Current — AMT Lab @ CMU

Cary McQueen Morrow

Nonprofit dance and IT?

The folks at Misnomer Dance just sent me a link to their proposal to IdeaBlob for $10,000 that would allow them to build web-streaming for dance rehearsals, create an online theater where visitors can watch and direct performances and develop tools to display the geographic are of online audiences. Of course, the skeptic in me wants to know how you could possibly do all this for $10,000, even assuming that it will all be done low-cost, mash-up style. On the other hand, the idealist in me wants to get in on that online theater thing right now! Body mounted cameras? Sign me up! I've always wanted to know what it's like to be able to jump as high as dancers, or be lifted up and twirled around over someone's head... Maybe this would be my chance to find out!

If you'd like to vote for Misnomer to win the $10k, click here.

...And in the old-fashioned tradition of eating words...

Maybe we do get some extras out of the deal, too! A piece I just saw in today's NYT describes new research that suggests musicians (specifically conductors) are able to simultaneously process sound and sight more effectively than the average person. So there ya go. The benefit of art is art. And the benefit of training musically is heightened senses. (Who woulda thought?)

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Art for art's sake

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[Writers note: apologies are given in advance for the blatant lack of technology talk in this post.] A couple weeks ago, I was a panelist at an Americans for the Arts "Creative Conversation" here in San Francisco. We were hosted at the lovely Brava Theater Company in the Mission. A group of passionate arts administrators, we sat in a circle on the stage and discussed a wide range of topics including collaboration, community engagement, grass roots initiatives, lobbying and activism.

And, of course, we discussed obtaining funding for the arts. How do you make a compelling case? How do you get people on board? How do you educate folks about your programming? And, inevitably... the question that is always raised when we talk about raising money for our field: what are the ACTUAL benefits of the arts?

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Ahhh intentions.

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It's been almost three weeks since the 2007 Technology in the Arts conference and, I'm sure you're wondering, what happened to the Technology in the Arts blog!? Well, my friend, you're not alone. I've been wondering the same thing. Particularly when I'm dozing off to sleep after another long hectic day and it pops into my head that, once again, I haven't written anything.

Rest assured that things have not really slowed down that much on the Conference side of things at CAMT. We've been busy making all the session evaluations electronic, determining how best to analyze our results, tying up all the lose monetary ends (event planners, I know you feel my pain), and, well, generally cleaning up. (Don't you like how I tell you to rest assured? I'm sure all of you were having panic attacks over whether or not we were working on the conference!)

Oh, and there's been one other tiny, little, minor change: I've moved to San Francisco. That's right. I'm actually sitting and writing this now from the City by the Bay. This transition has been a long time in the coming, and I'm delighted to say that the new ED of CAMT is a phenomenal man and one who loves the arts and technology... David Dombrosky.

In fact, David and Jerry Coltin are going to meet up with me here in SF tomorrow and Friday for a good old fashioned brain dump. Then, David will start full-time at CAMT on November 26. I, on the other hand, am starting an arts management consulting firm and my first client is... wait for it... CAMT! For whom I will be running both the Technology in the Arts conference in Pittsburgh as well as our new sister conference in Waterloo, Ontario.

Now that you're fully in the know, feel free to stop stressing over the terrible, terrible lack of blog postings at your favorite blog. And feel free to drop us a note... Particularly if you attended this year's event! We'd love to hear what you thought, and any ideas you have for making the event even better next year!

Final Search Engine Optimization article

Make Your Nonprofit Website a Top “Hit”: A 30 Day Step by StepGuide to Dramatically Improved Search Engine Optimization Part 4 of 4 By Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson Lance@TicketPrinting.com http://www.ticketprinting.com/

Week 4 Objective: Your objectives in the fourth and final week include emailing potential link partners, negotiating link agreements, and continuing your education of SEO and nonprofit resources online.

