museumsandtheweb.com - content

Interface content: it's not the size, but how you use it

athibodeau — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:18:08 +0000

MW2012

Keywords:

content strategy

Keywords:

content

Keywords:

apps

Keywords:

mobile

Keywords:

Interface

Abstract:

Museums are increasingly looking for ways to connect to people on their own devices inside and outside of the museum space. Smartphones and tablets have helped drive the popular use of apps, traditional websites often don’t translate well to mobile devices, and increasingly, people are looking for a more immersive and creative online experience. Partly in response to this, in the past few years a new range of museum apps have cropped up.

This means that interface content should be more important to museums than ever. The problem? People often overlook it or don't know how to apply content strategy practices to constrained copy. This workshop will introduce techniques specifically aimed at addressing button text, links, labels, menus, interactive components and other pieces of interface content.

We’ll look at ways that people concerned with content can ensure that their interface copy is clear, user friendly, predictable and consistent with their organizational voice. Although this will be most applicable to those who are thinking about developing their own app, it will also be useful for anyone who is interested in improving the smaller, interface elements of their website.

Through practical examples and hands-on exercises, we’ll cover:

What is content strategy and how can it be applied to micro content
What to include in a micro-content style guide
How to audit and track interface content
Creating strong and clear calls to action on buttons and links

This workshop will be designed with the under resourced museum professional in mind. This means people who often act in multiple roles including wordsmith, educator, technical expert and possibly even user experience designer. No prior experience necessary. Bring your questions.

Type:

Mini-Workshop - teaches something or explores approaches

Site:

https://facebook.com/amy.thibodeau

Authors:

Amy Thibodeau

Mini-workshop:Drop-In Clinic for Building Better Mobile Projects, From Processes toOutcomes

SandyGoldberg — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:13:51 +0000

MW2012

Keywords:

mobile

Keywords:

technology

Keywords:

project management

Keywords:

content

Keywords:

organisational change

Keywords:

discussion

Abstract:

The leaders of this workshop have worked across museums of every kind in theUS and the UK, helping client museums develop frameworks for technology,experience design, and content in mobile projects. This mini-workshop will runas a drop-in clinic; bring your mobile “aches and pains,” whether you’re part ofa mobile project team, or looking for insights into the process. The leaders willhelp diagnose problems and propose prescriptions for healthier processes andoutcomes.

In this clinic, you’ll learn how to build healthy habits for mobile projectmanagement, technological decisions, and for stretching creative muscles.The mini-workshop leaders will share their experiences, tips and tricks forgetting to “YES” from various stakeholders, collaborators and different museumdepartments, and steering them towards more creative outcomes than they mighthave envisioned at the project’s inception.

Type:

Mini-Workshop - teaches something or explores approaches

Mini-workshop: Drop-In Clinic for Building Better Mobile Projects, From Processes to Outcomes

Authors:

Sandy Goldberg

Lindsey Green

Alyson Webb

Mixing It Up: Developing and Implementing a Tagging System for a Content-Rich Website Which Uses Aggregated Content from Multiple Sources

alewis — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:47:49 +0000

MW2011

Andrew Lewis, Victoria and Albert Museum, United Kingdom

http://beta.vam.ac.uk

Abstract

In 2009, the Victoria and Albert Museum website had a very large amount of in-depth content including museum content and user-generated features. This presented a challenge in connecting users with site content that they may not have been aware of. In January 2011, the Museum made live a beta version of its redesigned website which aimed to address this issue. The new site moved away from a hierarchical navigation model to a dynamic concept-driven one. This aimed to collect and present content relevant to the user's subject of interest. A central method in achieving this was the development of a tagging system to classify Web content so that it would aggregate as required. This paper looks at the reality of developing and implementing a bespoke tagging system that could be effective for users yet simple enough to use for staff who are not specialist classifiers. The human issues for staff in developing the system are discussed, with some early results and feedback from the early beta-testing period. It is hoped the paper will offer insight into what happens in practice when using tagging for real on a live website.

Keywords: tagging, content, staff, classification, management

Program Item Reference:

Mixing it up: Experiences of managing and displaying aggregated content from multiple sources, combining editorial selection, subject classification using tagging and automated retrieval.

