Building digital communities

for your heritage project

Tehmina Goskar | tehmina@goskar.com

http://tehmina.goskar.com | @tehm

Key Heritage Skills, Swansea University, 6 Dec 2012

What do you want to do?Who do you want to do it with?

before you start

Copper Day (http://www.copperday.org.uk/)

Using the right tool for the jobReal people, communicate vs broadcast

how do people communicate?

Communication Clutter (http://www.ddb.com/)

http://www.connectingwithconsumers.net/

CommunitiesContent

DiscussionDistribution

your digital landscape

http://costaricacloseup.com/designstudios/

millions that don’t…• 7.82 million adults never used

the internet

• 10% lower than 2011

• “This is not just about getting more people online, but about building the skills of those who are online,” Martha Lane Fox (UK Digital Champion)

BBC Online (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20236708)

intelligence on digital

communities

488 million users regularly use Facebook mobile. (source: All Facebook)

69 percent of follows on Twitter are suggested by friends. (source: Web Analytics World)

30 percent of users who make a public post [on Google+] never make a second one. (source: Jeff Bullas)

52% of mobile internet users online multiple times daily (in several short sessions) vs. 45% on computer (in several long sessions). (source: Our Mobile Planet)

It’s not all about big numbers

You are a heritage project, not Coca Cola

If you build it, will they come?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-honigman/http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet/

digital engagement in arts and culture

• Importance of getting information from ‘trusted brands’

• 76% ‘enjoy finding out about topics/subjects of interest (e.g. bird watching, WWII, fashion)’

• 51% ‘enjoy finding out about my family history’

• 51% ‘enjoy finding out about the things that I collect’.

• 25 hours: Online leisure time (1) email (2) searching for info (3) shopping; Creating content last

• 12 hours: Watching TV (apart from sport and movies)

MTM, Digital audiences: Engagement with arts and culture online, Nov 2010 | Image: Anglesea copar ledi (Anglesea Archives)

• 33% Found out more about artist/performer or event/exhibition

• 21% Viewed the work of others (e.g. reading blogs, watching YouTube)

• 20% Purchased tickets• 16% Watched or listened to a clip of a recording of an arts

performance/exhibition• 15% Found out how to improve creative skills • 13% Investigated ways of taking part (e.g. lessons,

classes, clubs or societies)• 8% Watched or listened to a full recording • 7% Uploaded something creative or artistic that they

created • 7% Used a forum for discussing or sharing or commented

on a blog• 6% Downloaded software or mobile phone apps • 6% Actually use the internet or mobile phone to be

creative• 5% Publicised something related to arts and culture

‘Please indicate whether you have done any of the following using the

internet within the past 12 months?’

Sample: 2000 adults

MTM, Digital audiences: Engagement with arts and culture online, Nov 2010

Museums: • Over two thirds interested in learning more online about an exhibition or

object• Over half interested in a virtual tour.

Libraries:• Three quarters want to learn more online about what is available (e.g.

exhibitions, literary events, music etc)• Over one third interested in virtual tours (e.g. round the library).

Literature: • Most interest in ‘learning more about a performance or learning how to do

something’ and ‘viewing a five minute clip of a performance’.

Visual arts: • Most appealing is ‘watching a five minute clip’ and very high interest levels

for ‘learning more about a performance or learning how to do something’ and ‘taking a virtual tour’.

Archives: • Audience with highest interest in ‘learning how to do something’ and

‘subscribing to a regular service’• Relatively high interest in ‘learning more about an exhibition or object’.

MTM, Digital audiences: Engagement with arts and culture online, Nov 2010

high quality, clear contentEasy to accessEasy to share

The original Bagpuss by Peter Firmin, 1974

Unites website, social media channels and printDesign accordingly

Have more than one version suitable for banner and an avatar

visual cue or brand

blogs for heritage projectsIt’s your content. You can analyse it.

Low cost. Hosting and domain name.

Participate in other communities to bring people to your content.

Aggregate your ‘back channels’ e.g. Twitter feed, YouTube videos.

Give visitors easy opportunity to share content

Keep updating for the duration of your project.

Wordpress, Blogger require little technical expertise to set up.

Case-study: Copper Day

5 March 2011

www.copperday.org.uk

what did we want to do?

Raise awareness of historic copperworks

Celebrate 200 years of the Hafod Copperworks

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lower Swansea Valley Project

Hold a free event for local communities

Share knowledge freely

Collect memories

Get diverse organisations to collaborate

blog

Twitter

YouTube

Flickr

poster/ flyer

articles

press releas

e

emails

mailing lists

bus adver

t

big screen

Access to heritageActivities and sources

analysis of event

analysis of blog

1 Jan – 22 Mar 2012

visitor flow…

after Copper Day

Still receiving comments to Memories section, latest in October 2012

c.150 unique visits a month; 65 sec duration

No new content since April 2011

A time capsule, incorporated into Copper Project’s learning legacy site www.welshcopper.org.uk

What next?http://www.copperday.org.uk/memories/

Community management

Web forums, Facebook Pages/Groups, LinkedIn, mailing lists

Is your project about generating content or generating discussion?

Lead-in time can be long—longer than the life of most heritage projects

30 Page Likes required by Facebook to access stats

Lifetime value of a member

Most communities have a terrible newcomer to regular conversion ratio.

100,000 unique visitors > 1,000 might sign up > 700 might complete registration > 250 might contribute > 50 will be active after 1 month > 5 will be active after 6 months.

http://www.feverbee.com/

Case study: DigVentures

Site Huthttp://digventures.com/

it didn’t work for the

communityDiscussion happened

here

250 Venturers

120 on siteLess than

10% in Site Hut

Accessed 176 times

Urrrr shit……….hahahaha

Be prepared to moderate or close comments

Beware of trolls: people whose sport it is to be deliberately provocative online

Watch out for SPAM. Scrutinise comments in your forum or blog before publishing.

pls RTFast and furious

Of the moment discussion (backchannel)

Relentless

Must keep going

Have conversations, don’t SPAM

Welcome people and #FF

Give your project a hashtag #History51

Sharing research: Copper slag walls, Amlwch @copperhistories

the humble mailing list

Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, Jiscmail

Communities of common interest

Group for Education in Museums (GEM)

Museum Computer Group (MCG)

Mining History

Advertise your project, event, survey, generate leads.

Is industrial heritage

education at risk?

digital photo cultureSerious about photography

Powerful tool

Rivaled by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for instant sharing

Elegant way to present photographic archives

Start a group

Can be embedded

Flickr meets

Documenting Newlyn Pilchard Works, now closed.

Do your homework by becoming a user of heritage contentSee what works for you and what does not

Keep your audiences in the forefront of your mind

be part of a community yourself

http://tehmina.goskar.comlet’s continue the chat