Let’s Get Started:

1. Link Recruitment Email- Unless you have a personal friend within the site you are trying to contact, the first step you should take is to email requests for links. To do this you will want to make sure that your email contains the following:

  1. Include the request for the link early in the email so the reader knows the purpose.
  2. Explain what your website has to offer and why it will be beneficial for them to link to you. Be sure to demonstrate how this will benefit the users of the partner site.
  3. Tailor your request for the site you are contacting. Do some research and learn what services they provide to better understand their needs.
  4. Give your sites URL (address) that you would like them to use for the link. To make your link structure look more natural to search engines, do not always give the URL of your homepage. Where appropriate, link to pages within your site that are more beneficial to the link partner.
  5. Tell where you would like your link to be placed within their site.
  6. Give your contact information and request for them to contact you if they are interested.

Link Negotiations- After you have made contact with the organization; you will negotiate the terms of the link. Use the information you collected in week three with your primary and secondary link objectives to discuss the link placement. Again, your goal should be to get a link on their homepage, or within a part of their site that is topically relevant. Other points of negotiation will likely be how long the link will be posted and the appearance of the link. Use varied anchor text with your links. For example, do not ask for a “click here” link, but rather one that is topically relevant such as the organization’s name or main purpose.

2. The Future

Staying current with the latest technology advancements will make your nonprofit more successful. Below are three technology changes that will have a direct impact on your organization. By understanding what these key changes are and how you can use them, your organization will be better positioned for the future.

  1. Vertical Search Engines- Have you ever wanted to search for information that is specific to nonprofits but been unable to find what you are looking for in general search engines such as Google or Yahoo? The growing number of vertical search engines may be the solution you are looking for because they are specifically focused on one topic or user group. Today, Guidestar and the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) are great tools which help network nonprofit organizations and related information. GoodSearch is also an excellent choice for more broad information searches because they donate 50% of their total revenue back to the nonprofits registered on their site.
  2. Rich Media and Content– Rich media is becoming more and more popular due to its aesthetic appeal, but should be implemented with caution. It is often difficult for search engines to crawl frames and java content and therefore may be detrimental to your SEO efforts. Also, users with low bandwidth internet connection may become frustrated while waiting for pages to load. For more information on optimizing rich media content, visit http://www.seonews.com/.
  3. Social Networking- Sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Squidoo, and Friendster have caught the attention of many commercial companies and nonprofits alike for their unique ability to connect individuals. Many nonprofits are using social networking sites to raise awareness for their organization and accomplish very real fundraising objectives. For more information about how to leverage social networking, read TechSoup’s article, “What Can Social Networking Do for Your Organization?” or part one of my fundraising series titled, “6 Unique Online Fundraising Techniques for Your Nonprofit”

Review- Let’s now review your progress over the last four weeks.

  1. You have identified several keywords and integrated these into our websites content. This has helped your website become more visible to searchers and improved its natural search position.
  2. You have created a blog on your website which facilitates communication between affiliates and the organization while simultaneously encouraging other blogs/sites to link to you.
  3. A well thought out link campaign strategy which targets topically relevant partner sites has been established.
  4. You have begun to execute your link recruitment campaign by sending emails and negotiating link agreements.

Congratulations! You are on your way to vastly improved search engine optimization. Remember that great SEO is a continuous process and should be perused with diligence for as long as your organization is on the internet.

Week 4 Checklist:

  • Email websites
  • Negotiate link agreements
  • Establish technology goals for future
  • Continue SEO campaign and remain current with research

Logistical information for TitA 07 Attendees

Hello TitA 2007 Attendees! We are very excited to welcome you to Pittsburgh this week for the 2007 Technology in the Arts conference. This email contains information to help you with orienting yourself and getting around during the conference. If you have any questions that aren’t answered here, feel free to email me (cmorrow@cmu.edu), Brad (bstephenson@cmu.edu) or Josh (jfutrell@cm.edu) with any questions or concerns.

