: The Smithsonian Commons Prototype

The Smithsonian CommonsVast, Findable, Shareable, Free

for UGame ULearn

UGame Ulearn 2010TU Delft Library and DOKLibrary Concept Center, Delft, NL3/31/2010

Michael EdsonDirector, Web and New Media StrategySmithsonian Institution, Office of the [email protected] | @mpedson

mailto:[email protected]

Preamble

• Twitter @mpedson • UGame Ulearn twitter hashtag #ugul10

Flickr: Ugame• Slides and documents:

http://slideshare.net• Smithsonian Web and New Media Strategy wiki:

http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com• Coming soon: http://www.si.edu/commons• Note: I’m not an official spokesperson for the Smithsonian

Institution !

http://slideshare.net/

http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/

The Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Strategic Plan

Four Grand Challenges

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough


1. Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

2. Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

3. Valuing World Cultures4. Understanding the American

Experience

Four Grand Challenges





Experience

Four Grand ChallengesStrategy

Schmatergy! We’ve seen strategy

before!

A GenericHumbug





Experience

Four Grand ChallengesStrategy

Schmatergy! We’ve seen strategy

before!

A GenericHumbug

No! This is about solving big hairy problems— ”work that matters” (via @timoreilly)

Empower citizen-scholars!

Blend assets w. new technology!

Solve big complex problems!

Interdisciplinary collaborations and

partnerships!

InterdisciplinaryCollaborative

Entrepreneurial

“Innovative informal education” !!!

“Use our vast resources for the public good in

the midst of unceasing change”

This is big, audacious, important stuff.

This is work!

This is relevance earned through a job well done.

First order questions

• Where is this work going to take place?• What kind of organization, infrastructure,

platforms will be needed to support it?• What is the organizational change model?

How will change happen? What will it look like?

First order questions

• Where is this work going to take place?• What kind of organization, infrastructure,

platforms will be needed to support it?• What is the organizational change model?

How will change happen? What will it look like?

“You know Michael, this strategy is just the part of the iceberg you can see above the water. Everything below the waterline is change management.”

Leo MullenCEO, Navigation Arts

Something strange is going onwithin our institutions

Chris AndersonFree, the Future of a Radical Price

Chris AndersonFree, the Future of a Radical Price

Huh!? Duh!

Huh!? Duh!

Thermocline(a metaphor)

Stratified water temperature acts as a barrier

Knowledge, communication,action models are different

Management

Practitioners


Messages get distorted, lost


Thermocline Issues define the change environment and explain why the

commons is such an important idea


Urgency

Thermocline Issues

Complacency

John P. Kotter, A Sense of Urgency

In exchange for publicfunds and public trust,

museums shoulddo work

for society

Thermocline Issues

Museums are for…

What could you accomplish with$1b /year for 50 years?

Institutions built onthe model of

social entrepreneurship:

Think Big,Start SmallMove Fast

Thermocline Issues

Institutions built onthe model of

enduring wisdom*

We can move slowlybecause wisdom endures

*Via Peter Schwartz, GBN

Thermocline Issues

Focus on innovation/discovery

inside the Institution

Catalyze innovation/discovery

outside the institution

Joy’s Law: no matter who you are, most of The smartest people

work for someone else

Thermocline Issues

You can managetechnology and content

separately

The most interestingecosystems are

in “border habitats”between the two

Thermocline Issues

Fixation on Web 2.0and Social Media

Thermocline Issues

The Web is a bigger megaphone

The Web is a fundamentally new

way of gettingthings done

Thermocline Issues

“we are living in the middle of a remarkable increase in our ability to share, to cooperate with one another, and

to take collective action, all outside the framework of traditional institutions and organization …Getting the

free and ready participation of a large, distributed group with a variety of skills has gone from impossible

to simple.” Clay Shirky

Thermocline Issues

Make money, nowBuild an ascendant brand

by“doing work that matters”

Tim O’Reilly http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/01/work-on-stuff-that-matters-fir.html

“Once [the Smithsonian] has increased user base 100x or more, many other possibilities open”

Carl MalamudPublic.resource.org

http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/01/work-on-stuff-that-matters-fir.html

Thermocline Issues

The Desktop Internet 3.5 Billionmobile subscribers

Thermocline Issues

The Desktop Internet 3.5 Billionmobile subscribers

Moore’s Law meansthese things will be 20X

More powerful in a few years...It’s going to get FREAKY!

Gardeningchange model*

Build a platform &cultivate Web 2.0

As a way of thinkingabout work

Thermocline Issues

Manufacturingchange model

“Lets Build Product Xand be done with it”

* Via Josh Greenberg, NYPL

Your users are heroesIn their own

epic journeys

Thermocline Issues

Provide servicesto passive audiences

Smithsonian Web and New Media StrategyThe updated Learning Model

Old Learning Model

New Learning Model

Old Learning ModelNew Learning Model

Your users are heroesIn their own

epic journeys

Thermocline Issues

Provide servicesto passive audiences

Kathy Sierra

Thermocline Issues

These thermocline issues..Urgency Velocity Web 2.0 fundamentalsThe mobile InternetMoore’s lawand the changing workplace…

Thermocline Issues

…should be at the core of any responsible discussion of public institutions—knowledge institutions—and our role in the culture.

