Digital Snapshot | 10.06.2025

Hey gang. I'm writing this message from the past because I'm going on holiday for a week and won't be back before the issue goes live*. I shan't be doing any Nostradamus style predictions for what's going to happen whilst I'm away, so if something major comes up and it's not in the newsletter below - I'm sorry. But that's the price you pay for consistency and I'll be damned if this newsletter doesn't go out on the second Tuesday of every month.

*technically I do that most months but this month is different because I'm doing it a whole week and a half in advance.

• There's been some serious backlash to Duolingo's announcement that the company will be 'AI-first', replacing contract workers with AI. This is a great short summary by Joe Vaughan, on LinkedIn, about that backlash and why you should listen to social media managers.
• Creatives are challenging the UK government's AI proposals on copyright. The long and short of it is that the government has proposed that AI companies can use copyright-protected work without permission. Surprisingly, the creative industry isn't too keen on that.
• ACE have published a five year trends analysis of the Annual Museums Survey. There's lots of interesting stuff in it and I've pulled out the digital stuff over on LinkedIn.

• This is a really useful guide to the difference between boosted posts and ad campaigns on the Meta platforms. People often get confused and Nicola Barratt (Digital Culture Network) has done a great job of breaking down the differences.
• This is an interesting deep-dive into measuring the carbon footprint of websites in the sector.
• This is a useful look at the 2020 hack of Redcar and Cleveland Council's IT systems. A similar hack happened to Hackney Council back in 2020 and you often find when one type of organisation is hacked, similar organisations are more vulnerable / likely to be hacked as well. At the moment, hackers are making their way around British supermarkets.
• The Lyme Museum has shared their free resource on accessibility and inclusive digital storytelling in museums. But there's lots in there for other types of organisations too.

• This was an interesting read on Vogue Business about 'why escapism is the new marketing currency'.
• The London Museum won the 'Best Use of Digital UK' award at the Museums and Heritage show last month. Some great projects in the category and congratulations to London Museum on the win!
• And the Royal Armouries won 'Marketing + Communications Campaign of the Year'. I've really enjoyed their content of late, so the win is very well deserved.
• Will AI be the next big technical revolution in theatre? Probably. Most likely. Yes. I recently spotted this example from the National Youth Theatre of using Copilot during improv sessions and I'm sure there'll be plenty more examples of AI worming its way into performance in the (very near) future.

• I'm currently playing through the Oblivion Remaster, because I'm based (did I use the lingo right, young people?). About a year ago, bits & hits released some lofi beats based on the Oblivion soundtrack. I'm listening to it quite a bit when I'm focusing on work - so I thought I'd share it with you too. 

• Share your views on the challenges and opportunities for innovation and R&D in the creative and cultural sector. This survey in collaboration with Arts Council England is live until Wednesday 25 June and we want to hear from anyone producing or presenting creative or cultural activity, whether you are an artist, freelancer, cultural organisations, community groups or something else.
  
  We want to understand more about the role and value of innovation for people and organisations across our sector. Your contribution will help to develop sector practice, inform policy and support growth in investment.

And that’s all for this edition.

Don't forget we're here to support you with training, research and consultancy, so please do get in touch.

You can find all past editions of the Digital Snapshot here.

The Audience Agency

workwithus@theaudienceagency.org