Voices of the Past Radio Jeffery K Guin

I’m thrilled today to introduce a project that combines my biggest interests--oral storytelling and cultural heritage outreach. It’s appropriately called Tell History.

And it was developed by Alex Whitcomb and Sarah Hayes. They’re crowdsourcing video-based memories that they tie to themes, timelines and maps. We all have a friend or relative who has a fascinating story to tell. TellHistory.com can help you help them to share that story in historical context. It’s also an inspiring story about how you can take your passion, and evolve it into a platform for the greater good. Listen as Alex and Sarah describe their own bit of history in the development of this project….


What has the response been like?
I know from personal experience that it can be very difficult to build engagement in digital projects. How have you gotten so many folks to contribute videos to the project?
Tell me a little about how Tell History works ...
I think it’s interesting that you use a Theme of the Week to focus your contributions. How do you identify those?
What kind of audiences are contributing to Tell History, and what kind of stories are capturing your attention?
You’ve made it very easy for folks contribute to Tell History. Describe that process ...
How have you been using social media to support the growth of Tell History?
What kind of stories and themes are you focusing on for the future?
Describe what your “big picture” goal is for Tell History ...
A project of this scope only happens because of people who believe in you and what you’re trying to achieve. Are there any folks who have contributed to the site that you’d like to give a shout-out to?
How do folks connect with you online?

And that was Alex Whitcomb and Sarah Hayes. If you'd like to learn more about Tell History, you can find shownotes from this interview--along with all the relevant links-- at voicesofthepast.org.


While you're there, check out the series called “DigitalHeritage 1-2-3” These posts each contain three stories or websites that are on my radar, with a little bit of analysis about how they might be useful to you.

Have you ever dreamed of what it would be like to go back in time to take part in a historical event?


 

Our guest today has been involved in helping many folks do the next best thing. Her name is Carrie Phillips, and she is the director of marketing and communications at Historic Columbia in Columbia, South Carolina.


Historic Columbia used digital media to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the burning of that city during the American Civil War.

Can virtual connections and digital media yield tangible benefits for heritage resources? Dale Kronkright says “yes.” And, that’s based on his experience as head of conservation at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe New Mexico. In this interview, he’ll talk about the Georgia O’Keeffe Imaging Project. The project field-tested three technologies in “Computational Imaging” and brought its audiences along for the ride with real-time updates on the social web. Their approach was profoundly effective, without being too complex from the production standpoint. There’s a takeaway here for most any heritage project.

This show explores an approach to new media that we rarely get to see -- a coordinated, research-based strategy that brings together cultural heritage institutions throughout a country. One of the organizations spearheading  this efforts is the Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Sites of Scotland (RCAHMS). This interview features Philip Graham, Public Engagement Manager for RCAHMS. Philip will talk about the Digital Futures for Cultural Heritage Initiative, and how is own organization is going beyond social media engagement to encourage user-contributed content. If you’ve struggled to build consensus about digital outreach even within your own institution, you’ll find this interview compelling.

Pompeii: It's the world's most recognizable archaeological site. But did you know it was also the place where the iPad was first used as a field documentation tool. Archaeologists working at Pompeii have been pretty progressive in communicating their finds through new media as well. Working in this milieu of old and new is Dr. Steven Ellis. He directs the Pompeii archaeological research project at Porta Stabia. In this interview, he'll talk about the iPad project, including what it was like to be featured in an Apple ad campaign. Additionally, he'll explore other emerging technologies being used at the site and tell us the story about why he chose archaeology as a profession.