For the 10/30/09 Potomac Forum "Building Better Government Web Sites" event. This talk looks at the drivers behind the Smithsonian Web and New Media Strategy process and how the strategy defines a new relationship with audiences.

1. Building Better Government Web Sites:Relevance is in the Eyes of the Beholder Potomac ForumBuilding Better Government Web SitesOctober 30, 2009 Washington, DC Michael Edson Director, Web and New Media Strategy Smithsonian Institution, Office of the CIO

2. Preamble Twitter: @mpedson Slideshare.net/edsonm Join us at http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com Beware…The opinions in this presentation are mine, not the official policy/strategy of the Smithsonian… We’re a little bird

3. Pan-Institutional Strategic Plan Four Grand Challenges

4. Pan-Institutional Strategic Plan Four Grand Challenges Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet Valuing World Cultures Understanding the American Experience

5. Pan-Institutional Strategic Plan These are big, hairy goals and the outcomes really matter! Four Grand Challenges Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet Valuing World Cultures Understanding the American Experience

6. Relevance But why make strategy? “because you’re afraid, or in pain” Prioritize tactical opportunities? Reestablish relevance?

7. Fear, Pain, and Relevance

8. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Q: Have you ever visited a Smithsonian Web site? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5x4Sga0d1s

9. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Unexpected Rivals in Google Search Google Images Wikipedia Ocean.com Discoveryeducation.com NASA Enchantedlearning.com

10. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Unexpected Rivals in Reach Google Images Wikipedia Ocean.com …so much more reach than SI that we don’t even show up on the graph… Enchantedlearning.com si.edu discoveryeducation.com ocean.com

11. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Unexpected Rivals in Reach (July – Sept, 2009) Enchantedlearning.com si.edu discoveryeducation.com ocean.com

12. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Unexpected Rivals in Reach (July – Sept, 2009) Enchantedlearning.com is a two person team, with more online reach than the world’s largest museum and research complex! Enchantedlearning.com si.edu discoveryeducation.com ocean.com

13. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Traffic Trending Down si.edu – 4% reach Wikipedia.org + 8% reach MoMA.org + 12% reach npr.org + 20% reach

14. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Brand Identity Brandtags.net We are the 560th of 928 brands

15. Fear, Pain, and Relevance We’re competing with… everybody!

16. Fear, Pain, and Relevance We’re competing with… everybody!

17. Fear, Pain, and Relevance We’re competing with… everybody!

18. Fear, Pain, and Relevance The Demographic Tsunami November 2007 data: Pew Internet and American Life Project

19. Fear, Pain, and Relevance The Demographic Tsunami “Everything we hear from people we interview is that today’s consumers draw no distinctions between an organization’s Web site and their traditional bricks-and-mortar presence: both must be excellent for either to be excellent.” Lee RainiePew Internet and American Life Project

20. Fear, Pain, and Relevance “The Smithsonian is not an Institution that understands me” From focus group withBay Area millennials, 2009 “Surprise me!”

21. Fear, Pain, and Relevance 97% of all online research efforts pass through wikipedia.org

22. Stratified water temperature acts as a barrier Fear, Pain, and Relevance The Thermocline A metaphor

23. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Knowledge, communication, action models are different Management The Thermocline Practitioners A metaphor

24. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Knowledge, communication, action models are different Digital Immigrant The Thermocline Digital Native A metaphor

25. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Knowledge, communication, action models are different Non-millennial POV The Thermocline Millennial POV A metaphor

26. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Messages get distorted, lost The Thermocline A metaphor

27. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Messages get distorted, lost The Thermocline A metaphor

28. Fear, Pain, and Relevance The Web is a fundamentally new way of getting things done The Web is a bigger megaphone

29. Fear, Pain, and Relevance “we are living in the middle of a remarkable increase in our ability to share, to cooperate with one another, and to take collective action, all outside the framework of traditional institutions and organization …Getting the free and ready participation of a large, distributed group with a variety of skills has gone from impossible to simple.” Clay Shirky

30. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Focus on innovation/ discovery inside the Institution Catalyze innovation/ discovery outside the institution Joy’s Law: no matter who you are, most of The smartest people work for someone else

31. Old Learning Model New Learning Model Fear, Pain, and Relevance

32. Fear, Pain, and Relevance Fixation on Web 2.0 and Social Media

33. Fear, Pain, and Relevance We can get ahead by“doing more of thesame thing” No, you can’t… John P. Kotter, A Sense of Urgency

34. Fear, Pain, and Relevance The Desktop Internet 2.5 Billionmobile subscribers

36. Increase size of brain trust

37. Improve the odds for change

38. Improve odds for execution (public promises not easily forgotten)

39. Outside champions more likely to support “commons” goals than status-quo insiders

40. Walking the Talk vis-à-vis crowdsourcing and innovation model

41. “You get what you practice”Strategy Execution

43. Increase size of brain trust

44. Improve the odds for change

45. Improve odds for execution (public promises not easily forgotten)

46. Outside champions more likely to support “commons” goals than status-quo insiders

47. Walking the Talk vis-à-vis crowdsourcing and innovation model

48. “You get what you practice”More on this process at http://slideshare.net/edsonm and http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com Strategy Execution

