The eCulture Group has carried
out strategic studies for the European Commission (DigiCULT; EP2010),
coordinated the “technology watchdog” DigiCULT Forum, conducted European
RTD projects such as COVAX, CULTOS and VICODI, and fulfilled service
contracts such as the Austrian Digital Heritage Initiative.
 © Salzburger Museum Carolino Augusteum 2005
The results of this work has led us to posit the following questions and observations as
signposts to the challenges and opportunites facing the sector.
- Do you have a roadmap?: When engaging in the sphere of digital technologies and content,
organisations not equipped with a core business and technology development
roadmap will very likely spend considerable money with little gains (or worse,
a complete failure).
- Do you want to be an innovator
or a follower?: Many people talk about “innovative”
concepts and approaches in digital culture/cultural heritage, cultural
education, cultural tourism and regional development, but, cases of real and
sustainable innovation are very rare. Bear in mind that even if you only want
to be a follower, it would be good to first know if you follow an innovator.
- Digitising resources – for
what?: A lot of money is currently spent on
digitising and making accessible cultural content, with little likelihood of an
educational, social or economic return on investment because the next step
towards creating engaging cultural experiences with these resources is not
being considered.
-
Did you say “access”?:
Access alone is not enough, perhaps even the wrong mind-set and approach to
moving forward. People with an interest in culture, history, arts and sciences
do not really benefit from simply accessing online collections. For example,
there is no real benefit in gazing at images online, just as there is little
acquisition of cultural knowledge when reading some descriptive information
(metadata) attached to images. Consequently, the research agenda for the
cultural (heritage) sector should strongly concentrate on applications that
enhance experiences and novel ways of imparting knowledge.
- Have you ever been
experienced?: Engaging customers is
about cultural experiences. We have entered the age of the “experience economy”
and the cultural (heritage) sector faces considerable competition from the various
creative industries (including media and entertainment) in maintaining the public’s
attention. This is not an argument for turning cultural heritage services into
entertainment but a warning that services that do not invite, inspire, engage
or immerse will not find a wider use. Cultural heritage institutions have
been the natural homes of our imagination, and they need to continue to deliver
unique, meaningful and memorable experiences in the new environments requested.
- Where
are my users?: Demand experience prototyping to
ensure user needs drive development and change, or face losing your
users. Ever more massive distributed and embedded computing and
communications, smart devices, novel interfaces, and context-awareness
technologies, etc. will be provided by the ICT industries. In this
context to understand what works rapid prototyping of IT-enhanced
cultural experiences and novel ways to mediate cultural knowledge (e.g.
in ambient intelligence environments), will be needed. In turn new
forms of collaboration and true interdisciplinary efforts will be
required, because the future digital cultural (heritage) space cannot
be created by technological researchers alone.
- How can small
institutions join the digital party?: Given the rather slow uptake of new technologies by many cultural
organisations in general, there is a threat that they will become blind spots
in the emerging digital landscape. Smaller and medium-sized institutions face
an even greater battle in adapting to their digital surroundings. To ensure
that they reap the benefits of current and future technologies they will need
to align themselves with national and larger regional initiatives. In such
initiatives, a leading role will be played by digital heritage networks.
Furthermore, supportive digital services centres and ICT training programmes
for technical and non-technical staff on how to handle new technologies will
also be required. Such approaches should enable smaller institutions to keep
the costs and risks of digital heritage resources and services manageable while
not being excluded from new technological developments.
|
