Smithsonian Commons–first look @ new website mockup
As these “commons” projects proliferate it’s valuable to keep in mind both the possibilities of openness and its limits. It’s nice to see the Smithsonian getting out there and engaging the public. I hope they also remember there are many different publics that have, and will have, different types of relationships to their “content.” A valuable lesson–and one that seems hard for some “public” institutions to grasp– is that their mandate to serve the public is actually multifaceted (and sometimes contradictory!) and that being open isn’t always the best way to serve these publics. So watch and send in comments! They ask specifically, does the new site lead to “sociability” and does it show or highlight the Smithsonian as a “trusted” institution….? You can also check out their overall web and new media strategy wiki here.
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Kim Christen
I am an Assistant Professor at Washington State University. I use this blog to keep myself writing. I blog about Australian Aboriginal politics, Indigenous issues, Indigenous new media, cultural politics, and other issues that come up. I made the icon above at Portrait Icon Maker
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Thanks for noticing what we’re doing, offering your thoughts, and inviting others to jump in!
The thing I’m struggling with the most now is how much to worry about “the last mile” of content. In a lot of ways the SI Commons should function like a really great transit hub – - it should connect things, people, places – - but in and of itself it shouldn’t worry too much about where people are going and what they’re doing. …But there’s an expectation that the Smithsonian should provide hand tooled educational/learning experiences too. Should the SI Commons take on that kind of bespoke content creation? Or should it provide the platform of resources and community through which others create the last mile of interpretative content – - the “learning layer…” ? Where we place the emphasis will have a big impact on how the commons is perceived and how it gets funded, managed, and built.
BTW the link you provided for the SI Web and New Media Strategy goes to a work page for the commons prototype, the correct link for the strategy wiki home page (with links out to the prototype we’re working on) is http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com.
Thanks!
Michael,
Thanks for the comment. I fixed the link to your wiki–glad you have it up so we can all watch the progress and comment.
As for the “last mile” of content, SI, like other institutions often seem to think they should be in the business of providing hard coded answers and educational experiences. I think this is a throw back to the origins of museums and their role in educating the public. With the shift to web 2.0 thinking there is also a tendency to assume that visitors all want to create user-generated content. The middle path in between these extremes is the sweet spot I think SI Commons should aim for–IMHO.
I think the emphasis should be on recognizing the divergent needs of your multiple audiences. That is, for example, tribal cultural centers may want to data mine your metadata, there should be a way for them to import your metadata and add their own to your content thus expanding both knowledge sets in the process. You can imagine other targeted audiences–say primary school teachers–who would like flexible lesson plans to adapt to their curriculum. The key will be providing small enough nuggets for each group to be able to mine the SI Commons and at the same time “give back” thus expanding both and truly creating that hub and spokes model that everyone is after! That’s my 2 cents anyway!