May 22, 2008

Do Users Want a Participatory Environment on Museum Web Sites?

I love the approach the National Museum of Natural History took to answer this question. First they asked their visitors. Matthew MacArthur's insights apply to libraries and other cultural institutions and he has done an excellent job of synthesizing and reflecting on the balance that must be struck between institutions of record, with expert, authoritative content and the new participatory medium. (Thanks for mentioning my ideas on radical trust.)

While we know quite a bit about visitor behavior inside museums, less is known about the virtual audience. Do users want a more participatory environment on our websites? A survey conducted in 2007 by the National Museum of Natural History, which asked users to rate potential features of a new Web portal on oceans, sheds some light. More than 800 responses broke out roughly into three tiers: 80–85 percent felt that “fun facts” and interaction with experts was important; 43–54 percent felt strongly in favor of the ability to customize or contribute content, or see other users’ recommendations; only 23 percent felt that discussion boards were important. -- Can Museums Allow Online Users to Become Participants? by Matthew MacArthur


Secondly, they examined their responses in terms of the Power Law of Participation, a phrase coined by Ross Mayfield, to determine if they had enough interest. Ross Mayfield points out that many online communities there are many readers and lurkers, some people willing to comment and a handful of dedicated individuals willing to contribute and create. Together this mix adds value and can work out well.

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