Conference Hosts:

Technology in the Arts is made possible by the generous contributions of time and expertise of members of the arts community around the country. Event volunteers and CAMT staff will have the designation “HOST” on their nametags. Seek out these wonderful people at any time if you have questions.

Preconference:

Those of you registered for the pre-conference tours to the Entertainment Technology Center and the Pittsburgh Glass Center should plan to be on the CMU campus in time to check in and orient yourself before the 1:00 departure time. Please see the shuttle information below, in the “getting to and from the CMU campus” section. The shuttle will leave from the front of Hamburg Hall at 1:00.

If you’re participating in the Heinz School Career Services mock interviews and lunch prior to the tour, you will be directed to the shuttle pick up point following lunch.

Birds of a Feather dinners:

Anyone registered for the conference is welcome to join us for our dutch treat Birds-of-a-Feather dinners on Thursday evening. We will be meeting in the main lobby of the Omni William Penn Hotel at 6:30 p.m. A CAMT staff member will be serving as the host for each of the interest groups, will be posted in the lobby at 6:30 with a sign, and will escort your group to its designated restaurant.

If you haven’t indicated an area of interest for the dinner, don’t worry! Just plan to meet us in the lobby of the Omni at 6:30 and we’ll get you taken care of.

Getting to and from the CMU campus:

The Technology in the Arts conference takes place on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. The majority of programming will be held in Hamburg Hall (the same building as last year), with the keynote and plenary lectures in the University Center. The campus is in a different neighborhood than the hotel, which is downtown.

We have Technology in the Arts shuttles that will be running throughout the conference between the Omni William Penn Hotel (downtown) and Hamburg Hall on the Carnegie Mellon University campus (Oakland).

THURSDAY: 8:45 – first shuttle to campus departs from the Omni William Penn 1:00 – pre-conference tours shuttle departs from Hamburg Hall 1:15 – last shuttle to the hotel departs from Hamburg Hall

FRIDAY: 8:30 a.m. – first shuttle to campus departs from the Omni William Penn 7:30 p.m. – last shuttle to the hotel departs from Hamburg Hall

SATURDAY: 8:30 a.m. – first shuttle to campus departs from the Omni William Penn 6:30 p.m. – last shuttle to the hotel departs from Hamburg Hall

Internet Access:

We have arranged for all Technology in the Arts conference attendees to have access to Carnegie Mellon’s wireless network throughout the event. Once you’re on campus, you may register your computer by opening a Web browser, and entering the following login information: USER ID: cc347 Password: Z!1xeqed

Flickr Site:

We encourage you to bring your digital cameras (or camera-enabled phones) to help us document the 2007 conference. To have all our images together we invite you to add your photos to our Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/tita/

If you don’t yet have a Flickr account, creating one is free and easy: http://www.flickr.com/. If you’re a Yahoo! member, you can use that ID to set up your Flickr account. Once your account is set up, you sign in and go to the TitA group page, join the group and then you can return to your photo pages and add any of your pics to the group.

Close out bash:

The closing party on Saturday will be held at the Andy Warhol Museum. The Museum is just blocks away from the hotel, and conference hosts will be escorting attendees from the hotel to the museum from 8:00 – 9:00. Look for the people with Technology in the Arts signs in the lobby. There is also a map to the museum located in your program book. Everyone registered for the conference may attend the party.

The VIP dinner preceding the party will be held at Bossa Nova (the same location as last year’s VIP dinner). I and another CAMT staff member will be meeting up with everyone attending the dinner in the lobby of the Omni at 6:00. We will depart for Bossa Nova at 6:15. If you haven’t already purchased tickets to the dinner, you may do so at the registration desk when you arrive.

Should you need it later, this information is available in the program book you’ll receive when you check in at Hamburg.

