One of the best ways to redirect a wandering conversation about ‘new business models’ in the arts is to ask the basic question: What is your current business model, and how does it work? It’s surprising how even really smart cultural managers can’t answer the question. Admittedly, we don’t talk much as a field about […]
Archives for June 2009
A different kind of cultural infrastructure
London’s Sunday Times reports on an initiative to place 30 pianos in public locations throughout London, to encourage impromptu sing-alongs among strangers (want to find one? look here). Each piano will be decorated by an artist to relate to its surroundings — much like other public art initiatives featuring cows or pigs or furniture. A […]
Algorithm as editor, curator, or benevolent dictator
Cory Doctorow makes a compelling point in The Guardian that today’s search engines provide essential functions, but also represent concentrations of opaque editorial power worthy of some pushback. Says he: The question of what we can and can’t see when we go hunting for answers demands a transparent, participatory solution. There’s no dictator benevolent enough […]
Pay attention…or not
Since I seem to be distracted today by thoughts of how I might be less distracted, I thought I’d share Mr. Merlin Mann’s thoughts on the subject. A favorite quote, despite its bad grammar: People give you money because you know how to solve problems. Not because you move email around and respond to things […]