Thermocline Issues

…should be at the core of any responsible discussion of public institutions—knowledge institutions—and our role in the culture.

What is our work, and how should we do it?

Relevance

Relevance

Note: more detail, text, footnotes, links related to the following slides are in the paper Imagining a Smithsonian Commons• http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-version

http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-version

Relevance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5x4Sga0d1s

Q: Have you ever visited a Smithsonian Web site?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5x4Sga0d1s

Relevance

Unexpected Rivals in Google Search

Google Images

Wikipedia

Ocean.com

Discoveryeducation.com

NASA

Enchantedlearning.com

Relevance

Unexpected Rivals in Reach


si.edu

discoveryeducation.com

ocean.com

Google ImagesWikipedia

Ocean.com…so much more reach than SI

that we don’t even show up on the graph…

Relevance

Unexpected Rivals in Reach (July – Sept, 2009)


si.edu


ocean.com

Relevance

Unexpected Rivals in Reach (July – Sept, 2009)


si.edu


ocean.com

Enchantedlearning.com is a two person team,

with more online reach than the world’s largest museum and research

complex!

Relevance

Traffic Trending Down

si.edu – 4% reach Wikipedia.org + 8% reachMoMA.org + 12% reachnpr.org + 20% reach

Relevance

Brand Identity

Brandtags.netWe are the 560th of 928 brands

Relevance

We’re competing with… everybody!

Relevance

We’re competing with… everybody!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXahIoXMw8&playnext_from=TL&videos=wEF3FIOIjaU

http://flickr.com/search/?q=spaceshipone&w=all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXahIoXMw8&feature=related

http://flickr.com/search/?q=spaceshipone&w=all

Relevance

The Demographic Tsunami

Ages 12-17

Ages 18-29

Ages 30-38

Ages 39-48

Ages 49-60

Ages 61-69

Ages 70+0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90Online Content Creation by Age

Internet users

Per

cen

tag

e

November 2007 data: Pew Internet and American Life Project

Relevance

The Demographic Tsunami“Everything we hear from people we interview is

that today’s consumers draw no distinctions between an organization’s Web site and their traditional bricks-and-mortar presence: both must be excellent for either to be excellent.”

Lee RainiePew Internet and American Life Project

Relevance

Collaborative Model

“we are living in the middle of a remarkable increase in our ability to share, to cooperate with one another, and

to take collective action, all outside the framework of traditional institutions and organization …Getting the

free and ready participation of a large, distributed group with a variety of skills has gone from impossible

to simple.” Clay Shirky

Relevance“The Smithsonian is not

an Institution that understands me”

From focus group withBay Area millennials, 2009

“Surprise me!”

Relevance




Relevance




Do we behave, manage, and sp

end money

as if we believe this is

true?

Enter Web and New Media Strategy

Smithsonian 2.0

Process: Workshops to Wiki


Process at-a-glance“The main intent of the workshops is to move relevant

information to the wiki where it can be openly evaluated, sifted, weighed, and considered by all.”


As participants are speaking, what they’re

saying is being typed and saved on a public wiki


“What I say really matters (because I know it will be

seen/heard after the meeting ends)”

Process: Workshops to Wiki“Not everything that matters will get said in the next hour by the people in this room.

The wiki encourages thoughtful synthesis and new

ideas”

• Faster than traditional committee-driven process (Time is the enemy)

• Increase size of brain trust (Joy’s Law)• Improve the odds for change• Improve odds for execution (public promises not easily

forgotten) • Outside champions more likely to support “commons” goals

than status-quo insiders• Walking the Talk vis-à-vis crowdsourcing and innovation model• “You get what you practice”

The advantages of public, transparent, and fast

Very important slide!

Web & New Media Strategy

External Mission

BrandLearning

Audience

Internal InterpretationTechnologyBusiness ModelGovernance

This is a document that is supposed to DO WORK

Aspirational and achievable

Web & New Media Strategy Structure

• Three Themes– Update the Smithsonian Digital Experience– Update the Smithsonian Learning Model– Balance Autonomy and Control within SI

• Eight Goals External Mission

BrandLearning

Audience

Internal InterpretationTechnologyBusiness ModelGovernance

Each Goal has specific program, policy, and tactical recommendations


The strategy talks about an updated digital experience, a new learning model that helps people with their "lifelong learning journeys," and the creation of a Smithsonian Commons—a new part of our digital presence dedicated to stimulating learning, creation, and innovation through open access to Smithsonian research, collections and communities.


What is a Commons?

A set of resources maintained in the public sphere for the use and benefit of everyone

What is a Commons?

What is a Commons?

The Anti-Commons…

What is a Commons?

An organized workshop where raw materials can be found and assembled into new things.

What is a Commons?