Third in the Search Engine Optimization article series

Make Your Nonprofit Website a Top "Hit": A 30 Day Step-by-Step Guide to Dramatically Improved Search Engine Optimization Part 3 of 4

By Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson Lance@TicketPrinting.com www.TicketPrinting.com

Week 3: Objective: to plan and develo9p a sound link recruitment campaign

What you need to know:

Links: A link is a connection between one webpage to another. Search engines value links because if many links are pointing to the same webiste, then the wesbsite is deemed to be important and is given a higher pagerank (range 1-10) or level of importance. Having inbound links from "quality" sites will booste yor website's SEO campaign more than any other factor.

If we think of keywords as the means to telling search engines what your site is about, then links are the channels that tell search engines how important your site is. Links are also where your nonprofit can truly shine. Other websites are generally more willing to provide a link to an informational or nonprofit organization making link recruitment considerably easier.

Link Recruitment Strategies - There are three basic strategic approaches to acquiring links:

  1. Get as many links as posible
  2. Get a few high quality links
  3. Have a combination of quantity and quality links

Having a combination between quality and quantity is currently the most effective and recommended strategy. Remember, search engines do not value all links equally and neither should your organization. Having some low quality links from directories (week 1) will give your organization a slight boost, but the real gains in ranking will be derived from the quality of incoming links.

Inbound Link Partners - The question you need to ask yourself now is, "What webistes are similar in topic and would benefit from the contents of my webiste?" To answer this question, you will first need to identify the informatino or service your site offers that makes it unique and friendly to link to. As a general rule, websites will only link to you ify ou give them something of real value. If you find yourself thinking, "My website has nothing to offer," then you should go back and work on your website's content before continuing any further. If you do have value to offer, take some time perusing the Internet to find organizations which focus on similar topics that would possibly link to you. In the first 30 days, try to develop a contact list of at least the top 50 possible link partners. Look for sites with a high pagerank (although keep in mind pagerank is a rough estimate not an exact measurement). Pageranks range in value from 1-10 and show up on the top of your Web browser. You will want to install the free pagerank toolbar to acquire this tool.

Reciprocal Linking - Some entities inevitably will only be willing to trade links. This is called a reciprocal link. Establishing a reciprocal link entails placing a link on your site which directs visitors to a partner's site in exchange for a link back to your own. Search engines do not value reciprocal links very highly, but a few reciprocal links will not hurt the organization as long as it contributes to a natural looking link structure (searchenginenews.com). Reciprocal links should rarely be sought out, but rather used as a fallback position in link negotiations (this topic will be covered in week 4).

Link Placement - The placement of your link on a partner's site is often equal in importance to the quality of the partnering organization. This makes it critical to have a link placement strategy in place before you contact the organization. A good strategy consists of a best case scenario which almost always is a link on the homepage, and a backup position which will be where you feel your link is the best fit to the organization. Having your link placed in a topically relevant area of the partnering organization is critical because search engines use link placement information to determine the purpose of your organization.

Anchor Text - Another factor that is pivital to achieving a natural linking structure is establishing varied, keyword rich anchor text for each link obtained. Anchor text is the text displayed in the link on another page linking back to yours. If websites linking to your site are willing to accept suggestions for the anchor text, make sure each one is varied and include common keywords. Avoid links that say "click here" etc. because they will be much less valuable to your site than a specific targeted keyword that you identified in the first week.

Voluntary Links - If your website has quality content; it is very possible that sites will want to provide a link to your site without you even having to ask. To facilitate this, provide an easy "link to us" section of your webpage where sites can sign up to link to you. Be sure to approve each link personally so that you ensure overall quality.

Additional Resources - The Unfair Advantage book, "101 Link Building Tips to Market Your Website" (SEOBook.com), and How to Achieve Higher Rankings and Stay Out of Google Hell Via Optimized Internal Linking are good sources for more information about linking.

