museumsandtheweb.com - copyright

Radically Open Cultural Heritage Data on the Web

jonvoss — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 04:26:54 +0000

MW2012

Jon Voss, We Are What We Do, United States

http://lodlam.net

Abstract

What happens when hundreds of thousands of archival photos are shared with open licenses, then mashed up with geolocation data and current photos? Or when app developers can freely utilize information and images from millions of books? Like the web of documents that became the World Wide Web, a web of data is the goal of Linked Open Data. This paper examines how a cultural, technological, and legal environment is enabling a growing ecosystem of open historical data. We explore the fundamental elements of Linked Open Data, how a global community within libraries, archives and museums is beginning to play a critical role, and how we are moving toward broader adoption.

Program Item Reference:

Radically Open Cultural Heritage Data on the Web

The Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum

dylan_k — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:54:43 +0000

MW2012

Keywords:

Collections database

Keywords:

public access

Keywords:

Web 2.0

Abstract:

In 2011, the Walters Art Museum launched a major revision of its online collection. Alongside that launch, the museum removed copyright from the images of more than 10,000 artworks and provided those images for free download on the internet. The endeavor, sponsored by a grant from the NEA, is part of a larger rebranding effort to make all of the museum’s materials as widely accessible as possible, and friendlier.

The new website enables users to sort the collection in a variety of ways—by date, medium, place of origin and even the objects’ location within the museum. The search engine has been overhauled. Users can more easily add tags, or keywords, to the artworks. They can also curate their own collections of artworks on the website.

The new website included enhanced information about the artworks, such as conservation treatments and exhibition histories. This information will give visitors a better sense of the surprisingly active life of a museum object. This, and all information about the collection is dynamically published to the website, from the museum’s internal collections database, to ensure that the information remains as up-to-date as possible. This is of particular use to visitors curious about the current, physical location of an art object.

As always, we want to bring art and people together for enjoyment, discovery and learning. On the internet, we want to project the Walters’ artworks out into the world so that they are better known and can be shared with national and international audiences. We also want to facilitate study of the Walters’ artworks and encourage their use in educational activities.

Please take a look at our new website, http://art.thewalters.org and try the new features. We hope it will help you make some new discoveries.

Type:

Demonstration - show your project

MW2012 Demonstrations III

Site:

http://art.thewalters.org

Authors:

Dylan Kinnett

The Mystery of the “1940s Time Traveller”: The Changing Face of Online Brand Monitoring

david.harkness — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:22:40 +0000

MW2011

Published Paper:

The Mystery of the "1940s Time Traveller": The Changing Face of Online Brand Monitoring

Keywords:

viral marketing

Keywords:

virtual museum of Canada

Keywords:

CHIN

Keywords:

social media

Keywords:

intellectual property

Abstract:

In the spring of 2010, the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) at the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) witnessed a viral Internet phenomenon. One seemingly innocuous photo from the Bralorne Pioneer Museum in central British Columbia, hosted on our servers in a virtual exhibition exploded online. From one post on Digg.com, the image radiated across the web through personal blogs, popular news sources like Fark.com and Gizmodo.com, and across "traditional” social media networks. International media outlets were requesting information and interviews, and web-savvy entrepreneurs were asking for high resolution copies of the photo hoping to be the first to solve the mystery and capitalize on the image. CHIN’s Business Development and Marketing team followed the story online for months, an exercise which was instrumental in helping the organization develop a more comprehensive and integrated social media strategy beyond traditional channels and social media applications.

While CHIN watched the VMC visitation statistics climb exponentially, at the same time, it also recognized that sometimes what is put online can move out of a museum’s control, and that institutions may be sceptical in their approach to social media. In this case, as our intellectual property moved further out into the Web, the further it became its own brand, removed from both CHIN and the Bralorne Museum. This is particularly poignant in this era where the jury is still out on fair use and the posting of full resolution images online. Any museum would welcome this flood of conversational capital, but to monitor this wave and try to bring it back to the institution’s name can become an unexpected human resource cost and a frustrating exercise. Most importantly, the organization-models of larger institutions often do not allow museums to move at the speed of the conversations around them in social media channels, and keeping up with this minute-by-minute pace can be challenging.

This paper presents the mystery of the "1940s Time Traveller" as a case study in viral phenomena and social media, and their potential implications for and impact on museums and cultural institutions. Should museums remain focused on ownership and copyright, or would their collections and knowledge be put to better and broader use by opening up? It also explores online museum marketing in an era where the phrase "I Can Has Cheezburger?” can launch million dollar online companies, an aftershave ad campaign can crash YouTube, and a photo can propel a small community museum to international recognition.

Le mystère du « Voyageur dans le temps des années 1940 » : Le nouveau visage de la surveillance en ligne d’une marque

David Harkness, Sheila Carey, Julie Marion, Réseau canadien d’information sur le patrimoine (RCIP), Canada

Résumé

Cet article se sert du mystérieux « voyageur dans le temps des années 1940 » comme toile de fond pour procéder à une étude de cas sur les phénomènes viraux et leurs retombées et conséquences potentielles sur les musées et les établissements culturels. Une approche efficace et globale de la surveillance d’une marque nécessite d’être à l’écoute des commentaires générés par le public. Bien que ces conversations puissent être lancées par l’entremise d’activités marketing, elles peuvent aussi survenir spontanément et évoluer rapidement. Une surveillance appropriée devrait s’effectuer parallèlement à ces conversations, et non être à leur remorque. L’étude examine les préoccupations d’ordre muséologique se rapportant à la perte de contrôle de la propriété intellectuelle pouvant survenir en ligne. Elle s’intéresse aussi au marketing des musées à une époque où une phrase comme « Donne-moi une Pop-Tart! » fait vider les tablettes des supermarchés, une campagne publicitaire pour une marque de lotion après‑rasage peut faire planter YouTube et une simple photo peut apporter une renommée internationale à un petit musée communautaire.

Mots‑clés: Surveillance d’une marque, image de marque, marketing viral, Musée virtuel du Canada, Web social, droit d’auteur, capital conversationnel

Cet article sera disponible dès le 7 avril 2011 sur le site Web Échange professionnel du RCIP | This article will be available in French at CHIN's Professional Exchange website after April 7, 2011. http://www.pro.rcip-chin.gc.ca/sommaire-summary/voyageur_temps-time_traveller-fra.jsp

Type:

Paper - in formal session

Multi-Channel

Site:

http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/

Authors:

David Harkness

Sheila Carey

Julie Marion

Interactivity Comes of Age: Museums and World Wide Web at Five

jtrant — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:03:08 +0000

Bearman, D., & Trant J. (1999). Interactivity Comes of Age: Museums and World Wide Web at Five. Museums and the Web '99.

Legal Aspects of Multimedia in Europe

jtrant — Thu, 31 May 2007 02:15:22 +0000

Hoeren, T. (1995). Legal Aspects of Multimedia in Europe. (David Bearman, Ed.).Hands On: Hypermedia & Interactivity in Museums: Selected Papers from the Third International Conference on Hypermedia and Interactivity in Museums: Volume 2 (ICHIM 95 / MCN 95).