I think anything that can help better inform and provide better
engagement and interaction can only be a good thing. But, not wanting
to rock the boat too much, surely it is all about the user and audience!
Podcasts are great, but who's using them, is it another gadget and
'funding' opportunity, and does the communtiy, the audience or the
target group actually benefit from the work and the technology being
used.
I'm not saying it does or it doesn't (and am using podcasts as an
example), but I think people should remember that doing something
because it can be done, doesn't always improve things. What about
people who can't use the podcasts, what evalutaion and user testing has
been done, what was the goal/aim of doing this in the first place, has
the goal/aim been met even.
Also, what benefits and opportunities can be gained from using these
ideas and technologies for the smaller institutions, and even, IS there
a benefit for smaller institutions?
Peter
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Ellis Mike
Sent: 01 February 2006 15:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Spam Re: Electronic Museum news - Feb 2006
[I have my Science Museum, not Electronic Museum hat on...]
There's a whole bunch of questions there which I guess are as much a
challenge for any sector as they are for us. When does a technology
reach a level of maturity that it stops being just something new and
tips over into an accepted "standard"? Has Flickr got there, for
example? I'd argue that it has, and that in many ways the underlying
techniques and technologies it uses (and the ones that Dan mentions) are
already well accepted and bedded in across the web. I think Nick's point
about the last 12 months being an important time for this is a good one.
The great focus here, from almost every angle, is that it is application
of technology almost entirely from a user perspective. At last we can
begin (only begin..) to provide a desktop-esque experience with things
like AJAX.
At the same time, the sorts of innovative approach of mashups and
syndication means that users can create sites which consume data from
other sites. Electronic Museum is an example - I suck in RSS from a
number of places and am therefore able to provide content without having
to do all the work. Wonderful...
Incidentally (sales pitch), I'm hoping to get an Electronic Museum
interview with Macromedia's (actually, Adobe's) head of accessibility to
talk about Flash and what they're up to. I'm particularly interested in
how they see all this web2 stuff affecting what they do. Watch this
space!
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Zambonini [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 01 February 2006 12:21
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Electronic Museum news - Feb 2006
Hi all,
I think it's interesting how the 'Web 2.0' moniker can mean different
things to different people.
A lot of people will see the flashy mash-ups, podcasting, etc as the
definition of 'Web 2.0', but to me 'Web 2.0' is about achieving the
things (that Nick touched on) that many of us have been yearning for
during the years of excess:
+ Create simple, specific applications/websites, not 'one stop shops'
+ Create open interfaces, build on standards; think less about 'rights'
+ Put the user first (e.g. folksonomies over taxonomies, feedback in
interfaces, etc)
So, to me, the mash-ups and syndication are 'by-products' of Web 2.0's
more focussed, user-centric approach. It enables them, but isn't the
main point. I suppose it's evolved from the 'SOA' (Service Oriented
Architecture) push that was hyped-up about 5 years ago, where everyone
would provide a single, specialised, re-usable service. But thankfully
Web 2.0 has also considered the user, not just the technology.
It would be interesting to get people's thoughts on how they think
Museums could take advantage of this approach.
Thanks,
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Nick Poole
Sent: 01 February 2006 12:05
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Electronic Museum news - Feb 2006
Dear Tom et al,
I think this raises a really interesting point. I think the last 12
months or so has seen a maturing of our relationship with technology
which places the emphasis on proportionate and stable technologies over
cutting-edge toys.
While I am all for Web 2.0, mashing up, syndicating, casting and
flashmobbing, I still want to see a sector in which stable,
well-designed websites offer simple user- focussed interactivity and
services, and to be honest, I think this is what the majority of users
want too.
[snipped]
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