My slides are here; the podcast of the talk is here. If you have comments or ideas to build on this work, there are pages on the Museum Mobile wiki dedicated to the topic:

• On mobile experience design
• My manifesto for a new mobile information architecture
• And some ideas for a new information architecture

The International Spy Museum in Washington, DC now offers an amazing taste of what it’s like with a GPS-triggered game and tour of the city. Inspired by two real FBI cases – Operation Lemon-Aid, conducted in 1977, and KITTY HAWK in 1966 – Spy in the City is a 1.2 mile (1.5 hour), $16 experience using the BarZ Adventures GPS Ranger device. Code-named ‘Geo-Cobra’, the multimedia handheld uses Flash to simulate the experience of receiving text messages, audio, video, photographs and other breaking intelligence from headquarters as you track a foreign agent. You scan for fingerprints, descramble audio messages and decipher local monuments to identify your quarry.

It’s an ambitious application of the new technology, offering lots of important lessons for others interested in trying the treacherous world of location-based mobile, as well as exploring the value of gaming in education. For those less intrepid, this interview with the tour’s author, Amanda Ohlke, and the Museum’s Executive Director, Peter Earnest, also shares ideas on lower-tech mobile programs like scavenger hunts, and how they can be leveraged for team-building and other group experiences. After all, “it’s not about the technology” – though I do try to get some hints from Peter, a former spy with the CIA himself, as to what new mobile tricks we might inherit from the clandestine services in the next generation!

So don’t be surprised if this podcast self-destructs after you’ve heard it…

In this podcast, you’ll hear us using the SmartHistory dialogue technique to work through some of the ideas for ‘soundtracks‘ and ‘soundbites‘ that I introduced at the AAM Learning in Museums seminar in Minneapolis/St. Paul last summer. We tried to understand how, without rooting visitors to the spot listening to ‘soundbites’ in front of one object after another, we could quickly provide some basic keys to reading a gallery of artworks, designed to be listened to as a ‘soundtrack’ by visitor strolling through the space. We realized that in so doing we were effectively reading the curator’s intentions: the stories and relationships created by the placement of objects in the space, the design, look and feel of the gallery, etc.

There have, of course, been many wonderful gallery overviews in hundreds or even thousands of audio tours over the years. This one is intended to lay bare the aim and structure of the soundtrack and help us re-examine some of the fundamental concepts and components of the audio tour. Your comments and criticisms on this ‘working document’ will be very helpful and welcome!

Credits (in order of appearance in the podcast, excluding room overviews):

Master of the Legend of St. Ursula
Flemish
Triptych of the Annunciation, about 1483
oil on wood
23 ¼ x 45 ¾ in. (overall)
1997.138
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Acquired through the generosity of Lilly Endowment and Anonymous Art Fund

Master of the Legend of St. Godelieve
Flemish
The Miracles of Santiago, about 1500
oil on panel
32 x 138 in. (open)
24.3
Indianapolis Museum of Art, James E. Roberts Fund

Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch (1606-1669)
Self-Portrait, about 1629
oil on wood
17 ½ x 13 ½ in.
C10063
Indianapolis Museum of Art, The Clowes Fund Collection

Follower of Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch (1606-1669)
Old Man with a Tall, Fur-edged Cap
oil on wood
9 ¾ x 7 ½ in.
C10062
Indianapolis Museum of Art, The Clowes Fund Collection

Beth has now joined MoMA in New York as the Director of Digital Learning. She, Steven and I are joined by Deborah Howes, head of educational media at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Titus Bicknell, technology analyst and former chief engineer for Antenna Audio. Over lunch on New Year’s day in 2009, we talk about why people don’t tend to prepare for their museum visit by downloading podcast tours and other materials – as they might for a run, a flight, or their daily commutes – and what museums can do about it in light of the ‘digital age divide’. We consider the other end of the visit lifecycle as well, in terms of how people can ‘bookmark’ and take information away from the museum for deeper study later – but will only want to do so if the content they encounter during their visit has ‘put them in the picture’ and engaged them. At the heart of the conversation is the question of conversation itself as a context for learning, and how its strategic use helps transform the museum from Acropolis into Agora: a platform where many voices can come together and even the amateur and the outsider are empowered to make discoveries, fall in love, and sing of their passions.

