The connected collector: Collecting in a Web 2.0 world

The Web opens possibilities for democratic engagement in collecting. Previously closed groups available only to aficionados/cognoscenti are now open to wider networks of collector. This paper argues that a typology of Web collecting is possible to chart. Although not disconnected to offline modes of collecting, or collecting practices that occurred pre-Web, it remains that certain ways of collecting are mediated by Web 2.0 technologies. We see that the Web enables a broader network of collectors to readily access the requisite knowledge surrounding artefacts, provenance and collectability, whilst also provisioning connections with distributed communities of collectors, sellers and brokers in a manner never before available. We suggest that Web 2.0 applications enable capacity for undertaking reconnaissance , the gaining of knowledge , and facilitation of exchange for collectables , as well as furnishing the curation and display of subsequent ownership . These platforms enable the mediated demonstration of one’s identity as a ‘collector’ and point to hallmark features of ‘connected collecting’. Taking these elements of collecting practice as foundational to the connected collector’s persona, we condense a tripartite conceptualisation that includes acquisition - maintenance - curation as an organising typology for considering Web 2.0 facilitation of collecting practice.