The document discusses producing calendar content for multiple platforms across Balboa Park institutions, including developing a collaborative calendar module for the Drupal content management system to manage repeating events and share content between sites, and distributing that calendar content through mobile apps, outdoor kiosks, websites, and other channels to inform over 10 million annual visitors about events in Balboa Park. It highlights challenges maintaining consistency across the different feeds, contributors, developers, and unreliable hardware and networks.

1. SAVE THE DATE:
PRODUCING CALENDAR CONTENT FOR
MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
Maren Dougherty, Senior Editor
Balboa Park Online Collaborative @MarenReport

2. Art Alive at The San Diego Museum
of Art (April 12-15)
Music at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion
(every Sunday at 2pm)
Lawn Programs at the International Cottages
(every Sunday at 2pm)
A Room with a View at The
Old Globe (Tues & Wed at
7:00 pm; Thu., Fri., Sat. at
8pm; Sundays at 2 & 8pm)
Puppet shows (Wed.,Thurs., Fri.10am & Craft Revolution show at Mingei
11:30am; Sat. & Sun. 11am, 1pm & 2:30pm) (everyday except Mon.)

3. 10-14 million visitors per year

4. CALENDAR SOLUTION
Goal
Make it easy for people to find out about Balboa Park
events anytime, anywhere
What we needed
A calendar that could:
Manage Repeat Events
Push content between sites
> From institution sites to Balboapark.org
> From Balboapark.org to other sites

5. DRUPAL CMS
• Content Management System
• Open Source
• Used for Balboapark.org and
20+ other websites in Balboa
Park
• Used for Balboa Park outdoor
kiosks
• Used for TAP, ArtBabble
Shared Tools
Tech Support

6. COLLABORATIVE CALENDAR
MODULE
• Developed by Palantir
• Requirements:
• Complex repeating patterns
• Ability to transfer events from
members/satellites to central calendar
• Ability for an admin to edit events
transferred to central calendar
• Ability for central data to be pulled
into satellite sites
• Ability to create feeds from central
calendar to other potential partners
and platforms

7. CALENDAR INSTALLATION
Step-by-step instructions:
Available in a 2011 Museums and
the Web paper titled “Installing
the Collaborative Calendar”
(Bostick and Garfield, 2011).
Not perfect. But we’re working on it.

8. DEMONSTRATION

9. MOBILE APPS: Branded iPhone app
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:70043-238@BalboaPark.org
SUMMARY:Sharks 3D
DTSTAMP:20120130T194521Z
DTSTART:20120130T190000Z
DTEND:20120130T194000Z
CATEGORIES:Film
COMMENT:11:00 am - 11:40 am
CONTACT:(619) 232-3821
DESCRIPTION:Sharks 3D/ offers audiences an n astonishing up-
close encounter with the lions and tigers of the opean. n
Visitors will come face-to-face with a multitude of shark
species, including n the Great White, Hammerhead, and the
Whale Shark. The film depicts sharks as n they really are;
not malicious man-eating creatures, but wild, fascinating n
and endangered animals that have been in existence millions of
years before n dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
LOCATION:San Diego Natural History Museum
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://www.balboapark.org/sites/
default/files/sharks_poster_0_1.jpg
URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.balboapark.org/calendar/event/
2012-01-30/sharks-3d
LAST-MODIFIED:20120120GMT1400-28800
END:VEVENT
<item> <title>The San Diego Museum of Art</title>
<description>&lt;p&gt;As the region&#039;s oldest and largest
art museum, the San Diego Museum of Art&#039;s renowned holdings
include a fine selection of European old masters, 19th and 20th
century American art, an encyclopedic Asian collection, and
growing collections of contemporary and Latin American art. In
addition, the museum presents major art exhibitions from around
the world, as well as an extensive schedule of supporting
cultural and educational programs.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
<link>http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/san-diego-museum- - iCal events feed
art</link> <author>http://www.balboapark.org/sites/default/
files/sdmavisitors_in_rotunda_2.jpg</author> <dc:creator>http:// - Org feed RSS
www.balboapark.org/sites/default/files/
sdmavisitors_in_rotunda_2.jpg</dc:creator> <category>Museums,
December Nights, Just for Kids, Educational</category>
- GPS
<guid>248</guid> <pubDate>Jan 23, 12</pubDate>
<georss:point>32.731983 -117.150459</georss:point> </item>

11. Not good enough.

12. MOBILE APPS: Meridian App
Same iCal events feed
Slightly different org feed RSS
Different navigation

14. MOBILE APPS: December
Nights Guide on Meridian
300,000 visitors over two days

15. MOBILE APPS: December
Nights Guide on Meridian

16. OUTDOOR KIOSKS (old)

17. OUTDOOR KIOSKS (new)
- Event feed
- Org feed
- OpenX

18. OUR EVENTS GET AROUND
Balboa Park iPhone app
www.mopa.org (40k+ downloads)
www.sdmart.org Balboa Park guide on Meridian
(80k+ downloads; 20k+
www.balboapark.org pageviews/month)
www.rhfleet.org (150,000+ visitors/month)
Outdoor Kiosks
(~4k pageviews/month on each of
www.sandiegohistory.org 4 kiosks. One under construction)
San Diego local media
+ others
(earned media)
...

19. National Initiatives
(e.g., Project
Audience)
Local event
calendars
Local/regional
tourism bureaus

20. CHALLENGES
- Multiple feeds, contributors,
developers (Domino effect)
- Unreliable hardware
- Unreliable networks
(need WiFi)
& building new software is never easy

22. MOVING CONTENT: Blog Posts