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Chapter 1
Museums and Web :
Some Thoughts about Authority,
Communication, Participation and Trust
Werner Schweibenz
University of Konstanz, Germany
ABSTRACT
Many museums want to use Web applications or feel the pressure to do so. In doing so, they might
encounter a significant problem as Web is based on the notion of radical trust and unrestricted,
equal participation, two concepts that are contrary to the museum’s traditional concepts of authority,
communication and participation. Until recently, museums presumed control of their content. The cru-
cial question is how much control of its content the museum can afford to lose, since they depend on
their reputation for expertise and trustworthiness. The paper analyses the role of authority, its influence
on traditional and future munication and its effects on participation and trust. The chal-
lenge for museums is to find a way to cede authority and control over content without losing status as
trustworthy institutions and to open up for social media and user participation in order to attract new
audiences and maintain existing ones.
INTRODUCTION inside and outside the museum. Nevertheless,
cross institutional projects such as the European
Currently, Web is the bandwagon everybody Digital Library Europeana try out new modes
has to jump on. In the museum field, many insti- of involving users, for example by providing a
tutions feel the pressure to join this trend but munity sections for exchange between users
the same time they are reluctant to do so because and links to Facebook and Twitter.
there is still a considerable lack of research about Outside the museum, the audience is expected
the acceptance of this new phenomenon both to wait for Web features to be offered by each
and every Web site. According to Web enthu-
DOI: -1-60960-044-
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