An eventful March unfolds in the arts, technology, and entertainment space. With the sale of TikTok still pending, well-known tech investors like Perplexity, Microsoft, and Oracle throw their hats in the ring. And, though ethical debates of AI-generated and AI-assisted work are ongoing, it is finding success in the auction houses and award ceremonies. Meanwhile, recent tech acquisitions may signal a shift in the music industry, and South by Southwest (SXSW) is making a strategic adjustment following this year’s festival. Read the highlights.
In an age when content creation is set to hyper-speed and cast across chaotically-changing social media platforms, journalism has become embroiled in the crossfire. Some approaches to the form have embraced such change, turning to more decentralized and personality-driven forms of reporting and analysis to survive the ever-choppier digital waters. Learn how AI and social media giants are impacting this evolving journalism ecosystem.
With this increased competition form live service gaming, consumer expectations continue to shift and grow. In Part II of this capstone research by Heinz College Master of Entertainment Industry Management students, the team has employed data-gathering methods such as interviews, a survey, and social listening to better understand factors influencing player engagement and retention.
Live service games, or LSGs, are one of the largest drivers in gaming revenue. However, as the market continues to saturate, game developers are finding it difficult to sustain players. In part one of this capstone study by Heinz College Master of Entertainment Management students, learn more about the background of these games and what has made them so successful.
In the middle of awards season, major announcements in the media and entertainment industry defined February’s news. While Spotify prepares to ramp up its product offerings, new AI-powered tech is winning Grammys and helping make magic happen on the big screen. All this takes place in the shadow of some major policy announcements regarding copyright and AI.
As many are heading back to school and wrapping up their summers, AMT Lab is taking a short break as we transition staff and start gearing up for another year of research and arts+tech content. Stay tuned--on queue we have several great interviews, white papers, and articles that we are really excited to share!
See you soon,
Jackie Shimshoni, Interim Editor in Chief
Digital badges are an alternative method of credentialing that can identify specific skills a learner has mastered through the course of their own self-directed learning. Badges can be acquired in online, in-class, or apprenticeship learning settings. In spite of the great potential that digital badges offer for distinguishing an individual’s job-specific credentials, work must be done to make them more widely understood.
AMT Lab's latest publication, The Future of Micro-Credentialing: An Overview of Digital Badges for the Arts, is meant to be a guide for hiring managers in the arts that: defines what digital badging is; explains suggested taxonomies of digital badges; reviews the acquisition process; introduces initiatives to standardize and create accreditation; compares viewpoints on strengths and weaknesses compared to the traditional learning accreditation model; demonstrates the need for digital badges as a credential; suggests other considerations for using digital badges in the hiring of employees.
When discussing the future of the arts, many professionals and studies have stated that the manner in which audiences consume arts and culture is rapidly changing--and has already changed. The Internet has been the most notable new space for consuming culture, providing both opportunities and challenges through widespread and instant information sharing. Over the past several years, AMT Lab has documented the various web-based arts experiences that are becoming readily available--usually including lessons and best practices that managers can take away for their own practice. This week’s TBT rounds them up into a user-friendly toolbox of online arts experiences of various artistic mediums.
Web 2.0 has changed many aspects of the modern world, and fundraising and philanthropy is no exception. From the tidal wave of tech tycoons committing to the Giving Pledge to the rise of crowdfunding (and a bevy of potential platforms for a crowdfunder to choose from), soliciting essential funds has more avenues than ever--and more potential challenges along with them. This week's throwback rounds up numerous articles that provide time-tested wisdom on how to navigate in the new world of web-based fundraising and philanthropy.
In most cases, an organization’s efficacy is only as strong as its internal cohesiveness. But how do we create this environment? There are many technological tools available that are designed to ease organizational communication and workflow management, and through the years AMT Lab has written product reviews and articles featuring several of them. This week’s TBT is a toolkit for managers thinking about implementing new communication or workflow processes, or even reviewing their existing processes to see whether they have the best tools for their projects.
While many idealize the implementation of technology into organizational practices, those who have attempted to do so know firsthand that there are many challenges involved--many of which have less to do with the technology itself, and more to do with the human process of adjusting to it. Over the years, several AMT Lab articles have covered different aspects of this adjustment, and today’s throwback gathers them together to create a handy organizational guide to adjusting to technology.
As we begin July, many are taking summer vacations to different countries, a different state, or perhaps just the rugged terrain of their own backyard. For those who would like a little virtual escape, this week’s roundup throws us back to AMT Lab articles that featured digital collections, apps and innovations from around the world.
This is the second research update in a larger series about the future of digital micro-credentials in the arts. In this update, AMT Lab Correspondent Jackie Shimshoni introduces Mozilla's Open Badges, how they differ from digital badges, and the types of metadata that can be shared using this valuable tool.
While technology and art combine frequently to facilitate the practices of arts managers, they are simultaneously blending to create a whole new artform--new media art. All bets are off with this medium, as an array of tools, approaches and capabilities make it impossible to label as either visual or performance; in many cases, the art goes even farther and provides a social benefit to those who experience it. This week’s TBT provides managers with a roundup of the research we’ve done so far to start piecing together a picture of what new media art means for the future of management in all types of arts venues and forums.
Here at AMT Lab, we have been sorting through plenty of data as we prepare for tomorrow’s release of the full report from our 2015 National Ticketing Survey (stay tuned!). Today’s throwback is a collection of AMT Lab Articles that discuss tools, stories and best practices for the management and usage of quantitative data in an arts organization. Most of these are a more recent throwback, but even those articles from 2012 still provide invaluable resources for organizational leaders.
Today the news is buzzing with Google as they launch their Sidewalk Labs initiative in an effort to improve urban life. But here at AMT Lab, we have spent years dedicating posts to the many ways that Google products and services can improve arts management practices. This installment of Throwback Thursday will share several of them, drawing on posts that span as far back as 2008.
Arts integration has applications across all subject areas in various learning settings. Most articles on visual arts integration do not consider technology; however, it makes sense that they should. By introducing a technological component to arts integration efforts, educators can create an innovative environment where children prepare for the creative and multidisciplinary needs of their future. AMT Lab's latest publication, Technologies in Arts Integration Curricula, compares types of integration hardware, methods of hardware acquisition, types of software, and multiple case studies in order to introduce readers to ways that technology can assist with multidisciplinary curriculum delivery.
CREATE Lab creates multi-disciplinary learning experiences that allow communities to become technologically fluent. CREATE Lab’s novel combinations of visual arts and technologies provide a wealth of new potential tools to arts administrators and their organization. This article will introduce a few of the exciting projects that CREATE Lab is already testing in the Pittsburgh community, as well as access points for administrators and educators who are interested in implementing them.
Digital badges are an alternative method of credentialing that can identify specific skills that a learner has mastered through the course of their own self-directed learning. Over the course of this research, I will be sharing more about the digital badge acquisition process, taxonomies of digital badges, initiatives being undertaken to standardize and create accreditation, and what employers should know for using digital badges in both hiring and continuing education of employees.
Patreon is a relatively young, up-and-coming crowdfunding platform geared specifically toward funding creative works. Its unique patronage model sets it apart from competitors, and has driven its rapid rise in popularity over the past two years. Compared to the popular creative crowdfunding sites IndieGoGo and Kickstarter, Patreon offers some unique characteristics that help it meet organization’s funding needs. Click here to read the full article.
Most articles on arts integration do not consider technology; however, it makes sense that they should. By introducing a technological component to arts integration efforts, educators can create an innovative environment where children prepare for the creative and multidisciplinary needs of their future.