Note: more detail, text, footnotes, links related to this topic are in the papers Imagining a Smithsonian Commons• http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-version

and

Museum Commons: A professional interactionhttp://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/museum-commons-a-professional-interaction-museums-and-the-web-2010-michael-edson-and-rich-cherry



http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/museum-commons-a-professional-interaction-museums-and-the-web-2010-michael-edson-and-rich-cherry



12 dimensions of a commons


1. FederatedAssets from separate databases or repositories are presented together, irrespective of what organization or department they came from


2. Designed for usersToolsets to allow specific user groups to effectively use the combined collections and data


3. FindableSearch and findability are strongly emphasized


4. ShareableThe architecture of the commons emphasizes persistent URL's and linking/embedding tools that enable and encourage sharing


5. Reusable: Intellectual property policies are uniform and clearly stated


6. FreeAssets are free to access and use


7. Bulk downloadThe commons platform provides for bulk download of assets


8. Machine readableAssets are presented in machine readable formats


9. High resolutionAssets are made available in high resolution and not unnecessarily restricted.


10. Collaboration without controlThe commons platform, through a combination of the attributes above, enables collaboration and research without the necessity of formal contracts or agreements.


11. Network effectsCommons platforms are designed to take advantage of network effects from user contributions


12. The Public DomainParticularly for collecting institutions, understanding and advancing the public domain (U.S. law) or “CC-0” (Creative Commons “zero”) is, or should be, a core activity


Later, encapsulated as Vast, Findable, Shareable, Free… (stay tuned)

How do we talk about this?


What does this mean for staff and users?


What does this mean for staff and users?

A lot of Thermocline topics here, which we know can be confusing and devisive…

Huh?Let’s Build a

Prototype!

What’s a Prototype?

An audio-visual presentation that shows the attributes of a fully completed Smithsonian Commons as seen through the eyes of our users.

Let’s Build a

Prototype!

What’s a Prototype?

Push / pull between understanding what this thing is and understanding how to sell it

Let’s Build a

Prototype!

http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com

The Smithsonian Commons Will…

http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Experience+Brief+-+Addendum+-+The+Smithsonian+Commons+Will

http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Experience+Brief+-+Addendum+-+The+Smithsonian+Commons+Will

Conceptual Development: “Low Rez” Wireframes

Conceptual Development: Paper Prototypes

To maximize speed and promote the values of prototyping (as opposed to polished end-product development) we put rough process videos (via YouTube embeds), storyboards (via Scribd embeds), scripts, notes, comments…all on a public wiki. For example: http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Experience+Brief+-+Story+2+-+Teacher-Family

The Attributes of the Smithsonian Commons

VastAnyone in the world can have access to the whole Smithsonian, including access to deep collections and the vitality, curiosity, and creativity of our staff, visitors, partners, and our extended global community. The Smithsonian is at the center of an amazing network of ideas, collections, and people. No other institution can offer so much to so many.

FindableThrough the Smithsonian Commons the vastness of the Smithsonian can be discovered because search, navigation, and the overall user experience is about helping people to find the content they’re interested in, in the ways they expect to find it, including through recommendations and comments by staff experts - - and visitors - - external search sites, and social networks.

ShareableSharing is the foundation of collaboration and learning. The Smithsonian’s impact can be greatly amplified if what we have and what we do is easy to share. The Smithsonian Commons is about catalyzing creativity and innovation by encouraging the use and re-use of our collections and expertise for work and pleasure, in social networks, on mobile phones, and in the classroom, workshop, and laboratory.

FreeThe Smithsonian is built on the idea that the tools of discovery and knowledge creation should be available to all, and the Smithsonian Commons will be built on the idea that free, trusted, high-quality resources can create a lot of good in the world…

Art is the lie that helps ustell the truth

Pablo Picasso

The prototype…

Screen capture from Smithsonian Commons prototype(coming soon @ http://www.si.edu/commons)

http://www.si.edu/commons(coming soon!)

http://www.si.edu/commons

Trailhead

• The Smithsonian Commons Prototype– http://www.si.edu/commons (coming soon!)

• Strategy Process– http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-mcn-09-smithsonian-web-and-new-media-strategy-drivers-pr

ocess-and-execution• Strategy Wiki

– http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com• Imagining a Smithsonian Commons

– Paper, ppt, link to video at http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/cil-2009-michael-edson-text-version

• Formal paper about the strategy & process– http://

www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-the-smithsonian-web-and-new-media-strategy-what-it-is-how-we-made-it-and-why-it-makes-a-difference-3656578

• Paper about the attributes of a commons– http://

www.slideshare.net/edsonm/museum-commons-a-professional-interaction-museums-and-the-web-2010-michael-edson-and-rich-cherry

• Thermocline, process maturity, other presentations/papers– http://slideshare.net/edsonm

• Twitter: @mpedson, #si20

http://www.si.edu/commons

http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-mcn-09-smithsonian-web-and-new-media-strategy-drivers-process-and-execution

http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-mcn-09-smithsonian-web-and-new-media-strategy-drivers-process-and-execution




http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-the-smithsonian-web-and-new-media-strategy-what-it-is-how-we-made-it-and-why-it-makes-a-difference-3656578






Thank You!!!

Michael Edson @ UGame ULearn: The Smithsonian Commons Prototype

Technology

Transcript of Michael Edson @ UGame ULearn: The Smithsonian Commons Prototype