ASTC Notes: Visitor Voices

Just returned from the ASTC conference in LA, and this year's conference was a turning point for me. There is a convergence: while I was in the exhibit hall recording video of visitors with StoryKiosk and automatically uploading visitor's images to Flickr (see image below), the book "Visitor Voices" edited by Kathy McLean and Wendy Pollock made its debut. And the session "Visitor Visions, Shared Realities" (which Kathy participated in) focused on implementations of visitor-created content in a number of museums.  In the big picture, the wave of user-created content on YouTube, Flickr, and other sites continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

I highly recommend getting a copy of "Visitor Voices" to tune into this conceptual shift in museums' relationship with visitors. (Our project with the Museum of Science Boston and InquiryLearn was featured in Barbara Costa's chapter "Asynchronous Conversation").  As of this moment, the book isn't yet posted in ASTC's store, but I'm sure it will be within a few days.

(Attendees using StoryKiosk in our booth at ASTC. Click to enlarge)

Comments

[Wendy Pollock]

The ideas you collected in your StoryKiosk added a refreshing dimension to the usual evaluations. Thanks to you and to the contributors! And thank you for recommending Visitor Voices. Basic info is on the ASTC website now, at astc.org/pubs. We'll be able to start filling orders in about a week. As Jason Jay Stevens said on the ASTC listserv yesterday, citizen participation is a phenomenon across media, the press and museums included. Thanks for helping us share our voices!