Tall, extra-hot, non-fat decaf latte

It took me a while, but I managed to find out how to order exactly what I want. I now get the Kathryn latte - the latte that is perfectly customized to suit me. Naturally, I identified immediately when I read  Envisioning the Customized Museum by Mary Ellen Munley et al. It's true, as they argue, that we have come to expect customization in our products and services, and perhaps increasingly, in our experiences.

A lot of the characteristics of meaningful custom museum experience seem similar to those of museum participation. In both, the museum is a partner or a platform, facilitating the visitor's engagement with the content. I can imagine the tension that working towards this sort of experience would cause in some circles: it might sound too much like relinquishing control or authority. What about trust and legitimacy?

As I care a lot about engaging visitors with content, facilitating the connections they make between their own lives and the stories we hold, I see immense possibility for customization and participation. It hit me again, as I bopped along to the latest tune in my CBC Radio 3 playlist. This Web site has changed the way I experience music - it is amazing.

Let me explain. I am definitely not cool. I am not in a band, nor am I friends with the band. I don't go out. But, here is this site that has about 100,000 songs by independent Canadian artists. It is a vast library of new and emerging talent, that anyone can access, organize into playlists and enjoy. At first, a little daunting - because as I said, I am not really into new music. But once I had an entry point - a band I had heard of and liked - I was able to engage with the content and explore new songs. In a few days, I discovered reams of music by artists I had never heard of - and I feel a little bit connected to Canadian new music. Way cool. And there's more! There are other people out there - artists uploading new music everyday, and other listeners with their own playlists and comments and sharing and there's a blog and all sorts of other neat things.

So why is this such a fantastic example of the power of participation and customization? I think it because the content is good, there is a structure to experience it, the platform is easy to understand and once the door is open a crack, its very easy to waltz (bop?) all the way inside.

Thank you, CBC Radio 3.

Envisioning the Customized Museum: An Agenda to Guide Reflective Practice and Research, by Mary Ellen Munley, Randy C. Roberts, Barbara Soren, and Jeff Hayward pg 77-90 in Practice, In Principle: Museums as Learning Institutions, John H. Falk, Lynn D. Dierking, Susan Foutz, eds. (Lanham, MD: Altamira Press, 2007)