Critical mass

Photo by maniwa_pa on Flickr.com

Recently someone used the term critical mass to mean you need a certain amount of followers/friends/fans to be successful in social media. Strength is in numbers, etc. “Of course MoMA can do that, with its gazillion followers.” I dare to disagree.

In primary school they taught me to address specific people when asking for help in a crowded place. An undirected ‘help’ would certainly go unattended. Later I learned this is called the bystander effect. People don’t help when there’re other people around.

A hundred thousand, or even a millions followers/friends/fans is a lot of people. If you tweet a question or Facebook a funding request or e-mail a petition, certainly some small percentage will respond. And maybe a small percentage of many is enough to do the trick. On the other hand, many, many more will not feel any need to respond. Bystanders.

I believe that if you know your audience, are creative and dare to specifically address your questions, you don’t need a lot of followers/friends/fans. Over the last months, every single campaign I did where I specifically asked some outdid those where I generally asked many. Even if “specifically asking some” was semi-automated. Even if the ties between the addressed individual and our institution were weak.

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Ownership

Photo by Ben Grey on Flickr.com

The Decemberists, last Monday in Paradiso, were pretty clear about it: If we didn’t scream at our loudest like we were being eaten alive by a whale, their last song would fail. After a full hour of brilliantly performed music, a theatrical show full of interaction and a decent number of laughs, we were more than happy to. Of course, everybody screamed, the song was a success.

An article in the New York Times advocates kids’ rule of schools. Students aged 15-17 designed their own curriculum, took on individual challenges and were responsible for a self-designed group project. “In such a setting, school capitalizes on (…) the intensity and engagement that teenagers usually reserve for sports, protest or friendship.” Not surprisingly, the kids learned, the project was a success.

Reverse engineer these successes and you’ll see participation and engagement were high because the original ownership (of music, a curriculum) was shared. People usually on the receiving end were made responsible for success or failure. They were given ownership.

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About crowdsourcing and us

A (our) crowd. Photo by Fred Ernst/Nationaal Historisch Museum.

Lately there’s been quite some talk about crowdsourcing going on around me. Last week a group of students hosted a conference on the topic, called Join to Create, where I spoke. The same evening the heritage institution of the Netherlands hosted a round table where a group of us spoke about so-called “crowdsourced” projects we did. I use quotes because all the discussion made one thing very clear to me: some of the trouble lies in the name and definition.

To me, crowdsourcing is outsourcing to the general public. Your public. From university I remember outsourcing, rather than doing stuff you’re supposed to do yourself, is cheaper, faster, easier, more flexible and “the future”. Crowdsourcing definitely is not all that, but it has its benefits for any organisation. It’s a way to engage the audience, a way to tap into communities, discover hidden knowledge and – yes – it’s a marketing tool.

I don’t really care about definitions. Leave them to the dictionary. I care about involving people in the processes that matter to them. As a cultural institution, to me that means involving the people in designing and doing stuff that is culturally relevant to them.

The other day I was asked for a magazine to write down a thing or two about the importance of crowdsourcing for the Museum of National History, my employer. I understood this question as why we give the audience a voice in so many things we do. The bottom-line is, I think, because we have to as a 21^st century museum. The more elaborate answer and a not-so literal translation of my response is this post.

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What is a museum (as well)?

Photo by kberberi on Flickr.com (CC BY-NC-ND)

Ask anyone what a museum is and most people will come up with an answer including a building and paintings on the wall. Or old stuff in displays. A somewhat older post by New Curator on the function of museums stresses education, inspiration, conservation…

A museum can be so much more, especially for its visitors. The following list gives some of the many things I’ve seen museum be and used museums for over the last year. It’s by no means conclusive. Please add.

A museum is,

• A flex work spot with Wi-Fi and good coffee.
• The perfect spot to finally read James Joyce or any other challenging book.
• A place to go on a first date. Read the rest of this entry »

Appreciation

Park Güell. Photo by Nick Wright Planning on Flickr.

Recently I visited Park Güell, the famous Barcelonan park designed by Gaudí. If you haven’t been there, you might know it from movies such as Vicky Cristina Barcelona in which both Cristina and Juan Antonio use the park as a source of inspiration. Often in literature and motion pictures the park is a spot for inspiration and creative freedom.

In reality the park has turned into a horrid mass-attraction devoid of all artistic charm.

Those parts not covered in yellow under-construction tape, are crowded with photo-happy tourists. A strict guard blows his whistle every time a visitor steps out of line. Nowhere to sit down quietly and read. Nowhere to draw. Shut up, walk around quickly and move on. It made me think of some of the art museums I’ve been, those where a security guard tails you.

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