Week 3 Checklist:

  • Decide your link recruitment strategy
  • Identify what valuable service/information your organization contains
  • Develop a list of the top 50 possible links with contact information
  • Set your link placement goals for each contact
  • Decide what anchor text you will use for each contact.
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NYT article about Second Life

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Check out this article in today's New York Times about the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's performance in Second Life. For $16,000, the orchestra built a concert hall over two "sims" (parcels of land) and produced a concert, the music of which can be reused any time thanks to a new contract with the musicians. As the article states, using Second Life as an outreach/programming activity in the classical music realm is still "bleeding edge"... the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas calls it a "stunt phase." Still, if we can reach new audiences and put the traditional arts in places that make them accessible to new audiences, I say let's do it!

Second Search Engine Optimization Article

Make Your Art Organization’s Website a Top “Hit”: A 30 Day Step by Step Guide to Dramatically Improved Search Engine OptimizationPart 2 of 4

By Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson Lance@TicketPrinting.com www.TicketPrinting.com
Week 2: Objective:Your week two objectives are to implement a sitemap and create and maintain a successful blog.

What you need to know:

Sitemap- Having a sitemap that connects the entire website will eliminate the need for having multiple links on the homepage and will make the pages more crawlable by search engine spiders. A sitemaps purpose is to provide a central link hub for the website, allowing search engines or users to easily navigate the various pages. Search engines recognize new pages by following links from existing pages, so having a sitemap will ensure all pages are indexed properly. While this will have no effect on the websites SEO campaign, it is an important element of any successful website and will also help when introducing a blog (below). To download software to create your own sitemap, visit Site Map Pro.

Blog- A blog is basically an open forum where participants can discuss various topics. Nonprofits can utilize them to tell readers about organization projects, outreach programs, and upcoming events.

Reason for a Blog- In my article “10 Reasons every Art Organization Must Have a Blog,” I emphasize the important role blogs play. For SEO purposes, a blog is beneficial because other sites/blogs link to read the blog’s content and therefore the websites overall pagerank (level of importance) increases. However, blogs are not only important for SEO purposes, they are also excellent tools for marketing, fundraising, and allow organizations to convey the true “heart” of their efforts.

Create a Blog- Starting a blog is not only easy, but also inexpensive. There are dozens of free or nearly free services to create a blog including Blogger (recommended), Blog-City, EasyJournal, Blogeasy, Typead, Grey Matter, Userland, or Movable Type. Simply follow their step-by-step instructions to create your own blog today.

Blog Directories and Related Blogs- Once you have created a blog, you will need to spread the word about it. To do this, begin by submitting your blog to directories. Good blog directories include Technorati, Blogcatolog, Topblogarea, and Bloghub. The directories will categorize your blog and make it available for others to read about it. Next, use one or more of the listed directories to find other blogs focused on similar topics. Identify what blogs are most closely related to art organizations, and read posts to gain a better understanding of their blog format and writing style. One of the best ways to get new people looking at your blog is to post entries on other blogs with a link back to your own. According to the March, 2007 Blog Readership Report, 67.3% of bloggers found information by following links from other blogs. However, bloggers do not appreciate worthless entries with the sole intention of back links. When you make a post, be sure to add something useful to the conversation and explain why your link will be worth following.

Subscribers- Arguably the greatest measure of blog success is the number of subscribers. Subscribers are usually consistent readers and often post entries onto the blog. The greater number of subscribers your blog has, the more easily you can promote an upcoming event or inform constituents of a recent projects success. Copyblogger’s article, “10 Effective ways to Get More Blog Subscribers,” gives great tips for how to increase the number of blog subscribers. You will want a RSS feed for your blog to allow subscribers to receive updates when you add new blog posts.

