by Terry Makewell, National Museums Online Learning Project (Victoria & Albert Museum)

Online Culture in the United Kingdom currently appears to have three main drivers (the online cultural trident as I like to say). These drivers are the main force behind the cultural projects currently being undertaken. With the trident behind us we move ever forward (picture as you see fit).

The first driver is technological change. The advancement of new technology is just only being understood within the sector along with the plethora of possibilities it brings with it.

The second driver involves the UK Government policy aim of increasing democratic participation in culture. The online medium is a perfect way of involving those ’hard-to-reach’ audiences. 

The third driver involves the ways that people engage with culture and how it is changing and evolving. This is very much associated with the second driver. How has the way that people engage with culture changed in the last few decades? The advent of free admission to the national museums has obviously helped change people’s relationships with museums.

In the UK the phrase ‘Culture Online’ will make people within the sector think of an initiative established and funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) which came to an end in March 2007. It set out to “build a digital bridge between learning and culture” and used innovative technology with the aim of reaching new audiences for the arts. There was a particular emphasis on engaging hard-to-reach groups.

By the time of its finish Culture Online had picked up 25 major awards for its websites. The projects ranged from large scale public engagement websites, such as Icons, to The Transporters, an interactive DVD that helps children with autism learn about emotions. Icons is a virtual collection of England’s most cherished cultural treasures. The Icons collection explores what makes a national icon and the collection was built up by nominations from the general public. “From Stonehenge to the double decker bus, from fish and chips to the humble cup of tea, the project reflects a dynamic portrait of England. “

The Icon project sees all three prongs of the online cultural trident being responded to. There is new technology being implemented to allow for visitors to the site to shape the collection and interact by nominating their own icons and stories. With this, increased participation is achieved by getting visitors involved in cultural debates and participating in online activities, games and quizzes.

So that is where we have been, but where are we heading to? Online culture is seeing a move from passivity to engagement. This is closer to the vision of the read/write web that Tim Berners-Lee (who has been labelled the ‘inventor of the Internet’ and is also Chair of Computer Science at my Alma Mater) had in mind when he first dreamt up the idea of the Internet. The creation of the Web 2.0 sphere has brought with it the idea that the users should control their own data within an architecture of participation. There are national museums within the UK that are engaging in creating websites which implement the some of the core competencies of Web 2.0 including a rich participative user experience. The Tate and the Victoria & Albert Museum are amongst these.

Once the cultural sector has progressed from the digitisation of content and provision of information it must become better adept at learning how to deliver this content to the audiences. It is time to look at the value added. Do customers just want to access online digital content or do they want to interact with it in ways which they haven’t been able to do so before? Although some users will still only want to ‘just’ access and view the content there is no doubt that users will also want to interact with content in innovative and exciting new ways. The ‘customer is king’ is a phrase to be well remembered. We must always bear the user in mind, what they want and how they want to be involved.

But we need to understand where we have been before we can fully understand where we are going and learn from our past experiences. So understand the technology and what it can do, but most importantly understand your audience and what they want. Do not let the technology drive you on its own. Do not use technology for technology’s sake! Without your audience (whoever they are) being on-board, and their needs being fully addressed and understood, you may as well go home early and have a cup of tea and a slice of toast, for their needs will be left wanting. Bring them in, welcome them and ensure a two way relationship. Share your tea and toast with them.

More information on Culture Online projects is available here. 

This entry was posted on Monday, August 6th, 2007 at 7:16 pm and is filed under Culture online, Technology, Guest blogger - Terry Makewell. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.