Lego Beowulf and the Web of Hands and Hearts, for the Danish national museum awards :: Michael Edson

1. “When it comes to dealing with the big problems we face, are we just going to be a crowd of voices, or are we going to be a crowd of hands?” Jennifer Pahlka Code for America

2. {About this talk}• A full text version, with footnotes and links, is online at http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-lego- beowulf-and-the-web-of-hands-and-hearts-for-thedanish-national-museum-awards-13444266• The video will be online soon…

3. {About this talk}• This was the keynote at the Bikuben Foundation Danish National Museum Awards (Bikubenfondens Museumpriser) in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 11, 2012 (http://www.museumsprisen.dk/)• The audience was directors and executives from Danish museums, The Danish Heritage Agency, the Association of Danish Museums, and other invited guests• Special thanks to Tobias Golodnoff, Nina Hviid, Charlotte S H Jensen, Miriam Lerkenfeld, Merete Sanderhoff, and Jacob Wang for their help and guidance with this talk —Michael Edson, @mpedson

4. Prelude

5. [Play video] http://youtu.be/1SGJS0VN0hE

6. Washington D.C.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcsj/5087028899/sizes/s/in/photostream/

7. Washington D.C.These museums set animportant example for meabout citizenship andparticipatory democracyas I was growing up http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcsj/5087028899/sizes/s/in/photostream/

8. Washington D.C.These museums set an But that wasimportant example for me before theabout citizenship and Internetparticipatory democracyas I was growing up http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcsj/5087028899/sizes/s/in/photostream/

9. Washington D.C. How shall we get this work done in society, now?http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcsj/5087028899/sizes/s/in/photostream/

10. I’m very impressed with theprofessionalism, quality, andsense of purpose in theDanish museum community

11. But here’s how we’vetraditionally thought aboutgetting achieving meaningfuloutcomes…

12. Trust, money, real estate collections, staff, attention… Something really good for society

13. Trust, money, real estate collections, staff, attention… Something really good for society Museums

14. Broadcast

15. The broadcast idiom is thetraditional 20th century way museums accomplish our jobs in society Broadcast we do they consume

16. The broadcast model gave us great things in the 20th century… BroadcastAutomobiles The Hoover Dam Baywatch

17. Broadcast But something is missing here.The Internet is the dark matter in this equation of how to get work done.

18. More on these themes inCome, Let us go Boldly Into the Present

19. “Extraordinary Individuals”Global audiences forming around niche interests

20. “No matter what business you’re in, most of the smart people work for someone else”

21. One trillion hours of free time available every year fromeducated, Internet connected people on earth (Clay Shirky)

22. In 12 years this device will be1,706 X more powerful than my desktop computer

23. Billions of connected mobileusers. Voice, data, cameras, GPS, sensors…

24. These are not new ideas anymore

25. Broadcast is great, but it’s not a complete model for getting things done Broadcastwe do they consume

26. More on these themes inCome, Let us go Boldly Into the Present

27. DigitalStrategy! http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

28. DigitalStrategy! We must use New Media! http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

29. Yes, we must..! http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

30. We’ve got a year to decide… Blah blah blah broadcast http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

31. http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

32. This organization is stuck http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

33. Example From a realmuseum strategy workshop http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

34. Strategic Goal of the museum“Become the preeminent place for engagement and dialogueabout national identity and the accomplishment and experience of citizens” http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

35. Proposed Strategic Initiative “Build an online collection of 10 million portraits of citizens and their stories, created and uploaded without official curation by members of the public. http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

36. Proposed Strategic Initiative “Build an online collection of 10 million portraits of citizens and their stories, created and uploaded without official curation by members of the public. Build a community around this initiative to fuel engagement with national history, biography, and artistic creativity.” http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

37. Proposed Strategic Initiative Adopted “Build an online collection “Do a website about of 10 million portraits of citizens and their stories, family portraits” created and uploaded without official curation by members of the public. Build a community around this initiative to fuel engagement with national history, biography, and artistic creativity.” http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

