Page 114 - AC/E's Digital Culture Annual Report 2015

Cultural business models on the Internet114– or even a new type of asset, according to the OECD.6 In the words of Kenneth Cukier7and Viktor Mayer-Schönberger,8 authors of an influential book on this topic,9 we are becoming “Datafied”.Differently from other technologies, which are relevant in a small number of sectors, the data revolution has the potential to transform all industries. The reason for this that every sector, from agriculture to biotechnology, as well as the public sector and NGOs – needs knowledge to operate: knowledge of what to do, how to do it, where and when. Relevant data analysed carefully, and applied effectively can help these organisations do these things better.The data revolution has the potential to transform all industries. Its analysis and application allows organisations to innovate and progress.Does this also apply to the Arts and Cultural sector? When we think about what happens in performing arts venues, galleries, museums and publishers, words like “passion”, “emotion” and “creativity”, come to mind before “data”.There is in fact a tendency – even a prejudice – to think of creativity and data as opposites instead of potential complements (another example of the unproductive conflict between the two cultures10 of the “Arts and Humanities”, and “Science and Technology”, which is so detrimental to everyone). In this essay, my intention is to challenge this view, presentingexamples of the way in which data can create value in the arts and cultural sector, and identi- fying actions that can be taken by policymakers and practitioners in order to help the sector become a full and successful participant in the data revolution.But before doing that, it is perhaps a good idea to clarify some of the terminology around data, which can be quite confusing, and even intimidating.Data dictionaryThe data revolution is being driven by the convergence of data ‘inputs’, data technologies, analytical methods, opportunities to apply data, and skills. I will go through these things in turn. My aim is to provide some clarity around concepts and ideas that sometimes get entan- gled, and to provide a foundation to discuss applications of data in the Arts and Cultural sector later on in the essay.Let’s begin with data. Data is simply a set of measurements of a phenomenon: It couldbe transactions in a website, the content that someone posts in a social media platform, or responses to a survey. Data can be numbers, text, video, audio, relations (e.g. the peoplethat you are connected to in a social network like Twitter) or outputs from a sensor (e.g. an infrared sensor counting how many people enter in a room).Metadata is information about items of data that can be used to archive them, organise them and retrieve them (for example, a “timestamp”Using data to create value in the arts and cultural sector