Archive for the ‘websites’ Category

Should museum websites be ugly?

Monday, June 25th, 2012

Museum websites look more professional, than they did a decade ago. Now most are well designed and aesthetically pleasing, but recently I’ve started to think that museum websites are starting to look rather bland.

Is it possible for a museum website to look too polished? Shouldn’t we have more fun with the way we present ourselves online? Those questions were inspired by a brilliant presentation by Ling Valentine, the ‘boss of Ling’s Cars’.

The Ling’s Cars website is unique, incredibly memorable and pretty ugly, but it works brilliantly for the business. Because while their competitors look bland, her website screams personality.

Ling doesn’t try to appeal to everyone, knowing that some visitors to her website will be turned off by the design. But ‘they’re boring, and I’m not interested in talking to boring people.’ Ling says. She is happy to be memorable rather than instantly forgettable like her competition.

Ling says that websites are competing with entertainment websites such as YouTube and we must give people fun ‘so that they will stay on your website and tell other people about it’.

So should museum websites be ugly? No, but they could learn a lot about personality from Ling. Most museums are full of interesting stories, inspiring collections and exciting exhibitions. That needs to be communicated through their websites.

To achieve that they need to think a lot more about personality, and a lot less about what other museums are doing online.

What do you think the museum sector can learn from Ling’s Cars?

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Posted in websites | 20 Comments »

How would you create an on demand experience for museums?

Friday, June 22nd, 2012

When I was a child growing up in England we had four television channels, and if I wanted to watch my favourite programme I had to wait for it to appear on my parents television set at the time which it was broadcast.

My children live in a different world, a place where broadcasting has evolved to meet and often exceed to expectations of the public. In the UK, our public broadcaster the BBC has in recent years led this evolution, with iPlayer, an on demand service which allows me to view there programmes online, on mobile or on television with the click of a button.

The service is incredibly popular, with 1 in 4 people in the UK saying they view more television via iPlayer and similar services than regular TV. In an age when the public increasingly expect services on demand at a time and place that suites them, this public service (BBC) is delivering an excellent service.

The traditional model of a museum is similar to that of television. The museum opens its doors at set times and ‘broadcasts’ through a set channel. The public are expected to be there if they wish to participate in the experience.

What we are now seeing (or need to see) is a shift towards an iPlayer model. The museum needs to move beyond expecting people to come to them, and see the value in taking their knowledge to their audiences in a format which fits in to peoples lives.

This does not only mean investing in technology (though I believe that is key), but rethinking opening hours and taking collections beyond the walls of the institution. Many institutions are doing this, yet I still find myself standing frustrated at the doors of a closed museum on a Sunday afternoon.

How would you create an on demand experience for museums?

Here are a few suggestions:

  • Take over an empty shop in a shopping center and take the museum to people who might never visit spend time.
  • Open later (even if it means you open later) so people can visit after work.
  • Invest in digital capacity (technology and staff) and use the web and apps to be open 24/7.
  • Open up your collection data through API’s to allow others to find ways to share your collection.
  • Use free channels like Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, Pinterest etc to take your museum beyond its walls.

I’d love to hear your ideas on how we can create an on demand museum, so please leave a comment with your thoughts.

Posted in BBC, Content, iPlayer, On Demand, websites | 13 Comments »