Looking at the detail of the report many of the questions asked about the impact over the last 12 months. If you have been ahead of the game and have been doing digital things for a number of years the impact in the last 12 months may well not be as dramatic as for those who have only recently started.
Trevor Reynolds
Collections Registrar, English Heritage
tel: +44 (0) 1904 601905. 37 Tanner Row, York, YO1 6WP
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Pavement
Sent: 04 December 2013 16:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MCG] 'English museums behind in digital revolution'
It's quite a useful overview, and actually the museums represented in it seem to have quite positive stories, but the comparisons by artform/sector should have a few caveats!
Firstly, comparing effects on revenues is ignoring the fact that many (perhaps) most museums have very little in the way of revenues when compared to to ticketed venues like theatres. If you sell hundreds, or even thousands of tickets every day and some digital activity gives you a few percent lift in sales - you will quite clearly feel a positive benefit. If a free entry museum gains the same percentage in audience numbers, but the best they can hope for is a few more cafe or gift shop sales, or perhaps a donation - they're barely going to notice.
Secondly the appendix shows how some of the weighting and other manipulations of data were undertaken and the assumed reliability of the stats. Many of the results are pretty close and there is a possibility that "museums" or "heritage" (I found it difficult to see which bit of the museum/heritage venn diagram is being referred to in the various charts) are getting short shrift because of noise rather than a real comparison.
And, as mentioned in Fiona's email - self image is often poor in museums. It's a shame because museums have historically been pioneers in embracing new media forms, but self-awareness of these achievements is very low. For example, the gallery interactive is a digital media form and museums have been operating in that space and engaging with their audiences with those for really a very long time - way before some of those other sectors ever considered using a computer for anything except the accounts!
best regards
Peter
Peter Pavement
Surface Impression Ltd
01273 958600
[log in to unmask]
www.surfaceimpression.com
On 4 Dec 2013, at 15:22, Mia <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear MCGers,
>
> I'm having trouble reconciling summaries like 'English museums behind
> in digital revolution' with the wisdom, experience and innovation I've
> seen in discussions like those on this list and at various
> museum+technology events over the past decade*, but the recent report
> 'Digital Culture: How arts and cultural organisations in England use
> technology'
> http://native.artsdigitalrnd.org.uk/digitalcultureresearch/
> was pretty scathing about museums' use of technologies.
>
> So I'm curious - why is there such a disconnect between practices
> within museums and the too-common public/funder/media pundit
> perception that museums are stuck in the last century? I'm really
> curious to know what you think, lurkers and all!
>
> And what questions should the survey have asked to elicit more useful
> responses from museums? What answer would best represent the projects
> that inspire you or have been most transformative within the museum?
>
> Cheers, Mia
> * And yes, I have already ranted about this a bit in both my UKMW13
> posts http://openobjects.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/ukmw13
>
> --------------------------------------------
> http://openobjects.org.uk/
> http://twitter.com/mia_out
> I mostly use this address for list mail and don't check it daily; use
> my open.ac.uk address for personal email
>
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