Tuesday 19, we took part in the Museums & Mobile 2013 online conference. This event has been held since 2009 with the aim of promoting the effective use of mobile technology in museums. The traditional audio guide, the device with which the use of mobile technology in cultural spaces took off, was not even mentioned in this issue. Nonetheless, this response opens the door to new endeavors, more innovation and a promising future.
As a bonus to the presentation of the main projects (to which we devote a specific section in this post), the organizers launched a series of small questionnaires for listeners who were connected. Undoubtedly, their answers enriched the debate. From these conversations, we would like to highlight the following points
- WIFI is now present in most museums, although it is experiencing a more gradual growth: 60% of respondents already have WiFi in their museums, but 20% have no plans to implement it in the remainder of the year.
- Positioning systems are a requirement for all mobile guides.
- Statistical systems are particularly important to understand the behavior of apps users in museums, if experimenting in museums is to be continued.
- Half of the participants of the conference would allow uncensored visitor feedback and / or control in their institutions. (Yes, we see the glass half full!).
- Responsive design is now almost a standard of web design, and is preferred by many over the independent mobile web. There are very good examples or applications in both cases.
- Museums should notice the importance of promotion. A good marketing and communication strategy streamlines apps downloads.
Projects submitted:
Creativity, design adapted to all devices and the study of user behavior were the keys to this event, which was divided into four sessions: 1. Nontraditional mobile experiences (National Museums of Scotland, Balboa Park (Place Sticker), the Lozano Hemmer lights Macro-installation for the Association of Public Art Philadelphia) 2. The Louvre Museum’s Experience with Nintendo 3DS, 3. Statistics (Tate, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia), and 4. Mobile Web (Walker Art Center, Baltimore Museum of Art, Rijksmuseum).
For those of you who missed the event, please check our complete cover of M & M 2013 in our Storify account, straight from the press!