38. Proposed Strategic Initiative Adopted “Build an online collection “Do a website about of 10 million portraits of citizens and their stories, family portraits” created and uploaded without official curation by members of the You can’t get this public. Build a with broadcast community around this thinking initiative to fuel engagement with national history, biography, and artistic creativity.” http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

39. Proposed Adopted“Build an online collection “Do a website about of 10 million portraits of citizens and their stories, family portraits” created and uploaded without official curation by members of the Are you using public. Build a the best tools to turn resources community around this into outcomes? initiative to fuel Does the broadcast idiom engagement with deliver the best outcomes for society? national history, biography, and artistic does this work in a How creativity.” traditional organization? http://www.flickr.com/photos/invattur/4013772522/sizes/l/in/photostream/

40. http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Strategy+--On the Wiki: +Table+of+Contents http://smithsonian- PDF: webstrategy.wikispaces.com/file/view/20090729_Smithsonian-Web- New-Media-Strategy_v1.0.pdf

41. Business Model “The Smithsonian’s basic business model is to create social and economic value through the increase and diffusion of knowledge… Ultimately, the most valuable business asset we can cultivate—and the one that is most fundamental to our core mission—is a community of engaged and committed Smithsonian enthusiasts.”

42. Update the Learning Model “This strategy is based on the growing understanding of learning as a hybrid of formal education and self-directed discovery that can be brought together and enhanced by online tools and communities…. that allow our audiences to be our partners in the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

43. No Yes!

44. We assume this is us in the middle, the official museum running the showmuseum

45. But these connections are the most important, the most powerful for generating big outcomes Hundreds, thousand, millions ofconnections between people with expertise, perspective, abilities, passion, curiosity…

46. Maybe the most powerful place for us is heremuseum

47. Maybe the most powerful place for us is heremuseum

48. Examples

49. The Smithsonian ownsSpaceShipOne, the firstprivately financed rocketto take a human into orbit

50. Spaceship One collection page Here’s the on our website. One picture. Curatorial text.http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A20050459000

51. On Wikipedia you get…Hyperlinks!!

52. Translated into 26 languages (by users, with no central coordination or control)

53. Almost 400 editors

54. Flickr is a picture sharingwebsite. People upload,share, and tag their photosThere are over 9 billionphotos on Flickr

55. A search on “SpaceShipOne”returns 2,592 photos of the rocketship, taken, uploaded, and tagged(cataloged) by users, with nocentral coordination or control

56. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pvogel/110579166/in/set-72057594079211111

57. Stunning images, multiple points of view across the history of the projecthttp://www.flickr.com/photos/pvogel/110579166/in/set-72057594079211111

58. The image belongs tomany thematic sets http://www.flickr.com/photos/pvogel/110579166/in/set-72057594079211111

59. The image belongs tomany thematic sets Curation! http://www.flickr.com/photos/pvogel/110579166/in/set-72057594079211111

60. Video from spaceship one On YouTube you can see it fly http://youtu.be/FNXahIoXMw8

61. Which website wouldyou use to understand SpaceShipOne?

62. Who hasauthority and trust in the eyes of the public?

63. Where do people go tofind out about the world?

64. Question asked at a focus group of young adults for the newspaper industry… Where do you go to find your news?

65. Answer : “If the news is important enough, it will find me.”

66. This is a great homepage.But does it reallyfunction as your home page? http://natmus.dk/en

67. Or, given the abundance ofdifferent ways to find outabout the world, is thisyour homepage?

68. SolvongenAn experiment The Solvongen— the Trundholm Sun Chariot—is one of the most iconic museum How would we object in Denmark. learn about it?