Blogs True Purpose- Blogs have helped a countless number of organizations achieve their SEO objectives. More importantly however, blogs have allowed art related organizations to connect with their supporters in a completely new way. The stories, issues, and projects surrounding the organization reach a number of people who would otherwise not have been exposed. To learn more about how to put blogs to work for your organization, read one of the many informational articles on problogger or copyblogger. For examples of other nonprofit organizations that have successfully used blogs visit:

http://www.aspca.org/aspcablog/index.html http://network.bestfriends.org/Blogs/ http://www.waterconserve.org/blog/water_conservation/ http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blog/ http://www.intelligentgiving.com/the_buzz/the_blog/ http://blogs.walkerart.org/ecp/

Week 2 Checklist:

  • Create Sitemap
  • Find blog provider
  • Create your blog
  • Visit topically relevant blogs and post entries
  • Submit your blog to directories
  • Get subscribers
  • Research other ways to harness the power of the blog

First in a series of Search Engine Optimization Articles

We are pleased to present the first in a series of four articles written by Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson from TicketPrinting.com related to search engine optimization. Read on...

Make Your Art Organization a Top “Hit”: A 30 Day Step-by-Step Guide to Dramatically Improved Search Engine Optimization Part 1 of 4

By Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson

Lance@TicketPrinting.com www.TicketPrinting.com

Do you ever wonder why some websites seem to steal the top positions on search engines? No, it is not magic, and yes, your art organization can do it too. The “secret” to achieving this success for your website is by harnessing the power of search engine optimization. By following this step-by-step guide, you will be well on your way to drastically improving your websites standing in only 30 days.

Overall Objective:

The overall objective should be to improve your websites position on search engines.

What you need to know:

Despite what some companies may want you to believe, there are no tricks or shortcuts to SEO and you will not top the list of search results overnight. Three major areas should be focused on for a successful SEO campaign. These areas include:

1. Keywords 2. Website design 3. Links

Week 1:

Objective:

Your objectives in the first week include submitting your site to several link directories and improving your websites keyword structure.

Let’s Get Started:

Directories- Submitting to nonprofit directories such as CharityNavigator, Yahoo Health, idealist.org, and fundsnetservices or general directories such as Business.com, Best of the Web, and DMOZ will immediately affect your websites search rankings. While listing your site on directories is worth your time, the links are of little overall value and will only have a minimal impact on your ranking.

Keywords- Keywords are the words/phrases that tell search engines about the purpose of your site. It is important to identify which words are most advantageous to your organization so they can be optimized in your content. Begin selecting keywords by brainstorming every word/phrase that is topically relevant to your organization. Remember, put yourself into the shoes of the searcher and avoid industry jargon. Be sure to include the name of the organization and the main service the organization provides. Additionally, when selecting keywords try to avoid general terms such as “theater”, “art”, or “fundraiser” and select keywords that are unique and relevant. Two problems arise when general keyword terms are used:

  1. The phrase becomes more competitive and harder to rank well on.
  2. The site receives traffic from people who are looking for a different service than your organization provides.

Art organizations in particular need to include action keywords such as “donate” or “contribute” to make their fundraising campaigns more successful. If you are still unable to generate keywords, browse through websites of similar organizations and look which keywords are used on their sites.

Keyword Tracker Tools- Once you have developed a starter list, you are ready to test the words using one of the many online keyword tracker tools. The best free online tool today is yahoo’s Overture. This will show the popularity of the keyword entered during the last month and give a rough idea of what additional keywords may work for the organization. However, for the organization that wants to launch a more targeted and successful SEO campaign, Wordtracker is the correct instrument to use. Wordtracker has additional features such as the inclusion of plurals and misspellings in its search. Most importantly Wordtracker includes the competition for each of the keyword phrases. The trick here is to select keywords that are popular searches but not commonly used by other organizations.

Keyword Density- There has been a great deal of hype regarding keyword density and finding the correct density for each search engine. Keyword density refers to the frequency that the keyword is used. According to the most current and accurate articles written on the subject, such as the Unfair Advantage (within searchenginenews.com), keyword density is in fact much less important than originally predicted. The only standing rule of keyword density is not use “keyword stuffing” techniques where the phrase is repeated multiple times. Search engines now monitor this tactic and will actually lower your sites ranking if they detect stuffing. Search Engine Land’s article, SEO “Don’ts”: 20 Fatal Mistakes You Must Avoid to Succeed, gives an accurate list of pitfalls such as keyword stuffing that you will want to steer clear of when implementing your SEO strategy.

