Final set of Notes from ‘The Shape of Things: New and emerging technology-enabled models of participation through VGC’ conference at Leicester’s school of Museum Studies, part of the AHRC-funded iSay project focusing on Visitor-Generated Content (VGC) in cultural heritage institutions.  Ross’s talks always inspire and make me feel very insignificant in terms of theory in equal measure.

Ross Parry: The end of the beginning: Normativity in the postdigital museum

• Based on new research into how 6 UK national museums
• Are 6 national museums showing a national trend? Or just highlighting that those with money can play more?
• naturalise ‘digital’ into their overall museum vision
• Digital being naturalised within the museum…
• 1980 paisley institute fox communication research- the museum in 1980
• Connected museum
• Normative
• The duality of technology rethinking the concept of tech in organisations
• Wanda Orlikowski – dynamic relations between information technologies and organizations over time
• Has digital in museums become normative?
• Structures of domination, structures of legitimisation, structures of signification.
• Digital as a recurring motif
• Digital being naturalised within the Museums vision and articulation of itself – once limited information on digital, forced to highlight ‘digital’ in strategies, organisational structures and projects has evolved to being incporated throughout.
• A preparedness for a post digital org structure
• Actively recruiting blended roles
• The presence of digital thinking
• Digital being part of the generative and ideation moment
• Blended production
• Strategising for a multiplatform future
• No need for digital to be strategised separately.
• post-digital museum is one where digital technology has become transparent: it has become so permeated into everyday activities that we no longer reflect upon or feel challenged by its digital character.  Personally I don’t think this is true in the practical and operational issues of museums.  It might resonate in Digital departments, but not throughout the whole of the museum.
• What does post digital stance have for how we situate research?