Are public supported (crowdfunded) virtual exhibits possible?

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aria-label="visitors (13 items)">visitors</a>, <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/visualization/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-199 tag-link-position-50" style="font-size: 21.044776119403px;" aria-label="visualization (6 items)">visualization</a> </div> </div> <div class="js-ajax-frame"> <section class="post-list"> <h3>Recent posts</h3> <article class="post"> <div class="article-footer"> <time datetime="2014">5 Mar 2014</time> <h4><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2014/03/05/gender-role-literacy-girls-in-science/">Gender role literacy: Girls in science?</a></h4> </div> <p>There are gender wars, and then there are casualties. It wasn’t until 2011 that the behemoth toymaker LEGO acknowledged girls’ desire to build with bricks, even though the company had long before made a seemingly effortless pivot to co-branding, video games, and major motion pictures. So it’s little wonder that girls face all-too-real obstacles when <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2014/03/05/gender-role-literacy-girls-in-science/">[…]</a></p> <a class="more" href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2014/03/05/gender-role-literacy-girls-in-science/">Read more</a> </article> <article class="post"> <div class="article-footer"> <time datetime="2013">9 Dec 2013</time> <h4><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/12/09/challenges-of-crowdsourcing-analysis-of-historypin/">Challenges of crowdsourcing: Analysis of Historypin</a></h4> </div> <p>Crowdsourcing can build virtual community, engage the public, and build large knowledge databases about science and culture. But what does it take, and how fast can you grow? For some insight, we look at a crowdsourced history site: Historypin is an appealing database of historical photos, with dates, locations, captions, and other metadata. It’s called History <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/12/09/challenges-of-crowdsourcing-analysis-of-historypin/">[…]</a></p> <a class="more" href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/12/09/challenges-of-crowdsourcing-analysis-of-historypin/">Read more</a> </article> <article class="post"> <div class="article-footer"> <time datetime="2013">18 Nov 2013</time> <h4><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/11/18/dinovember-creative-literacy-starts-young/">Dinovember: Creative literacy starts young</a></h4> </div> <p>“Uh-oh,” Refe Tuma heard his girls whisper. “Mom and Dad are not going to like this.” It’s Dinovember, and his family’s plastic dinosaurs have been getting into mischief all month. Every year, Tuma and his wife devote the month of November to “convincing our children that, while they sleep, their plastic dinosaur figures come to life. Related <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/11/18/dinovember-creative-literacy-starts-young/">[…]</a></p> <a class="more" href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/11/18/dinovember-creative-literacy-starts-young/">Read more</a> </article> </section> </div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <main role="main" id="main"><div id="twocolumns"> <div class="container"> <h1>Are public supported (crowdfunded) virtual exhibits possible?</h1> <div class="twocolumns-holder"> <section id="content" class="about-holder img-posts"> <article class="post"> <p><a href="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.17.48-PM.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2558" title="ipad sponsor mockup" src="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.17.48-PM.png" alt="" width="242" height="106" srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.17.48-PM.png 242w, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.17.48-PM-150x65.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px" /></a></p> <p>Virtual exhibits on tablet devices (e.g., the Apple iPad) put exhibits at the fingertips of students and the public. Visitors can browse science, art or culture from classrooms, during their commutes, or from their sofas. — But where does the money come from?</p> <p>As with physical museums, the problem with charging money for downloads is limiting visitation to enthusiasts. Access must free to get significant use on tablet computers in classrooms, or by people who would not otherwise pay. Aside from grant support or advertisements, are there other revenue models? Could funding come from the community?</p> <p>We posit that virtual exhibit apps could be free downloads, giving a preview teaser. Then, to see the rest of the exhibit, visitors pay for access, sponsor access for others, or request free access. Here’s how it might look:<span id="more-2557"></span></p> <p><a href="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.09.40-PM.png"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2559" title="See the rest of the exhibit" src="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.09.40-PM.png" alt="" width="556" height="297" srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.09.40-PM.png 556w, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.09.40-PM-150x80.png 150w, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-12.09.40-PM-300x160.