The Trade in Digital: Partnerships and Collaboration in the Content Economy

Timothy Hart — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:35:08 +0000

MW2011

Timothy Hart, Director Information, Multimedia and Technology, Museum Victoria, Australia

Abstract

In our massively connected world content is indeed king and museums if they take a close look, will find themselves, well placed to deliver highly sought after content to an ever expanding audience. Collaboration is emerging as the critical enabler in taking full advantage of the opportunities now available for the delivery of museum online content. Collaboration needs to be both internal and external. The number and quality of national data services now operating is making museum content available for researchers and the public in numbers and types unimaginable only a few years ago. The ground work is laid in most large museums to allow them to participate in providing access to the full range and wonder possible in museum generated content.

Keywords: collaboration, collections, content, data, partnerships, opportunity, economy, research, Australia

Program Item Reference:

The Trade in Digital: partnerships in the content economy

Launching the MFA Multimedia Guide: Lessons Learned

jenabah — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:45:39 +0000

MW2011

Jenna Fleming, Phil Getchell and Jesse Kochis, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA

http://www.mfa.org

Abstract

In this paper, we share lessons learned from the MFA's transition from audio guide to multimedia guide in the fall of 2010. Learnings include prototyping and evaluation; device and equipment selection; content production and content management; and operational considerations.

Keywords: mobile, iPod, audio guide, content, multimedia

Program Item Reference:

Launching the MFA Multimedia Guide: Lessons Learned

Enhancing Tour Guide Systems with Semantic Knowledge Management Platform

Tzenia Kotzafiliou — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:19:19 +0000

MW2011

Keywords:

content

Keywords:

Multimedia Tour

Keywords:

multimedia tour

Keywords:

knowledge

Keywords:

CMS

Keywords:

mobile guide

Keywords:

iPhone apps

Abstract:

The rapid adoption of the Internet, mobile devices, smart phones, touch boards and social networks enable new methods for enhancing visitor experience in museums, galleries, thematic parks and cities through the use web and handheld device applications. However, the transition from legacy tour guides to the new media era, pose key challenges in adapting, managing and publishing content to multiple evolving platforms as well as fitting it to address the diverse target audience needs. There is no cross platform content management system with the ability to link the right content to different visitor profiles and interact with them real time.

Based on years of research of cultural institutions’ exhibitions seeking a balance between the transmission of curatorial expertise and the ways different visitors interpret their intentions, we developed XENAGOS, a holistic knowledge management platform for dynamically adapting and publishing content to any media based on visitor profiles and real time feedback. The platform links existing collection management systems and tour-guide apps in a way that allows curators to store their knowledge in a semantic database, manage exhibit correlations to other exhibits, or exhibition space, or administer exhibits and tours relative to visitor preferences, educational level, time constraints, etc. As a result, XENAGOS allows cultural institutions to preserve investment in content despite the changes of technology and media platforms.

During this session we will present to you use cases of actual deployments covering different peculiarities and needs of museums and how XENAGOS addressed them beyond expectations from tour guide initial adoption to production. Topics will include, content knowledge structuring, management and upkeep; cross platform publishing; smart phone provisioning for way-finding apps or 2-way dialog with visitors; and real time statistics gathering and reporting. All of the above highlight XENAGOS scalable foundation philosophy supporting a vision for transitioning the vast heritage of cultural institutions into a knowledge management and proliferation platform for the new media era.

Type:

Exhibitor Briefing - discuss your product. Confirmed Exhibitors only

Enhancing Tour Guide Systems

Authors:

Serafeim Katsikas

Tom Katsioulas

On Being Open [Introduction]

jtrant — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:30:53 +0000

Trant, J., & Bearman D. (2009). On Being Open [Introduction]. Museums and the Web 2009. Proceedings.

The Web site Development Process at the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles

ngamble — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:02:35 +0000

Levy, W., Barrett C., & Thompson S. (2002). The Web site Development Process at the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles. (David Bearman, Trant, Jennifer, Ed.).Museums and the Web 2002: Proceedings.