New Website Content- When incorporating keywords into the websites text, be sure to look at the content from the users’ point of view, and strike a balance between the user and the search engine (priority always goes to the user), making content friendly for both. For further reading on how to layout your website to optimize its effectiveness with search engines read Matt McGee’s 21 Essential SEO Tips & Techniques or one of the many articles on the subject in Search Engine Land.

Title and Header Tags- The most important keywords identified should be included in the websites title and header tags. A title tag is a short html code that tells search engines about your site, while headers are viewed by users on the top of each page and tell the purpose of the page. The 7 Essential Title Tag Strategies of High Ranking Web Pages in 2006 has further information about how to improve title tags to optimize your search performance.

Week One Checklist:

  • Submit your website to directories
  • List keywords
  • Test your keywords with online tools
  • Research title and header tags
  • Improve your websites content by adding keywords
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A few good articles...

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One thing that's consistently true about information technology is that you can't trust what was true today to be true tomorrow. If it's hard to identify and articulate the scope for your technology project, it can be even harder to find the tools that match up with your requirements. Founded in November 2005 by a brave woman named Laura Quinn, idealware.org is a nonprofit organization that publishes unbiased articles about technology tools in a wide variety of areas, from electronic newsletters to blogging to Constituent Relationship Management. Laura seeks input from a wide variety of technology professionals and all the authors involved strive to provide honest, plain-talking information about a given subject, and in my humble opinion, they're doing a great job.

Check out Idealware.org's "A few good tools" report series on topics like Web Analytics and CMS, or more theoretical articles like "In Search of CRM" or "Building Peace Through Information and Communication Technologies."

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Technology in the Service of Art

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Lately I’ve been experimenting with Ableton’s Live software, which allows me to create interesting arrangements, construct new pieces from scratch, and generally play with music. Live lets me lay down every single layer within a track… by myself… fast… with thousands of different sounds at my disposal. It’s fantastic. Best of all, the anal retentive freak in me is able to go back and revise music I record to make sure that in the “saved” version of the piece, I hit the note smack dab at the beginning of the third thirty-second of the beat, rather than the hairs-breadth off that I actually played. Far from weaning me off traditional music making, Live has deepened my respect and love for the craft of artistry. I find that when I’m fiddling around with the digital manifestation of the music, trying to bring down the volume on the pedal point tones, or simply arrange the notes into a harmonic minor scale with just the mouse, I’m incredibly impatient with a task that should just HAPPEN under my finger tips.

Don’t get me wrong. Technology is wonderful. With Photoshop I can manipulate my images without investing in a full dark-room setup. With Illustrator I can create versatile graphics that can be used just about anywhere. With Live I can be an entire orchestra without leaving my home. And technology is especially wonderful when it enhances rather than detracts from art. When it allows me to do things that aren’t otherwise feasible. When it lets me experience things I can’t normally access.

Like the use of technology in Lois Greenfield and the Australian Dance Theater’s new performance, Held. For this work, Greenfield photographs the dancers mid-movement and the images are instantly projected onto a screen. This is a perfect exemplification of the Technology in the Service of Art principle. Greenfield notes in the Telegraph that in these images “you are seeing something you couldn't without the benefit of the photograph. I capture 1/2,000th of a second and our brains can't register that. But we can see it on a picture."

Held uses technology to intensify our ability to cherish and appreciate the craft of the artists. It’s a beautiful marriage of media because it respects the strengths and limitations of every component involved, from the camera to the artists to the audience.

