2011 Cultural Heritage Informatics Fieldschool

The fundamental mechanics and user experience of a mobile application is pivotal towards its success. If the underlying programming of a mobile is faulty, the entire project fails. However, the long term holding power and initial draw to a mobile application is based around the content. Regardless of the functionality of the mobile, if the content is not worth viewing, the application is not worth using.

So while others are programming and perfecting the user experience design, I’m trawling the internet for video, photos, and information. There are a number of lessons I’ve learned from going through this search process.

1. Always bookmark: I’ve searched through dozens of different websites; personal ones, Flickr pages, university based blogs, every type imaginable. At first I just thought to myself that I would be able to remember which website, but with dozens of user names and small changes in spelling and configuration (MSU versus spelling it out, CAPMSU versus Campus Archaeology versus MSU Archaeology) I really needed to keep track of where the resources was. Make sure you are bookmarking everything. Its easier to erase a bookmark than re-find a resource.

2. Ask for help: When a picture or video is not usable due to size, quality or the inability to download the direct source, asking for the original can go a long way. While this is a little easier since I’m working within MSU and with content that was generated by my colleagues, just asking for what you want is better than struggling through finding it.

3. Create a strong naming scheme: One of the first things to do before downloading any images or videos is to create a labeling scheme that is clear and precise. The one created for msu.seum is design centered. The first letter of the media name designates which part of the application it belongs to. An image for the main exhibit was labeled by the phase of the exhibit it was in: p1photo, p2photo, etc. An image in the ‘Dig Deeper section at a specific location was titled for location, the phase exhibit number, initials of the building, and the dig deeper designation: example of Beaumont Tower image would be lp4btdd1. The labels are clear and we included the labeling scheme in the media file for anyone else who may need to decode it.