49. Strategy Structure Three Themes Update the Smithsonian Digital Experience Update the Smithsonian Learning Model Balance Autonomy and Control within SI Eight Goals External Mission Brand Learning Audience Internal Interpretation Technology Business Model Governance Each Goal has specific program, policy, and tactical recommendations

50. This is what strategy looks like

51. This is what strategy looks like The public strategy wiki at http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com

52. This is what strategy looks like Which elements are user-focused? I’ll show 10

53. 1 “There are few, if any, mechanisms that support findability, Web 2.0 features, and sustained/repeated user engagement across multiple platforms—and in many cases even within individual Web properties.”

54. 2 “We are like a retail chain that has desirable and unique merchandise but requires its customers to adapt to dramatically different or outdated idioms of signage, product availability, pricing, and check-out in every aisle of each store. This needs to be addressed to realize the full potential of the Smithsonian’s digital initiatives.”

55. 2 “We are like a retail chain that has desirable and unique merchandise but requires its customers to adapt to dramatically different or outdated idioms of signage, product availability, pricing, and check-out in every aisle of each store. This needs to be addressed to realize the full potential of the Smithsonian’s digital initiatives.”

56. American Indian National Zoo Natural History Tropical Research Institute American History Astrophysical Observatory Hirshhorn Smithsonian Associates Air and Space Environ-mental Research Cntr Photo Initiative Freer / Sackler Museum Conservation Institute Latino Center Asian Pacific American Program Folklife / Cultural Heritage Traveling Exhibitions Anacostia Museum African Art SI Libraries Cooper-Hewitt Postal Museum SI Across America Portrait Gallery National Science Resources Center Affiliations Education / Museum Studies Which Web site has the informationI need? Where do I start? Can I get this on my mobile phone? Can I get it in an exhibit? The Castle Archives of American Art What can I do with this content once I find it? How can I interact with my fellow-visitors? From inside any of these sites, where’s the rest of the Smithsonian’s content, visitors, community?

57. 3 “The impact of online collections can be greatly magnified by highlighting the knowledge and insight of Smithsonian experts…and a matrix of tools, policies, and resources that allows our audiences to be our partners in the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

58. Old Learning Model New Learning Model

59. 4 “Build expertise in metrics and evaluation and implement standard lightweight (not burdensome) reporting processes.”

60. 5 “Invite public audiences to participate in defining the look and feel of the updated brand”

61. 6 “Encourage and provide necessary support for staff to share their work and ideas directly with visitors though blogging, video, mobile platforms, geospatial data, and other Web and New Media formats”

62. 7 “This is not to suggest that the old models of learning are irrelevant or inoperative, far from it. But the emergence of a new class of learning techniques—built on a foundation of broad and unrestricted access to information, social sharing, creativity, play, and participatory learning—supplement those standard protocols and enable vast new audiences to use the Smithsonian as one part of their lifelong learning journeys. ”

63. 7 “This is not to suggest that the old models of learning are irrelevant or inoperative, far from it. But the emergence of a new class of learning techniques—built on a foundation of broad and unrestricted access to information, social sharing, creativity, play, and participatory learning—supplement those standard protocols and enable vast new audiences to use the Smithsonian as one part of their lifelong learning journeys. ”

64. 7 “This is not to suggest that the old models of learning are irrelevant or inoperative, far from it. But the emergence of a new class of learning techniques—built on a foundation of broad and unrestricted access to information, social sharing, creativity, play, and participatory learning—supplement those standard protocols and enable vast new audiences to use the Smithsonian as one part of their lifelong learning journeys. ”

65. 8 “Acknowledge the crucial role that interactive dialogue plays in the learning process and provide opportunities for it to grow on Smithsonian and external sites”

66. 9 “Embrace user-generated content as an important catalyst to engagement and inquiry, particularly for younger and more Web 2.0kinds of audiences”

67. 10 “Become a leader in the creation of digital learning environments through virtual worlds, virtual education conferences, gaming, moblie platforms, and a sense of exploration and play.”

68. The Smithsonian CommonsA place to begin “a new part of our digital presence dedicated to stimulating learning, creation, and innovation through open access to Smithsonian research, collections and communities.”

69. The Smithsonian CommonsA place to begin More detail about what a commons is and why it matters via Imagining the Smithsonian Commons: Annotated text of "Imagining a Smithsonian Commons" on slideshare PowerPoint slides of "Imagining a Smithsonian Commons" on slideshare video of the talk at Computers in Libraries, 2009

70. I want to be a commons…

71. Don’t forget about us!!!

72. How can we make the Smithsonian More relevant in a digital age? Filmed April 26th, 2009 at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTJ8u2HGtrs