Drop Serious Knowledge

First off, many thanks to David Dombrosky and the fantastic crew at CAMT for inviting me to guest blog on Technology in the Arts. What a luxury to share my thoughts with you! Lately, I've been thinking about individual artists and how they're often the first to step forward and serve the community of artists. This, of course, is not a new phenomenon, but I've recently seen some compelling projects, some web-based, others enabled by technology, that deserve highlighting. This will be my focus through the end of February.

Artist Steve Lambert

Here's a cool lead off project. On January 26, 2008, visual artist Steve Lambert (b. 1976, Los Angeles) initiated the first Art WikiMarathon. His goal was to "drop serious knowledge in Wikipedia about art", including information on artists, exhibitions, organizations, etc. For eight straight hours, volunteer collaborators from around the globe sat at their laptops and collectively fed their knowledge into this public resource. More than 90 new entries were posted. Some personal favorites among the new additions include Karen Finley, Paul McCarthy, and John McCracken.

This is a great start, but just the beginning. There are thousands of other artists, especially living ones, that still need to be added. I encourage each of you to continue what Lambert started and add just one more artist to Wikipedia. Who do you find most compelling? I wrote my graduate thesis in art history on painter Alfred Jensen (b. 1903, Guatemala; d. 1981, New Jersey) and his work has captivated me for more than a decade. I just did a search for him on Wikipedia and guess what? He's not in there. And I'm going to get on it asap. We only have two choices here: either drop serious knowledge, or serious knowledge will be dropped.

Let me know if you add anybody to Wikipedia.

Introducing Spotlight Blogger - Matthew Deleget

While I know how much you love reading posts from the Technology in the Arts team, we decided to expand and deepen the dialogue around technology and the arts by inviting colleagues from the arts administration field to share their technology-related thoughts, tips, and discoveries as spotlight bloggers. To kick things off, we are delighted to introduce this month's spotlight blogger -- Matthew Deleget. In his capacity as the Managing Officer of the Information and Research Department at the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Matthew oversees all of NYFA's information programs, including the NYFA Web site, online classified listings, online artist gallery, biweekly arts magazine, and NYFA Source - the nation's most comprehensive database of programs for artists.

You may remember Matthew from the session he presented at the 2006 Technology in the Arts Conference on "Redefining an Artist Community via the Web," where he discussed MINUS SPACE, an online curatorial/critical project he co-founded with Rossana Martinez to present reductive, concept-based art by international artists.

In addition to his work as an arts administrator, Matthew is a working visual artist who has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally. He has received awards from the American Academy of Arts & Letters as well as the Brooklyn Arts Council. In 2004, he was elected to membership with the American Abstract Artists, and in 2005, to the Artists Advisory Committee of the Marie Walsh Sharp Art Foundation. His work has been reviewed in Flash Art Magazine, Artnet Magazine, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Basler Zeitung, and New York Arts Magazine. His work is included in the collections of the Saint Louis Art Museum, Fidelity Investments, Brown Rudnick and Pratt Institute, and others.

Please, join us in welcoming Matthew to the Technology in the Arts blog!

The Digital Museum - A New Book and Upcoming Webinar Series

Recently, the American Association of Museums published The Digital Museum: A Think Guide, in which twenty-five leading thinkers in the fields of technology and museums explore the impact of new technology on all aspects of museum operations, from interpretation to conservation. Topics range from the use of handheld devices, websites and digital games to open source technology and real-time learning. Beginning on Tuesday, February 12, AAM will launch "The Digital Museum: Transforming the Future Now" - a four-part series of monthly webinars further exploring areas identified in the publication and facilitated by leading practioners in the field. According to AAM, "The Digital Museum webinar series will help you explore how recent innovations in technology are transforming museum operations of every kind, from exhibitions and content delivery to education, audience evaluation, and institutional planning."

For more information on each webinar and to register for the series

A Good Cause

Today's post isn't arts-related, but all of us in the not-for-profit world are interested in supporting a good cause when we hear of one. Beth Kanter, fellow nonprofit technologist and author of Beth's Blog, asked me to share a link to an online campaign she's involved with, Route Out of Poverty for Cambodian Children.

Case Foundation, Parade Magazine and GlobalGiving are offering $50,000 to the campaign that can raise the most through unique donations will score 50 G's for their charity!

From Beth:

"Right now we're in second place with 7 more days to go.  I'm reaching out to my network to ask if they will blog or twitter about the campaign and ask their networks to contribute the minimum donation of $10. The contest ends on January 31."

Click here to read more about Route Out of Poverty and contribute now!

