Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Digital Snapshot, bringing you all the latest digital news, ideas, tips and guidance for the arts, culture, museums and heritage world.
You made it. 2022 is almost over, and it was a weird one. In our first year without a lockdown we all took tentative half-step out of our pandemic bunkers, burnt out and thrust immediately into a new world of changed visitor behaviour, war in Europe, a billionaire going off the deep end, another billionaire continuing to dump money into a huge black hole and - as a little treat - a long, painful recession.
What can we expect in 2023? Well, there's the onward march of online privacy and the new world of Google Analytics 4, Web3 might mature out of being a bunch of pyramid schemes in a trench coat, somebody might put Twitter out of its misery, more of us will need to get a grip with digital transformation, AI will take over the world and content will continue being TikTok-ified.
The optimistic counterbalance lies in all of the inspiring projects, research and achievements which fill this newsletter every fortnight, all of them delivered by you and the people you know. You're a resilient and creative bunch, and I can't wait to see what you achieve next year.
Latest News
- The Museum Data Service will be a repository for millions of raw object records from UK museums and public collections, providing opportunities in particular for smaller museums. Funded by Bloomberg Philanthrophies, it's a three-way partnership between Art UK, Collections Trust and the University of Leicester.
- Speaking of the University of Leicester, their new Institute for Digital Culture is advertising three PhD opportunities on Art and the Blockchain, inclusivity and accessibility in digital performance and culture, and African diasporic youth culture and digital tech. Apply by 20 January.
- In 2023 the British Library will be distributing 20-50 capital grants between £10-£70k to public libraries as part of their development of LibraryOn. Help shape the design of the grant programme with this survey.
Useful / bookmarkable
- BeReal is Apple's top iPhone app of 2022. Billed as 'anti-social media', it randomly gives you a 2-minute window each day to post a photo or video of what you're doing. So, The National Archives' Steven Franklin asks: Is it time to BeReal?
- You can now schedule posts in the Instagram app. Rejoice.
- Headlines are the front line in the battle for people's attention. Here are some good pointers for writing good ones from the Digital Culture Network's Ollie Couling.
Distracting / entertaining / inspiring
- The Apollo Magazine 2022 Awards are out, with Art UK scooping the Digital Innovation gong for their Sculpture project.
- "No one on LinkedIn is there to have fun. They’re not even there to work. They’re there to grind in a safe space of mutual embarrassment." Just one of many choice quotes in this article by Patrick Marlborough about the "relentlessly happy phenomenon of being fired in the age of LinkedIn."
- The header image for this newsletter is from my favourite Christmas TV episode of all time.
Good Reads
- A long, good read on how Russell Dornan & co. at National Museums Scotland make space for energy and creativity to make content which makes people go 'ooh!'
And that’s all for this edition. If you come across any interesting or noteworthy content or have any of your own projects to share please do send it my way. 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.
You can also post your thoughts on digital and data-related topics to us and a wider community through our newly launched Community forum.
You can find me or The Audience Agency on Twitter. See you soon.
Adam Koszary
Head of Digital, The Audience Agency
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The Digital Snapshot newsletter shares the latest, most important news from the social media and digital world - as relevant to the arts, culture and heritage sectors.