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 556px) 100vw, 556px" /></a></p> <p><strong>Prior thoughts</strong></p> <p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2560" title="Nina Simon" src="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-1.34.20-PM.png" alt="" width="149" height="112" />Nina Simon, an author and consultant who helps museums get the public involved in designing exhibits (see <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/40th-anniversary/Nina-Simon-Museum-Visionary.html">profile at Smithsonian mag</a> or <a href="http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/">her blog</a>), chatted last week with <a href="http://www.bolzcenter.org/taylor/">Andrew Taylor</a> (Director of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration) in an online <a href="http://www.vokle.com/series/3972-the-artful-manager">talk show</a> about museum business models (pic at right).</p> <p>Museums could take a page from public media and public radio, Simon said, where sponsors/members might make a museum available to the public for free. Simon says there needs to be a move away from memberships based on a discount transaction model (i.e., members get in free), and instead memberships should emphasize that members make the museum available for everyone else. Simon has previously written about rethinking membership and admissions (see a <a href="http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2009/09/interview-with-john-falk-and-beverly.html">few</a> <a href="http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2008/02/thirteen-ways-of-looking-at-admissions.html">of her</a> <a href="http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/rethinking-membership-what-does-it-mean.html">articles</a>, and her Feb 2011 <a href="http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2010/02/could-you-split-your-membership.html">post on switching from ‘value’ to ‘affinity’</a> membership programs).</p> <p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2578" title="Techdirt" src="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-1.35.28-PM1.png" alt="" width="169" height="34" srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-1.35.28-PM1.png 169w, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-1.35.28-PM1-150x30.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px" />Looking at an exhibit as media, there are other analogies. Experiments in “pay what you want” for intangible goods, such as music and other media, show that a subset of people will financially support an otherwise free product. (e.g., see TechDirt’s coverage of a <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/blog/entrepreneurs/articles/20101221/23284012374/second-humble-indie-bundle-does-even-better-than-first.shtml">group of indie video games</a> which drew $1.2m, the <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/blog/entrepreneurs/articles/20100916/16261311046.shtml">Freakonomics screening</a>, and how pay-what-you-want <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/blog/entrepreneurs/articles/20100716/17423610253.shtml">worked better for Panera</a> when there was a charity component.)</p> <p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2562" title="Kickstarter" src="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-1.36.09-PM.png" alt="" width="172" height="29" srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-1.36.09-PM.png 172w, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-02-at-1.36.09-PM-150x25.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 172px) 100vw, 172px" />In addition to funding after the fact, some virtual exhibits may be able to crowdsource funding beforehand to create an exhibit. The <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/">Kickstarter</a> funding platform (for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers, etc.), has received <a href="http://blog.kickstarter.com/post/5014573685/happy-birthday-kickstarter">over $53 million in pledges</a> for various creative projects.</p> <p>There are other analogies as well, such as a shareware software. But shareware is purely a form of donation/payment, it is not specifically earmarked to make access available to others. Also, see my post about <a title="Author fees and other business models fund open access journals" href="http://www.idea.org/blog/2011/04/04/fees-and-other-business-models-fund-open-access-journals/">revenue models of open access journals</a>.</p> <p><strong>Do the numbers add up?</strong></p> <p>The cost of creating a virtual exhibit could range from $5k to $100k, depending on the richness of the content and whether a lot of interactive and video content is created from scratch.</p> <p>Maybe a project could collect $5k using Kickstarter, another $20k in individual payments, and $30k in sponsored payments — yielding access to 120 thousand visitors? After 10% fees to Kickstarter, and an app store’s 30% commission, that would be $39,500 in revenue, plenty for a create an interesting, informative, interactive, virtual exhibit.</p> <p><strong>What do you think?</strong></p> <p>Do you know of virtual exhibits using crowd-funding strategies? Will members of the public pay a little extra to sponsor a virtual exhibit for strangers? Should sponsored payments be pure donations, or tied to a specific number of free uses?</p> <p>Are we dreaming?</p> <hr /> <p><em>Update: 2-May-2011, clarified Nina Simon’s comments.</em></p> <p> </p> <div class='yarpp-related'> <h3>Related posts:</h3><ol> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/04/25/science-museums-are-disconnected-from-new-science-research/" rel="bookmark" title="Science museums are disconnected from new science research">Science museums are disconnected from new science research </a> <small>The system of getting knowledge about science to the public is broken. One major crack in the system...