Call for Papers for Journal of IT in Social Change -- deadline: tomorrow

Please see the posting below for a call for papers relating to innovative uses of technology in the non-profit sector. I encourage you to participate if you have relevant research! * * * * * * *

Organizations in the nonprofit and voluntary sector have recognized that information technologies are a vital part of their effective mission achievement. While a large and growing body of practical knowledge already exists, practitioners, managers, and policy makers still lack systematic scholarly research about how information technologies are changing the nonprofit sector and the organizations within it.

NTEN and Nonprofit Online News are seeking research papers for a panel and a publication. The panel will be held at the Nonprofit Technology Conference, in Washington DC April 4-6, 2007 and will focus on "The State of the Art in Nonprofit Technology." We will publish papers in the inaugural issues of "The Journal of Information Technology in Social Change." We are seeking rigorously designed research that explores all facets of ICT implementation, use, and innovation in nonprofit and grassroots organizations and sectors. We are interested in research that engages with these and similar themes:

  • Technology adoption in the voluntary sector
  • The relationship between open ICT ecosystems and civil society
  • Issues around the use of technology platforms, e.g., free/open source software and proprietary systems
  • How nonprofits and grassroots organizations use information technologies
  • Organizational change and technology implementation
  • The unique technological needs of nonprofit and grassroots organizations
  • The role of technology in promoting social change

We are taking a multidisciplinary approach. Original papers and proposals are sought from researchers in all relevant subject areas. Proposals submitted should address facets of nonprofit technology, broadly construed.

Complete papers are strongly encouraged and will be given priority over abstracts or proposals. Two to three page proposals that include a summary of research findings and methods used will also be considered.

Send submissions including the author's contact information, position, and affiliation as PDF, RTF, or DOC files to research@nten.org.

Timeline:

  • Deadline for Submissions (complete papers preferred): December 15, 2006
  • Author notification (and editorial requests) by: February 15, 2007
  • Complete Papers Due: March 10, 2007
  • Journal Publication Date: April 5, 2007
  • Conference: April 4-6, 2007

Partners:

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Interpreting Culture, Part 2

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As the shelf life of “new” continues to be defined by smaller and smaller time increments, how do we as arts administrators help artists to do their jobs – ask the timeless questions – in a timely fashion? I’m a big fan of John Seabrook’s 2001 book NoBrow: the Culture of Marketing and the Marketing of Culture, a series of essays that illustrate how these two phenomena work in contemporary American society. In one essay, Seabrook compares his own life to that of his father’s, noting the evolution of high-brow/low-brow distinctions are made through clothes: his father had a suit for every occasion, whereas “a Chemical Brothers T-shirt will get me further in many places than my father’s suit.”

One implication of Seabrook’s message is that in order to communicate effectively in a time when identity is defined by taste, arts organizations must realize that an artist’s message will be read in the specific context of a highly customized, consumption-driven life. People filter “high art” messages through the same lens they use to see billboards, print advertising, television commercials, product placements, movie trailers, product jingles…

What tools can we use to deliver artists’ content quickly and effectively? What role do we play in making sure their voices are heard clearly, and on time (particularly on a day like today)? How do we “buy in” to all the exciting two-way communication technology tools available to us now without “selling out”?

See you soon!

It's hard to believe it's the Monday before the conference! The programming is set, the program book is done, the rooms and equipment are reserved, the party planning is down to the nuts and bolts of setup and installation...

Now all we need is you! I'm so excited for Friday and the chance to welcome all of you to our first Technology in the Arts conference. We've got a deliciously wide spectrum of organizatoins attending including theaters, ballets, museums, arts service orgs, arts agencies, universities, arts funders...

There will be about 120 of us representing 75 organizations, which will make for a nice, intimate atmosphere, ideal for in-depth dialogue, brainstorming and relationship building. We'll be in Hamburg Hall (home of CAMT) on the CMU campus, with shuttles running us where we need to go throughout the event.

Also, the committee for our closing party has truly outdone themselves, and all indicators point to a fun, art-filled conference-closing camt@ten.

As always, if you have any last-minute questions or concerns, feel free to contact us!