Posted: June 1st, 2010 | Author: Jasper Visser | Filed under: Inspiration, People | Tags: community, connections, conversation, do's and don'ts, guidelines, Interaction, storytelling, tips | View Comments
Today was the fifth edition of Mediamatic’s Kom Je Ook? conference.* Today’s topic was storytelling. Storytelling seems to be hot. As some of the speakers at today’s conference pointed out today, however, it’s nothing new. Virgil’s Aeneid and Homer’s Iliad used to be told as stories. That’s a long time ago. Storytelling once was the only real source of information sharing we had. The Moroccan storytellers who still tell the stories of A Thousand and One Nights are one of the many examples of this ancient tradition, still present today.
So, what we’re doing is trying to reinvent an old tradition. Fortunately, most of today speakers showed that we haven’t thrown away X million years of experience with storytelling. Actually, we might have made some small steps forward. Or regained some lost skills.
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Posted: May 24th, 2010 | Author: Jasper Visser | Filed under: Expositions | Tags: connections, conversation, crowd, exhibition, experience, photography, practice | View Comments
Nieuwe groeten uit… (“New greetings from…”) is a crowd-sourced, crowd-curated exposition in the city of Arnhem in the east of the Netherlands. Last Thursday my museum opened the last part of the yearlong project. In many ways it’s a special exposition and project, I think, and worth sharing.
Somewhat over a year ago FOAM photography museum Amsterdam, the ANP Historical Archive and the Museum of National History of the Netherlands came together to find a replacement for the traditional postcards. Most postcards show an old-fashioned image of Holland: cheese, cows and wooden shoes. The Netherlands has changed significantly over the last years, and Nieuwe Groeten Uit… was a search for new postcards.
The general public played a mayor part in every phase of the project: gathering the photographs for the postcards, selecting the best post-cards and even putting them on display.
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Posted: April 22nd, 2010 | Author: Jasper Visser | Filed under: People | Tags: community, connections, energy, experience, lessons, mw2010, practice, tips | View Comments
Everybody’s talking about community building these days. Often we forget how easy it is (can be) and how frequently it happens. A volcano, some stranded Europeans and Denver. This is how you build a community:
- Get a bunch of people together with more or less similar values.
E.g. museum professionals working on participation.
- Urge them to do something, change their status quo.
E.g. by having a volcano erupt and cause huge ash clouds.
- Make them understand that they’re involved in the new situation.
E.g. by cancelling their flights home.
- Have a community leader/manager take the lead in collaborative action.
E.g. Jennifer Trant who starts a system to find those stranded lodging and something to do.
- Find some early adopters and encourage them to participate and take group action.
E.g. by setting the example yourself and offering your lodging.
- Give the community the freedom to develop by offering tools, not rules.
E.g. pen and paper, a common media channel and enthusiasm.
- Put emphasis on the positive behaviour of individuals in the community.
E.g. by talking to them or retweeting their initiatives.
- Think beyond social media.
E.g. by hosting unconference sessions, meetups and drinks. Or by putting up a pen and paper registration system (see photos).
- Have an open attitude to newcomers.
E.g. by stressing how everybody is in the same situation.
- Ensure and celebrate tangible outcomes within the community.
E.g. by blogging about their events and applauding the success of individuals reaching home.
- Take action over time to reinforce the community.
E.g. by hosting a little event at next year’s conference for those affected by the volcano.
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