Museums as Digital Citizens

In preparing for our Museopunks @ MCN sessions, Suse and I have stumbled upon an area of investigation I think warrants some real thought. After discussing it briefly in a conference session brainstorming call, my mind has been racing ever since. Our conversation centered around the concept of digital citizenship, particularly if (and how) museums should be actively participating in a greater societal discourse and digital dialog. Should we — and by “we” I mean our institutions — be working to become better digital citizens?

Citizenship is traditionally thought to be an individual ideal, one that people take pride in possessing. Digital citizenship, albeit a new concept, also grips onto elements of individualism. Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Anonymous hackers are likely the most famous digital citizens in recent memory, and although they definitely skew political, they jump to the front of my mind when thinking about citizenship in the digital capacity.

Notable activists aside, there is much more to digital citizenship than activisim. In fact, DigitalCitizenship.net cites nine individual elements of digital citizenship: access, commerce, communication, literacy, etiquette, law, rights & responsibilities, health & wellness, and security (self protection).

Could museum interactive experiences not only provide access to rich content, but also help increase the overall digital literacy of users?

Might we design our technology initiatives with an eye toward vision health or mitigating repetitive stress syndrome?

Why shouldn’t our digital projects travel parallel paths in pursuit of both curatorial mission and digital good?

Thinking about digital citizenship in these terms convinces me that institutions — museums in particular — are doing well, but could be doing better. Access is certainly important, and it seems to be the focus of most digital efforts. While opening up content, publishing collection data and releasing open-source digital resources are all important, so are actively pursuing the other eight elements outlined above.

We’re still solidifying the themes of the three (!!) Museopunks @ MCN sessions, but I hope this topic makes the cut. There’s a lot to unpack here and I’m looking forward to diving deep on this with some smart people.

What do you think? Is it possible for cultural institutions to transcend the singular ideal of citizenship and play a larger role in digital society? If so, what are some ways museums can become better digital citizens?