1. Producer: Who produced the tour? Was it done ‘in-house’ by museum staff in part or whole? Were any audio tour content or technology providers involved?
2. Technology: What device was used? Did it use headphones? If so, mono or stereo?
3. Distribution: How was the device distributed? Was it available for download online or on site, as well as on museum-specific players at the museum?
4. Staffing: Were the staff employees of the museum or a tour provider? Were they well-presented, professional and courteous? What kind of an effort did they make to get you to take the tour? Did they explain the device and tour use clearly and efficiently?
5. Price & Security: What did the tour cost? Were you required to leave a deposit or was other security used for the device? Where were the distribution facilities located with respect to the museum/exhibition entrance?
6. Take-up Rate: How many devices were available to visitors? What percentage of visitors were taking the tour? What percentage of devices were in-use? Can you get a sense of the profile and motivations of those taking the tour – and those not?
7. Marketing: How was the tour marketed/advertised within the museum and beyond? What signage was available at individual ‘stops’? Was it visible and helpful?
8. Technical Performance: Describe your experience of the technology: what worked well, not so well? Was the device easy to carry and handle? Was the audio quality good? Overall did the device serve as an ‘invisible’ platform for the content?
9. Tour Design: Is the tour linear or random access? How is the tour integrated into the exhibition design? Does it interact or conflict with other media (audio, video, interactive kiosks, etc.)? Did the audio tour do something that other media – wall labels, docent tours, etc. – couldn’t do as well?
10. Length & Layout: How long was the tour (how many stops, overall length)? Were the stops well distributed throughout the space covered by the tour?
11. Languages & Versions: Were there multiple languages or versions, e.g. a children’s tour, sign language tour, or descriptive tour for visitors with low vision?
12. Content Structure: Describe your experience of the content: what was the tone/voice? How long were the messages? Were there multiple layers of messages at some exhibits? How many messages in the whole tour? Did the tour and the messages seem too long, too short, or just right?
13. Visitor Experience: Evaluate your overall experience: was your visit enhanced by the audio tour and interactions with tour staff? Do you think other visitors enjoyed the tour? Was there crowding around exhibits on the tour, or other issues that clouded your experience?

The reviewers interviewed by Nancy Proctor for this case study are Harriet Moss, former President and CEO of Antenna Audio, and Ernesto Sanchez, artist and former performer with Snake Theater, where Chris Hardman’s audio-based theatre productions were born. Despite being offered in the classic museum audio tour formula, the tour proved to be as innovative and unusual in structure as the exhibition and the artist it represented. Moss and Sanchez found themselves delighted and inspired by the multi-modal, polyvocal experience and how even this established medium challenged their expectations of the exhibition experience.

Apologies for the less-than-ideal audio quality of this podcast, which was recorded through a less-than-cutting-edge skype-to-phone connection so includes unfortunate interference!

And thanks to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, for permission to use the following images from the exhibition in the podcast (in order):

1. Loading…

   Nat Finkelstein, Andy Warhol, Gerard Malanga, Mary Woronov and The Velvet Underground, 1966, (reprint 1996), gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Museum purchase.

   

   Nat Finkelstein, Andy Warhol, Gerard Malanga, Mary Woronov and The Velvet Underground, 1966, (reprint 1996), gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Museum purchase.

   

   Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground and Nico, Lou Reed, Nico, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker,1967, Verve/Polydor, Verve Records, subsidiary of MGM Records, Phono album cover, offset lithograph on coated paper.

   

   Cover by Andy Warhol, Cano (November 1948), 1948, printed ink on paper with coated paper cover. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.

   

   Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1986, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

   

   Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait in Drag, 1981, Polaroid TM Polacolor 2, facsimile. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

   

   Andy Warhol, Debbie Harry (detail), 1980, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

   

   Photographer unknown, Andy Warhol holding a 1964 publicity photograph of The Rolling Stones, 1969, gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

   

   Andy Warhol, Triple Elvis (Large three Elvis), [Ferus Type] June-July 1963, silkscreen ink, silver paint, and spray paint on linen. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia.
   No results found.
   Photographer unknown, Andy Warhol holding a 1964 publicity photograph of The Rolling Stones, 1969, gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
2. Cover by Andy Warhol, Cano (November 1948), 1948, printed ink on paper with coated paper cover. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.
3. Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait in Drag, 1981, Polaroid TM Polacolor 2, facsimile. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
4. Nat Finkelstein, Andy Warhol, Gerard Malanga, Mary Woronov and The Velvet Underground, 1966, (reprint 1996), gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Museum purchase.
5. Andy Warhol, Triple Elvis (Large three Elvis), [Ferus Type] June-July 1963, silkscreen ink, silver paint, and spray paint on linen. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia.
6. Andy Warhol, Debbie Harry (detail), 1980, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
7. 
   Loading…

   Nat Finkelstein, Andy Warhol, Gerard Malanga, Mary Woronov and The Velvet Underground, 1966, (reprint 1996), gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Museum purchase.

   

   Nat Finkelstein, Andy Warhol, Gerard Malanga, Mary Woronov and The Velvet Underground, 1966, (reprint 1996), gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Museum purchase.

   

   Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground and Nico, Lou Reed, Nico, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker,1967, Verve/Polydor, Verve Records, subsidiary of MGM Records, Phono album cover, offset lithograph on coated paper.

   

   Cover by Andy Warhol, Cano (November 1948), 1948, printed ink on paper with coated paper cover. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.

   

   Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1986, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

   

   Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait in Drag, 1981, Polaroid TM Polacolor 2, facsimile. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

   

   Andy Warhol, Debbie Harry (detail), 1980, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

   

   Photographer unknown, Andy Warhol holding a 1964 publicity photograph of The Rolling Stones, 1969, gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

   

   Andy Warhol, Triple Elvis (Large three Elvis), [Ferus Type] June-July 1963, silkscreen ink, silver paint, and spray paint on linen. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia.
   No results found.
   Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1986, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.