Cybraphon: Collecting the Physical or the Digital at National Museums Scotland?

In 2013, National Museums Scotland collected Cybraphon, an interactive autonomous internet- connected robot band, created in 2009 by artists’ collective and musicians FOUND. Cybraphon obsessively Googles itself every 15 seconds to see how popular it is. All Cybraphon activity rests in the hands of the online community and as such provides a means of displaying online social interaction in a unique way, manifested through an object. It captures its makers’ interest in social media interaction at a point in time, 2009, when the phenomenon was still relatively new. This case study will provide background on the making of Cybraphon and then explore the Museum’s approach and the audience reaction to this experimental foray into social media ‘collecting’.