</small></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/10/27/museum-tour-apps-at-3rd-museums-mobile-conference/" rel="bookmark" title="Museum tour apps for <$25k at Museums & Mobile conference">Museum tour apps for <$25k at Museums & Mobile conference </a> <small>It is getting easier and cheaper for cultural and scientific organizations make mobile, handheld tours. According to Nielsen, 40%...</small></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/03/24/web-app-and-native-apps-for-museums-museums-mobile-2011/" rel="bookmark" title="Web apps and native apps for museums: Museums & Mobile 2011">Web apps and native apps for museums: Museums & Mobile 2011 </a> <small>Museums are going mobile, and many companies are eager to help. At yesterday’s Museums & Mobile 2011 online conference,...</small></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2012/01/11/what-is-an-online-course/" rel="bookmark" title="What is an online course?">What is an online course? </a> <small>“The debate about which is better, face-to-face learning or online learning is fast becoming obsolete,” says Jennifer Berghage, an instructional designer...</small></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/11/29/put-3d-objects-at-your-visitors-fingertips-uvam-on-the-ipad/" rel="bookmark" title="Put 3D objects at your visitors’ fingertips: UVaM on the iPad">Put 3D objects at your visitors’ fingertips: UVaM on the iPad </a> <small>A Hopi doll with painted headdress springs to life, spinning under my finger tips on a new iPad...</small></li> </ol> </div> </article> <section class="section comments" id="comments"> <h3>2 comments on <strong>Are public supported (crowdfunded) virtual exhibits possible?</strong></h3> <div class="commentlist"> <div class="commentlist-item"> <div class="comment even thread-even depth-1" id="comment-756"> <div class="commentlist-holder"> <a href='http://vesica.ws' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Asif N</a> <p class="meta"><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/05/02/are-public-supported-crowdfunded-virtual-exhibits-possible/#comment-756">08 May 2011, 3:18 pm</a></p> <p>Definitely don't think you're dreaming. I think as and if museums make the shift from their traditional platform to SaaS platforms for, say, art collection management, online exhibits could very well be free or just be a part of their normal application subscription. So, that would make creating virtual public exhibits from an existing collection just a matter of a few clicks. Of course, the profit motive will always cause problems there! </p> <p><a rel='nofollow' class='comment-reply-link' href='https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/05/02/are-public-supported-crowdfunded-virtual-exhibits-possible/?replytocom=756#respond' onclick='return addComment.moveForm( "comment-756", "756", "respond", "2557" )' aria-label='Reply to Asif N'>Reply</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="commentlist-item"> <div class="pingback odd alt thread-odd thread-alt depth-1" id="comment-1845"> <div class="commentlist-holder"> <a href='http://www.idea.org/blog/2013/02/19/what-is-crowdsourcing-and-how-does-it-apply-to-outreach/' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>IDEA » What is Crowdsourcing? And how does it apply to outreach?</a> <p class="meta"><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/05/02/are-public-supported-crowdfunded-virtual-exhibits-possible/#comment-1845">19 Feb 2013, 10:22 am</a></p> <p>[…] See a prior blog post on crowdfunding virtual exhibits. […]</p> <p><a rel='nofollow' class='comment-reply-link' href='https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/05/02/are-public-supported-crowdfunded-virtual-exhibits-possible/?replytocom=1845#respond' onclick='return addComment.moveForm( "comment-1845", "1845", "respond", "2557" )' aria-label='Reply to IDEA » What is Crowdsourcing? And how does it apply to outreach?'>Reply</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <section class="comment-respond"> <div id="respond" class="comment-respond"> <h3 id="reply-title" class="comment-reply-title">Leave a Reply <small><a rel="nofollow" id="cancel-comment-reply-link" href="/blog/2011/05/02/are-public-supported-crowdfunded-virtual-exhibits-possible/#respond" style="display:none;">Cancel reply</a></small></h3> <form action="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform" class="comment-form"> <p class="comment-notes"><span id="email-notes">Your email address will not be published.</span> Required fields are marked <span class="required">*</span></p><p class="comment-form-author"><label for="author">Name <span class="required">*</span></label> <input id="author" name="author" type="text" value="" size="30" maxlength="245" required='required' /></p> <p class="comment-form-email"><label for="email">Email <span class="required">*</span></label> <input id="email" name="email" type="text" value="" size="30" maxlength="100" aria-describedby="email-notes" required='required' /></p> <p class="comment-form-url"><label for="url">Website</label> <input id="url" name="url" type="text" value="" size="30" maxlength="200" /></p> <p class="comment-form-comment"><label for="comment">Comment</label> <textarea id="comment" name="comment" cols="45" rows="8" maxlength="65525" required="required"></textarea></p><p class="form-submit"><input name="submit" type="submit" id="submit" class="submit" value="Post Comment" /> <input type='hidden' name='comment_post_ID' value='2557' id='comment_post_ID' /> <input type='hidden' name='comment_parent' id='comment_parent' value='0' /> </p><p style="display: none;"><input type="hidden" id="akismet_comment_nonce" name="akismet_comment_nonce" value="cc26a02e7c" /></p><p