Instant Messaging in the Workplace

A few years ago at my previous job, I engaged in a debate with some colleagues over whether or not we should set the staff up with the ability to send instant messages (IMs) to one another. I argued that instant messaging would allow us to communicate with each other more efficiently, but my boss argued that instant messaging would reduce productivity and weaken the staff's interpersonal connections. Needless to say, my boss won out. Not that I was bitter about it. When I transitioned to my current position with the Center for Arts Management and Technology, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the staff had incorporated instant messaging into the office's culture. Rather than calling each other's extensions or sending short e-mails back and forth, staff members send brief IMs to one another. In fact, instant messaging proved to be quite a valuable tool during my job transition. I frequently used IMs to ask questions of and gain clarity from my predecessor.

So has my experience with work-related instant messaging validated my argument from years ago and proven my boss wrong? Yes...and no.

Instant messaging has indeed proven to be wonderful tool for informal workplace communication - asking brief questions, sending quick reminders, sharing internet links, etc. The real-time rapid exchange not only fosters an immediacy of communication, but it also gives the user the feeling that they are engaging in a more personal conversation than e-mail. Correspondingly, the personalities of the users are often infused into the exchange. Rather than weakening interpersonal connections, instant messaging can actually strengthen these connections by providing the messengers with a personal medium for communication.

It hasn't replaced my use of e-mail or face-to-face meetings, but instant messaging has changed how I use these other means of communication with my colleagues. Now, I tend to use e-mail for formal messages as well as messages containing important details or information that the recipient may need to access later. While I still chat informally with colleagues in-person, a great deal of my face-to-face meetings with co-workers are used for brainstorming, problem solving and other collective business activities.

Now for the "No" part. I must admit that I do feel some pressure to interrupt my work throughout the day to answer instant messages as they appear, and it has impacted my productivity to some degree. There is a solution for this. I can change my online status to indicate that "I am currently unable to reply," or I can log out.

It sounds so simple, yet it truly requires a shift in my work habits. Over the years, I have developed the habit of responding immediately to incoming email and IMs. (I also do this with returning voicemail and answering incoming phone calls.) Now, I realize that in order to focus on particular tasks and work items, I need to turn off my IMs, close my email and turn off the phone. After all, if it's really important, they'll leave a message... Right?

Related items:

• Instant Messaging Invades the Office
• Instant Messaging Etiquette

Reporting Live from AFTA’s National Arts Marketing Project Conference

Well, I’m down in sunny, breezy Miami, FL, enjoying the warm weather and the Americans for the Arts NAMC. It’s been a busy two and a half days of conferencing, and I just wanted to take a minute and share a few cool things I’ve learned while here:

• According to a survey conducted this past March by FireSpring (I think), when asked whether they use a particular medium more or less this year than the last, an average of 52% responders indicated that they were using the Internet more. Every other medium (radio, print, newspapers, television) all showed a decrease. Now, more than ever, organizations must put time, money and deep consideration into their Web presence.
• The Philadelphia Orchestra is working in conjunction with Internet2 to stream real time content into educational venues around the world, giving viewers an inside and behind the scenes look into the concert unfolding live before their eyes. The have completed a pilot program, and plan to launch a more wide-spread, sustainable program soon. For more information, you can read their press PDF by clicking here.
• Bijan’s on the River here in Miami makes a HUGE plate of paella (6’ or 7’ wide?) for parties. It was spectacular.

Well, that’s all for me. I’ve got to grab a bite, hop on a flight, and head back to wonderful, but cold, Pittsburgh, PA.

For more information about AFTA's NAMC, please visit: http://www.artsusa.org/events/2007/abc/namc/default.asp

Technology in the Arts: Post-Conference Wiki

Elizabeth Perry, one of our Technology in the Arts 2007 presenters, was kind enough to set up a wiki site for post-conference discussion. You can access the wiki at http://tita.pbwiki.com/.

The site is public, and the password is tita2007.

Please post any interesting conference follow-up information. If you were a presenter this year, please also post a way for people to access your session content. A great way to do this is by using SlideShare. It's easy... and free!

Building a Home on the Web

The National Museum of African American History and Culture has built is home on the Web, years before it actual finishes construction on its physical home (scheduled to open in Washington, DC, in 2015). The site is a great example of using the Web for community building. Most interestingly, they have developed a Memory Book, which allows site visitors to contribute stories, thoughts, photographs, and any other insights they have. The NMAAHC also has posted several audio interview samples from its StoryCorps Griot, which aims to collect and present the voices, experiences and life stories of African Americans.

http://nmaahc.si.edu/

NYT article about Second Life

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!