M3P:About

From M3P
Jump to navigation Jump to search

M3P is a collaborative multimedia database of Maltese media and associated arts. This project aims to build a comprehensive multimedia database and gateway to the creation of a national collection of artifacts from the Maltese media scene and associated arts.

M3P is an acronym for Malta Media Memory Preservation. Between 2010 and 2016 M3P was associated with the Malta Music Memory Project, which is now one of the M3P project.

The M3P Foundation, a non-profit voluntary organization, is the legal entity registered as the administrator of this digital preservation initiative.

The Community Portal is a good place to find out what's happening on M3P. The latest updates on the project can be viewed through the recent changes page, while the Main Page lists all the latest developments on the project.


Official Launch

M3P was officially launched during Notte Bianca: Lejl Imdawwal in Valletta, Malta on 25th September 2010, with an Inaugural Symposium and Networking Workshop at the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity. The launch events included an evening concert called You Rarely Hear This On the Radio! at Hastings Garden.


Why is M3P needed?

Here are a few reasons why M3P exists:

  1. There is a glut of uncollected documents and data relating to Maltese media and associated arts, which have increased exponentially with the recent proliferation of digital technologies and the Internet. M3P aims to provide an inclusive repository for this type of data, and ensure that it is kept in posterity for current and future generations.
  2. There is no cohesive multimedia database or any other sort of collection of most Maltese music.
  3. Specifically, there is a need to document and showcase:
  • the work and lives of aging artists and performers who are still alive or recently deceased
  • under-documented Maltese performers, such as underground rock scenes, or music that does not normally get radio play in Malta
  • endangered collections and artifacts, such as 78 rpm record collections and tape recordings at PBS and in private collections
  • alternative aspects in the work of mainstream performers
  • young non-mainstream performers
  • overseas-based Maltese performers and broadcasters

What’s a wiki?

M3P is organised around a wiki. A wiki – derived from wikiwiki, the Hawaiian word for quick – is an example of a collaborative technology that operates in direct correlation with social networks. Wikis are designed to facilitate conversational knowledge management and group collaboration. The best example of a wiki is Wikipedia. M3P uses the same server-based software, MediaWiki, as that used by Wikipedia.

Why not just use Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a general encyclopedia. M3P is about Maltese music and associated arts. Wikipedia is about everything. M3P is specifically about Malta's arts and culture within the country and beyond the shores of the Maltese Islands.

Can everyone edit and/or add data on M3P?

Yes, as long as you're a registered user and logged in. Please note that all data edited and/or uploaded by users is monitored on a regular basis by M3P’s Editorial Board. Check out the M3P Editorial Policy for more information on how this works.

How do you know if the information is correct?

As anyone who registers a user account can edit practically any part of the wiki, it is possible for out of date, partial, biased or incorrect information to be posted. However, because there are other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions, information that does not comply with the M3P submission policy will be corrected or removed relatively quickly. As M3P attracts more and more contributors over the years, the overall accuracy and reliability of information will improve. Anyone who can contribute new entries or corrections to existing ones is more than welcome to help by correcting and improving what's available on the website.

What type of information will be kept in the database?

Since M3P is an open and collaborative project, everything that falls within the interest qualifies for entry. M3P aims to be all inclusive and exclusive only in as much as ensuring that all submissions are somehow directly or indirectly related to its mission of collecting, cataloging and preserving Maltese media and associated arts.

Who is responsible for entries that appear on the M3P website?

This is a collaborative project. So, everyone is responsible, including you! Lots of people have contributed information to different parts of this project, and anyone can do so. All you need is to know how to edit a page and have some relevant information you want to share. You can find out who is responsible for the most recent versions of any specific page by clicking on the history link at the top of the page. You're always free to edit or add to an open article, even if you didn't start it or haven't contributed to it. If you see something you're sure is wrong, please feel free to correct it.

What plans are there for M3P to grow?

There is an ongoing plan of action for M3P is to capture detailed information about media outputs, live performances and recordings from shows, studio sessions, and public releases on CD and through the Internet, along with photos, posters and other similar materials. The database also needs to collate details of all the technologies used to create and document media and associated arts – from the equipment used for recording and live performances, to individual websites and social networking websites used by both artists and their fans.

We're hoping that the data captured systematically by this project they can serve as the basis for a broader collection within a relatively short period of time. More importantly, however, all the data gathered will help establish an ongoing research base with a pedagogical dimension closely associated with postgraduate research projects. The research projects will subsequently feed back into further development on the database itself.

Will M3P always be free for end-users?

It is our goal to keep all the information in the M3P free and open under a creative commons license, unless it is protected by copyright. Music, video or other materials that are under copyright will obviously not be available for free but may be made available via an appropriate payment gateway in due course. An initial way forward on this aspect of the project is being explored with the University of Hull's Creative Enterprise Lab in Scarborough, UK.

Academic Research

Academic research is an essential dimension of this project. The collaborative partners on this aspect of M3P are from the University of Hull (led by Dr Toni Sant from the School of Arts & New Media and supported by researchers Steve Borg, Alex Grech and Tony Grimaud) and the University of Malta (Dr Ing Saviour Zammit from the Dept. of Communications & Computer Engineering and Dr Albert Bell from Youth & Community Studies).

A position paper by Toni Sant appeared in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of Music, Technology & Education. An academic conference took place at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta on 3-4 June 2011 to address this issues of longevity on the M3P. A series of oral history interviews is planned for 2012. Support for the Malta event is partially provided by the Malta Arts Fund of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts.

See also

Help

Events


External links

Sant, Toni. (2009), ‘Addressing the need for a collaborative multimedia database of Maltese music,’ Journal of Music, Technology and Education 2: 2+3, pp. 89–96 [1]

Sant, Toni. (2011), ‘Initial Work on the Malta Music Memory Project - and its connections with Oral History,’ Journal of Maltese History 2: 2, pp. 42–50 [2]