connecting collections, march 2010. dr tilly blyth, hidden histories: locating communications...

Hidden Histories:Locating Communications Heritage

Mobile Collections Service

Tell me about the history of communications technology where I am where I am

• Bring together objects and history within our landscapes

• Breaking down spatial boundaries of museum, collection and audiences

• Can personal histories of technology inform and be informed by scholarly histories?

Project Partners

Project supported by AHRC and BT pilot Research Networking scheme

• Tilly Blyth and Mia Ridge, Science Museum

• Jon Agar, University College London

• David Hay, Head of BT Heritage

• Andrew Chitty and Davie McGirr, Illumina Digital

Illumina Digital Ltd.• Award winning multiplatform production company

• content creation, experience design and software development for online, TV and mobile

• Work across Broadcast, Commercial, Cultural and Public Sectors• with Channel4, BBC, DCSF, Dept for Work & Pensions,

Harper Collins, V&A, IWM

• Current R&D Projects • Digital Britain Feasibility Studies for TSB• SAVI – geolocated mobile video platform• Puzzlevision online entertainment platform• Digital Film Innovation Programme for NESTA

• Innovation company within All3Media, UK’s largest media production group

Project Objectives

• Engaging Communications HeritageCan geolocated heritage increase public engagement

with and access to museum collections?

• Networking OrganisationsCan humanities and heritage organisations inform

interaction and application design or vice versa?

• Experience DesignWhat are the appropriate service conventions for user

interaction with mobile heritage?

User Journeys• General Interest User: IndividualNina, 26, Bethnal Green, Digital Native

• General Interest User: Family The Smiths, Dad 40s, Mum 40’s, Daughter 13, Boy 15, all

interested in culture, kids like science and technology

• The Academic ExpertSimon, Urban Geographer, 40, reads, interested in science

and technology but likes social side of his subject

• The External Expert: The Technology EnthusiastTony, 65 retired ICL programmer, evangelist for British

Technology

Practical Questions

• Who are the audience and what are their mobile devices?

• Sample size – 10s, 100s, 1000s?• Types of content – text, images, video• Service area• Geographical location of object – Lat/Long,

postcode, building? • Location data in database Mimsy – manufacture,

birth, use• Top level CMS for app data

Other Examples

Successful Partnerships

• Small teams with diverse skill sets• Complimentary but not overlapping skills• Enable different perspectives, by bringing staff out

of, and into, the organisation• Establish clear partnership model and guidelines• Clear partner objectives (commercial, institutional,

research)• Support and work with the best teams from creative

industries• Understanding of where project fits in wider R&D

strategy and policy (e.g. TSB, AHRC, Digital Britain)

Find out more

Dr Tilly BlythCurator of Computing and InformationScience Museumtilly.blyth@sciencemuseum.org.uk

http://sciencemuseumdiscovery.com/blogs/locatingheritage/