Welcome back to Digital Works, the newsletter from Substrakt that's part of our programme of talks, podcasts and other content, bringing arts, culture, museums and heritage professionals together to talk all things digital. I'm Katie Moffat, Director of Sector Strategy at Substrakt. Please get in touch if you have anything you'd like to share, or if you need any support with your digital projects. And if you find this newsletter useful, do forward to a friend or colleague.

Latest Things

First up we have an excellent article about content, from our strategist Zosia, on the importance of thinking about content as something more than merely a supporting pillar for marketing.

The Space launched a useful guide about evaluating digital experiences.  

Tiktok has filed a motion in the US courts aimed at preventing it being sold off (or banned).

Useful Things

Although not directly related to digital work, these '5 habits of innovative councils' are interesting because the habits are also what we see at Substrakt in those cultural organisations who are really effective with their approach to digital.

We may have shared this before but in case you missed it, here are a comprehensive set of frameworks that you can use to work through different issues or problems, or to develop thinking around strategy or decision making.

A brilliant piece from disability advocate and blogger Chloe Tear, about designing content for conflicting access needs.

What is a good web content engagement benchmark? (A related reminder that you can also get a copy of our website metrics benchmark report from the Substrakt website).

Google's research arm, Jigsaw, has released the results of some qualitative research they undertook about how Gen Z digest online and metabolize what they see online. They wanted to understand that generation's 'information literacy'. I include this long quote from Business Insider's piece on the research, in full, because it is so telling about how this generation approach online content,"Jigsaw's findings offer a revealing glimpse into the digital mindset of Gen Z. Where older generations are out there struggling to fact-check information and cite sources, Gen Zers don't even bother. They just read the headlines and then speed-scroll to the comments, to see what everyone else says. They're outsourcing the determination of truth and importance to like-minded, trusted influencers. And if an article's too long, they just skip it. They don't want to see stuff that might force them to think too hard, or that upsets them emotionally. If they have a goal, Jigsaw found, it's to learn what they need to know to remain cool and conversant in their chosen social groups."

Thought-provoking, Inspiring & Entertaining Things

A fun/alarming tiktok, about what happens when you get two AI assistants to talk to each other?

The National Library of Singapore has taken some well known books and used ChatGPT to create 'choose your own adventure' style stories from the plots. Nicely done. 

Is art created using AI still art? The Seattle Convention Center curated a number of artworks in which the artists have used AI tools to create them. Seeing these makes you realise that it's maybe not the use of the tool itself that matters, but rather how you use it. 

Friends of the Earth has launched a website listing ideas they've had but that they "do not have the capcity or the or money to pursue" and they're inviting others to take the ideas and build on them. This is a great idea and it would be brilliant if the arts and culture sector did something similar.

Digital Works Podcast

In addition to our regular interview podcast, we have a short Bytes series, which we release after each issue of this newsletter to discuss three of the most interesting stories. Have a listen and let us know what you think! 

And here's some of our latest interview episodes:

Experiments with the audience experience - Kate Carter, Director of Audiences, Edinburgh International Festival

Raising the Curtain. Technology Success Stories from Performing Arts Leaders and Artists - Dr Brett Ashley Crawford and Paul Hansen on their new book recently published by Wiley

Building in-house digital teams, public-private partnerships and the role that digital can play in enhancing the in-person experience - Michal Čudrnák, Slovak National Gallery

Creating immersive experiences - Samatha King, Vive Arts

How cultural organisations can unleash social media's potential - Haydn Corrodus

Crowdfunding, owning your niche, dealing with censorship and ignoring the trolls - Zoe Williams, Vagina Museum.

Getting to 1 million digital subscribers, creating meaningful metrics, and working with NT at Home - with George Montagu, FT Strategies.

What effective funding looks like and thinking differently about value and risk - with Fran Sanderson, Nesta.

Listen to all the episodes.

Good Reads

And finally, let's take a trip down memory lane with this wonderful New Yorker article from 1995 about building a website, "E-mail was last year’s way of communicating. This year is about making a Web site, an on-line space where millions can visit you."

See you soon

That's all for this issue, if you see anything interesting, surprising, fun, or useful, please do share it with us so we can include it in a future newsletter.

And if you're looking for help with a digital project or any kind of digital consultancy support, please do get in touch. Consultancy projects we are currently working on include a digital strategy for a global not-for-profit and a digital capacity review for an arts and culture organisation.

Until next time, stay safe.

Bye!