Week 3 – Bits and Pieces

Hello.
I have to say, I like to tweet. I am naturally verbose, but I like the challenge of highlighting something or making a point in a limited number of words. Blogging feels strange, like talking to no-one or to myself…
Aiden, thanks for pointing out Mitchell Whitelaw’s Ted talk. I was lucky enough to attend a symposium at Canberra University a couple of years ago where Whitelaw spoke about “Generous Interfaces” vs empty search boxes. It transformed my thinking. Following the symposium, I was tasked with overseeing a project at the NMA that resulted in Collection Explorer (http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/) developed by a Canberra based web company Oxide Interactive (http://www.oxideinteractive.com.au).
I believe Collection Explorer includes many of Whitelaw’s concepts – inviting users in object type, place and even by material. Like Trove, Collection Explorer exemplifies a platform which continues to be a work in progress as NMA collections continue to be digitised. Also new ways to interact and traverse the collection are developed as time and money allows.
In terms of other great generous heritage interface my favourite continues to be the Rijksmuseum (https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio). Not only does this site entice you to explore, but much of the material offered is out of copyright and reuse is encouraged!
Regarding Google Algorithms and Filter Bubbles – it’s frightening to consider how our thoughts, actions and lives are being unconsciously directed and shaped without our consent. Masses of Information is added to the web on a daily basis, and with this ever increasing volume it’s difficult to see how in the future we’ll be able to navigate through the jungle/web to acquire a balanced diet of “vegetables and Desert”!

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