Hello and welcome to the Digital Snapshot, bringing you all the latest digital news, inspiration, tips and guidance for the arts, culture, museums and heritage world.
It's starting to feel like 2024 is in full swing after a never-ending January. As seems to be the case of late, tech news is still packed full of the latest trends around AI, but Augmented Reality has recently taken centre stage with the introduction of Apple's new Vision Pro headset*. I'd argue that AR's not been this hot since Pokémon Go.
There's some useful and interesting stuff in this issue and if you ever have anything you'd like to share, feel free to drop me a line (alec.ward@theaudienceagency.org).
* Technically the Vision Pro is a Virtual Reality headset because it records and streams what's in front of you in real-time to the in-built screen and then overlays additional content onto that recording. Little bit of knowledge to impress your friends and family at your next gathering, you're welcome.
Latest news 📰
- Bluesky, one of the potential Twitter replacements, has finally moved out of invite only and is now open to all. Personally, I can't see people flooding to the platform but we'll see.
- Australia is likely to ask tech companies to label content generated by AI platforms and Meta has announced that they're increasing labelling of AI generated imagery across their social platforms. One to keep an eye on, particularly if you're using (or thinking about using) AI in content creation.
- The Apple Vision Pro is the hottest piece of tech to come out this year. Here's a good look at how the art world is starting to get to grips with the tech. Is it going to change the world? Maybe. People laughed at the Apple Watch and look at us now. Augmented Reality has been slow to take off, but it's always worth keeping an eye on these sorts of trends when thinking about the future of digital experiences in your organisation.
- If you fancy joining me in feeling old, Facebook has turned 20. It's undeniable that the platform has changed the world, arguably for the worse but maybe I'm just salty because it bulldozed the far superior (IMHO) MySpace.
Useful / shareable 🤓
- We Are Social has published their 2024 global digital report. Lots of interesting findings in there, from an uptick in TV viewing time, to a steady increase in the number of social media users (to 5.04 billion). Well worth a look over.
- The Metro Newspaper landed on an interesting term to describe the UK's recent weather challenges. The Met Office's reply on Twitter was pretty funny and Steven Franklin, Social Media Manager at the Royal Academy, has shared some insights into what made it so good.
- The Catalyst has published a number of interesting articles looking at digital funding. The articles were produced from several interviews with key (unnamed) funders. Check out 'How grantmakers view digital funding in 2024' and 'How funders assess applications for digital funding'.
- The Association of Cultural Enterprises has produced a thoughtful post explaining their rationale behind their decision to leave Twitter (X). Their decision is based on 'changes at X that have significantly impacted user safety, content visibility, and overall alignment with our organisational values'.
Distracting / entertaining / inspiring 💥
- University of Southampton students have applied an AI algorithm to thousands of images of the HMS Victory, in an attempt to improve their quality and aid in its restoration.
- Kinetic Diffusion is an AI powered dance performance, using AI to replicate and recreate dance choreography in real time.
- This is an interesting look at the rise of immersive institutions (or digital art venues). Outernet recently announced that it recorded 6.25 million visitors in its first year, becoming one of Britain's most popular visitor attractions... despite how much I dislike the name.
- The BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit has partnered with Minecraft Education to create a Planet Earth III Minecraft experience.
- Language is exploding on TikTok, with creators trying their hardest to create viral slang. It's really interesting to see how language on the platform helps to create a sense of community, as well as how often it falls flat.
Something good 👍
- Always love me some Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
- I'm really enjoying Milwaukee Public Library's Instagram content. It's creative, it's people first and it speaks to the audience on the platform.
And that’s all for this edition.
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You can find all past editions of the Digital Snapshot here.
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