style="display: none;"><input type="hidden" id="ak_js" name="ak_js" value="92"/></p> </form> </div> </section> </section> <aside id="sidebar"> <section class="widget inner-text"> <h3>Related posts</h3> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/04/25/science-museums-are-disconnected-from-new-science-research/">Science museums are disconnected from new science research<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>The system of getting knowledge about science to the public is broken. One major crack in the system is a disconnect between science museums and new science research. Science museums matter Aside from the news media, which now has less science coverage as the journalism business contracts, museums play a vital role in how the <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/04/25/science-museums-are-disconnected-from-new-science-research/">[…]</a></p> </article> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/10/27/museum-tour-apps-at-3rd-museums-mobile-conference/">Museum tour apps for <$25k at Museums & Mobile conference<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>It is getting easier and cheaper for cultural and scientific organizations make mobile, handheld tours. According to Nielsen, 40% of Americans with mobile phones are carrying smartphones; of those 40% run Android, and 28% have an Apple iPhone. This is a huge market, and by 2012, approximately half your audience could use your app from the <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/10/27/museum-tour-apps-at-3rd-museums-mobile-conference/">[…]</a></p> </article> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/03/24/web-app-and-native-apps-for-museums-museums-mobile-2011/">Web apps and native apps for museums: Museums & Mobile 2011<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>Museums are going mobile, and many companies are eager to help. At yesterday’s Museums & Mobile 2011 online conference, several vendors promoted their wares. This is a summary of products, approaches, and some alternatives… Related posts: Museum tour apps for <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/03/24/web-app-and-native-apps-for-museums-museums-mobile-2011/">[…]</a></p> </article> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2012/01/11/what-is-an-online-course/">What is an online course?<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>“The debate about which is better, face-to-face learning or online learning is fast becoming obsolete,” says Jennifer Berghage, an instructional designer at Pennsylvania State University. The common goal is that “an online course should be, above all, engaging, so that the learner enjoys the learning and is able to not only assimilate it but retain it and apply it.” Online courses are <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2012/01/11/what-is-an-online-course/">[…]</a></p> </article> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/11/29/put-3d-objects-at-your-visitors-fingertips-uvam-on-the-ipad/">Put 3D objects at your visitors’ fingertips: UVaM on the iPad<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <div style="padding: 10px 0">http://vimeo.com/31821923</div> <p>A Hopi doll with painted headdress springs to life, spinning under my finger tips on a new iPad app from the University of Virginia Art Museum (UVaM). The delightful app presents 19 different objects in 3D, to spin and zoom, providing an immediacy that rivals seeing an object in real life. In fact, it’s better in <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/11/29/put-3d-objects-at-your-visitors-fingertips-uvam-on-the-ipad/">[…]</a></p> <div style="clear:both"></div> </article> </section> </aside> </div> </div> </div> </main> <aside class="info-links"> <div class="container"> <div class="left-holder"> <p><time datetime="2011">02 May 2011</time> , post by <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/author/idea/" title="Posts by IDEA" rel="author">IDEA</a></p> </div> <div class="right-holder"> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/nina-simon/">nina simon</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/techdirt/">TechDirt</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/kickstarter/">Kickstarter</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/access/">access</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/models/">models</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/classroom/">classroom</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/open-access/">open access</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/funding/">funding</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/apple/">Apple</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/ipad/">IPad</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/museum/">museum</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/exhibits/">exhibits</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </aside> <aside class="items-holder"> <div class="container"> <div class="list-items widget-apps-widget"><h3>Read more about <br class="separator"><strong>our language-related apps.</strong></h3> <ul> <li> <div class="item-holder"> <a href="http://www.idea.org/otherwordly"> <picture>  <source srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/otherwordly_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-35x36.png, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/otherwordly_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png 2x" media="(max-width: 767px)"> <source 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Are public supported (crowdfunded) virtual exhibits possible? – IDEA