69. The Sun Chariot

70. The Sun ChariotHorrible images!(We could make them better. Ask the Riksmuseet about the Problem of the Yellow Milkmaid)

71. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trundholm-sun-chariot/135441099821236

72. With some help, I found the canonical collection information page for the Sun Chariot on the National Museum websitehttp://natmus.dk/en/historisk-viden/danmark/moeder-med-danmarks-oldtid/the-bronze-age/the-sun-chariot/

73. Small image window with zoom featurehttp://natmus.dk/en/historisk-viden/danmark/moeder-med-danmarks-oldtid/the-bronze-age/the-sun-chariot/

74. 2,845 viewshttp://natmus.dk/en/historisk-viden/danmark/moeder-med-danmarks-oldtid/the-bronze-age/the-sun-chariot/

75. Through a Google “Discussions” search, I found a brief discussion about the Trundholm Sun Chariot on the Skadi Forumhttp://forums.skadi.net /

76. The Skadi Forum has 40,000 members 300 topics 700,000 postshttp://forums.skadi.net /

77. Google Books search found thishttp://books.google.com/books?id=g15MdNvO5ngC&pg=PA55&dq=trundholm+sun+chariot&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ciHTT4yLA4Hh0QHWwvWYAw&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

78. “The Trundholm Sun Chariot could easily have been carried in someones arms. It was found in a peat bog in 1902, deliberately broken into little pieces and carefully placed there about 3,500 years ago.” (Lovely, human voice)

79. Don’t get me wrong, I love this homepage!http://natmus.dk/en/

80. But I love this one too, on Pinterest Pinterest is a kind of image collecting sitehttp://pinterest.com/nationalmuseet/

81. Search for Search for “Sun Chariot”“Sun Chariot”

82. 9 National MuseumSun Chariotscollected by users

83. This one was collected by Sunnifa Heinreksdottir… …In a collection called Bronze Agehttp://pinterest.com/pin/32369691041944044/

84. http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/bronze-age/

85. Images from theMetropolitanMuseum of Art http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/bronze-age/

86. The Metropolitan British Archaeology Museum of Art http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/bronze-age/

87. The MetropolitanMuseum of Art http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/bronze-age/

90. “The History Blog”http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/bronze-age/

91. National Museumof Denmark http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/bronze-age/

92. NationalMuseum of Denmark

93. NationalMuseum of Denmark National Museum of Denmark

94. There’s theNational Museum’sSun Chariot

95. But it doesn’t link back to the National Museum!!! Western Culture 101 Beginnings to 900 C.E.http://people.hsc.edu/faculty-staff/maryp/Core/western_culture_101_studylinks.htm

96. Sunnifa has 40 collections on Pinteresthttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

97. Anglo Saxonhttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

98. Ringshttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

99. Willowhttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

100. Spinninghttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

101. Spindle Whorls http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

102. Flax http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

103. Bronze Agehttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

104. Iron Agehttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

105. Weavinghttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

106. OMG! She’s curatingher own museum! http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/

107. Sunnifa has collected 1146 imageshttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/pins/

108. Linking, sharing,metadata andcommunity“by default”

109. She follows 41peoplehttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

110. http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

111. Londonhttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

112. Portland, Oregonhttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

113. Kansashttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

114. Cape Townhttp://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

115. Antwerp http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

116. Dorset, UK http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

117. Ireland http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

118. “little village of 20 houses in the North of Germany” http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

119. “little village of 1,927 followers! 20 houses in the North of Germany” http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

120. And they each curateand collect, followpeople, and arefollowed by people http://pinterest.com/harrasteora/following/

121. The 41 people Sunnifa followshave 16,090 followers.And they follow 12,485 people.

122. Sunnifa’s immediate socialnetwork has 28,485 people in it.AND THIS IS JUST A RANDOMUSER I FOUND!!!

123. And they do all kinds things

124. http://www.flickr.com/photos/monsted/487105795/

125. http://youtu.be/0eLJcUIxRz4 http://youtu.be/jGB1l8iuPg8 Tribute videos!

