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Application Development, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, Internet Strategy, Social Networking, User Experience Design, personas, prototype, scenarios, smithsonian, strategy
Smithsonian Commons: Vast, Findable, Shareable, Free December 3rd, 2009
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Have you visited a Smithsonian website lately? Probably not. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Even those we interviewed on the National Mall in Washington DC at a physical Smithsonian museum hadn’t considered using a Smithsonian website. It’s a shame, considering the rich education available on their numerous affiliated websites. Few also realize the tradition of excellent and influential research conducted by the Smithsonian. What a lost opportunity to learn from one of the nation’s greatest collections of history, culture, art and science.
Now imagine what it would be like to have 137 million artifacts, specimens and works of art at your fingertips. Think of the innovative results from collaborative problem solving if scientists and researchers all over the world had access to Smithsonian knowledge. And don’t forget the impact that quality learning materials could have on teachers and students in classrooms and at home.
In July 2009, NavArts helped the Smithsonian complete a Web and New Media Strategy. The strategy describes an updated digital experience, bringing the Institution in line with the new collaborative anytime-anywhere learning model. Part of the strategy includes the creation of the Smithsonian Commons – a mother-ship of sort that aggregates content from all Smithsonian sources and gives it away freely and openly for use in the community. It’s a place where civilians across the world can share in knowledge creation.
Over the past year, Michael Edson, Director of Web and New Media Strategy at the Smithsonian, has been promoting his vision of a Smithsonian Commons. Now, NavArts is helping to realize this vision by building a rapid prototype of the Smithsonian Commons in 12 short weeks. One of the main goals of this prototype is to help visualize what it would be like if the world had access to the volumes of knowledge and digitized assets at the Smithsonian, and had the freedom to share and re-use all of it at-will. We are proud to say we’ve met our Phase 1 deliverable and just posted 5 persona-based stories to the Smithsonian Web strategy wiki for all to see and add comments.
Through the month of December, we’ll be firming up these stories, architecting the pages and functionality, and beginning design. While prototypes aren’t meant to be perfect, this prototype will hopefully begin to enlighten stakeholders, potential investors and future users on the benefits and unique value that a Smithsonian Commons would provide.
The prototype will demonstrate four key themes: vast, findable, shareable and free. We’ve described these themes in our Phase 1 deliverable and I’ve included the descriptions below:
Vast
Anyone in the world can have, at their fingertips, the whole Smithsonian, including deep collections and the vitality, curiosity, and creativity of our staff, visitors, partners, and our extended global community. The Smithsonian is shown as the center of an amazing network of ideas, collections, and people. No other institution can offer so much to so many.
Findable
Vastness and Findability go hand-in-hand. The vastness of the Smithsonian can be discovered because search, navigation, and overall user experience design enables people to find the content they’re interested in, in the ways they expect to find it, including through recommendations and comments by staff and visitors, external search sites, and social networks.
Shareable
Sharing is the foundation of collaboration and learning, and the Smithsonian’s impact can be greatly amplified if what we do is easy to share. The Smithsonian Commons will encourage use and re-use for work and pleasure, in social networks, on mobile phones, and in the classroom, workshop, and laboratory.
Free
Sharing and Free go hand-in-hand. The Smithsonian is built on the idea that the tools of discovery and knowledge creation should be available to all: the Smithsonian Commons will be built on the fact that free, high-quality resources will spread farther and create more good in the world than those that are enclosed by unnecessary fees and licenses. Free does not mean unprofitable: A popular and thriving Smithsonian Commons, built with revenue-generation in mind, will open up new business opportunities and drive increased traffic to our core e-commerce and membership offerings.
Get the back story, follow our progress, and by all means contribute to this important endeavor through the Smithsonian Web strategy wiki.
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