I hope no one minds if I ask a really basic question - is there a preferred methodology for collecting the data?
The Magnes is an unusual case in that we don't have a whole lot of foot traffic and, up until now, have not had much online traffic either. It's likely to swing heavily to the online visitor in the next couple of months as we focus our energies there. There has been much discussion about developing a survey and tracking audience metrics, but if we can develop something which could be added to an already existing data pool, so much the better. So is there a standard set of analytics and questions we should be asking and would also benefit the rest of the field? Perian Sully Collections Information and Web Programs Manager Judah L. Magnes Museum -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Folsom, Diana Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 1:13 PM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Cc: Tim Hart Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Web vs. 'real world' visitors Tim Hart responded off list. Here are the messages he sent to Christina and me. To Christina from Tim: "I would be happy to create a survey and publish the data here: http://www.getty.edu/about/institutional_research/snapshot_visits.html Do you think anyone would fill it out on a regular basis? Monthly?" To Diana from Tim: "First I tried to get people to share data in Los Angeles (local museums). That didn't work. Then I formed the Public Sector Committee at the Web Analytics Association (I was a founding co-chair) and that didn't work. But, not to despair, I'm now leading a project where 12 local museums are participating in an audience intercept study... its happening as I write. Hopefully this collaboration will be a starting point for further sharing of audience metrics. Reasons Web data sharing initiatives fail: Most museums don't have somebody on staff who can handle the extra work. Too many different analytics technologies (not all data is created the same). Too many possibilities for analytics implementation variation. Difficulty in categorizing content (what is "education" content anyway?). Many institutions don't see the value in sharing (in spite of what we were taught in kindergarten). Etc., etc." Diana -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Christina DePaolo Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:46 AM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Cc: Tim Hart Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Web vs. 'real world' visitors If there was an process for electronically sharing them vs. filling out a survey or manually sharing stats, then maybe it would easier for us to do a broader survey. Christina -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Folsom, Diana Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:39 AM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Cc: Tim Hart Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Web vs. 'real world' visitors Tim Hart (from the Getty) has been trying to organize us all to share web data with each other for several years. I think he might compare the effort to that of "trying to herd cats". (excuse me for putting words in your mouth, Tim!) http://www.ehow.com/how_2023491_herd-cats.html Perhaps this is a moment in time when we might feel more inclined to share our stats in some way... ?? Diana Diana Folsom Manager, Art & Education Systems Collections Management Dept. LACMA 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 voice 323-857-6594 fax 323-857-6213 Check out new material in LACMA's Collections Online http://CollectionsOnline.lacma.org -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Montgomery, Renee Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 8:14 AM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Web vs. 'real world' visitors Is someone collating these facts and figures? I know there are some older reports but is there a recent update? Obviously is very helpful to have comparative stats to help build cases on the homefront. Thank you. Renee Montgomery Assistant Director Risk Management and Collection Information Los Angeles County Museum of Art T 323 857-6059 -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Champagne, Joanna Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 12:29 PM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Web vs. 'real world' visitors Hello, This past fiscal year we had just over 4 million physical visitors (like the Web some may be repeat, but not as many as the online) to the National Gallery and 20,800,523 visits to the Web site. 50.8% of our 62 Podcasts were downloaded to iTunes this past FY year the rest from our site and widget. We have 559 installs of our Podcast widget. Hope that helps. Best, Joanna ................. Joanna Champagne Chief of Web and New Media Initiatives National Gallery of Art NGA.GOV On 9/29/08 1:48 PM, "Perian Sully" <psully at magnes.org> wrote: > Dear Nancy: > > Have you seen the IMLS Interconnections report? > http://www.interconnectionsreport.org/ > > Lots of hard data about some of the questions you're asking. The > slideshow provides a nice summary as well on the report. > > Perian Sully > Collections Information and Web Programs Manager Judah L. Magnes > Museum > > > -----Original Message----- > From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of > Nancy Proctor > Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 10:33 AM > To: mcn-l at mcn.edu > Subject: [MCN-L] Web vs. 'real world' visitors > > Does anyone have any hard numbers on overall museum trends in numbers of > online visitors versus footfall in the bricks & mortar museums? My > anecdotal sense from talking to various museum professionals is that > online traffic is 3-10 times the in-person visitorship, but I'd like > to be able to cite an > actual study. > > It would also be great to know what percentage of museums' online > traffic is to content that is not resident on their websites, e.g. > Podcasts on iTunes/iTunes U, and videos on YouTube, if anyone has > those stats for your own museum or others'.... > > ...And the next step is to show what great return on investment our > digital initiatives provide, since we reach many more people online > than in person, and buildings are relatively expensive to maintain. > This is not to challenge the primacy and importance of the real world > buildings and collections, > but > simply to underscore how much reach digital teams can achieve for > comparatively little money. > > Many thanks! > Nancy > > Nancy Proctor > Head of New Media Initiatives > > Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) MRC 970 PO Box 37012 Washington > DC 20013-7012 USA > > o: +1-202-633-8439 > f: +1-202-633-8455 > c: +1-301-642-6257 > > proctorn at si.edu > > http://www.americanart.si.edu > http://eyelevel.si.edu/ > > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum > Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer > Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