126. http://www.flickr.com/groups/historical_lego/

127. Historical Lego Group 778 members 7,157 photoshttp://www.flickr.com/groups/historical_lego/

128. http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowviking/3399432262/in/set-72157616011592049

129. Fan Fiction engagement, curiosity, creativity…http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowviking/3399432262/in/set-72157616011592049

130. http://www.flickr.com/people/shadowviking/

131. Holland MichiganUSAWould your marketing department knowthat there was an audience for Vikinghistory in Holland, Michigan? http://www.flickr.com/people/shadowviking/

132. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thorskegga/4941989896/in/pool-371955@N24/

133. Attention to detail:people manufacturehistorically accurateaccessories! http://www.brickforge.com/store/product.php?productid=16217&cat=252& page=1

134. A Viking was a member of the Scandinavian seafaring warriors who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the 9th to the 11th century. If you are looking for a more historic alternative to the iconic horned Viking Helmet - look no further. The BrickForge Viking Helmet is based on the more traditional Spanglehelm design and features a spectacle guard around the eyes and nose. Fits most standard minifig heads.http://www.brickforge.com/store/product.php?productid=16217&cat=252& page=1

135. http://www.flickr.com/people/thorskegga/

136. “Middle age eccentric woman living in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England” She’s in the same Flickr group as the person from Holland, Michiganhttp://www.flickr.com/people/thorskegga/

137. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SGJS0VN0hE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SGJS0VN0hE

138. 202,297 views!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SGJS0VN0hE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SGJS0VN0hE

139. [Play video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuxv510dh6w

140. 162,549 views!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuxv510dh6w

141. 162,549 views!! Compare with 2,845 views of the Sun Chariot video from the National Museum of Denmark Sitehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuxv510dh6w

142. Does that mean this video is 57 times betterthan the National Gallery video? 162,549 views!!Not necessarily, but…• It is not easy to achieve this kind of scale• How many times have we put up a video or a blog post and wondered why nobody Compare with 2,845 views of cared? the Sun Chariot video from• We should have much higher ambitions for the National Museum of scale and impact Denmark Site

143. How do I learn more? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuxv510dh6w

144. Search the NationalMuseum site?

145. You can’t be theauthority oneverything

146. You can’t be the authority on everything“Knowledge is a Mashup”http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/08/the-smithsonian-commons-projec.html

147. “Wikipedia is a great place to start research, but a terrible place to end it” A Wikipedian

148. http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Battle_of_Maldon&params=51_42_55_N_0_42_3_E_type:event_region:GB

149. GeoHack links to dozens of free maps for the site of the Battle of Maldonhttp://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Battle_of_Maldon&params=51_42_55_N_0_42_3_E_type:event_region:GB

150. “OpenStreetMap is a free worldwide map, created by people like you”

151. Hundreds…thousands ofedits to this map by acommunity of volunteers

152. “Harmonized tagging of Ways of St. James …Fixed some little minor stuff” April 28, 2012

153. “Updated ownership of bakery” April 24, 2012

154. In Google Street Viewwe can see thelandscape and imaginewhat it might have been

155. https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo/2127892

156. Panoramio lets us seephotos that have beenuploaded and positionedon the map by users

157. (A battle monument)

158. https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo/7753503

159. We tend to dismiss thenotion that “users” cancreate outstandingcontent

160. But users—people—love yourmuseums, and they createand share remarkablecontent……they do remarkable thingswhile exploring the world

161. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thioboy/6154940942/in/set-72157627512718617

162. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thioboy/6153423014/

163. http://www.flickr.com/photos/46758972@N00/7420524502/

164. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thoughtbrain/4941565885/in/photostream/

165. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jingqunluo/3666546703

166. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrgensen/4422340062/in/set-72157623466859743/

167. http://www.flickr.com/photos/spinello/256239150/lightbox/

168. http://www.flickr.com/photos/48561129@N04/4793799631/in/set-72157625550929974/lightbox/

169. http://www.flickr.com/photos/larspind/2750488537/in/photostream/lightbox/

170. http://www.flickr.com/photos/larspind/3376421237/in/photostream/lightbox/

171. Museums So, what should this equation look like?

172. a

173. “When it comes to dealing with the big problems we face, are we just going to be a crowd of voices, or are we going to be a crowd of hands?” Jennifer Pahlka Code for America a

174. Let’s makethe future together

175. Mange tak! Thank you!