Museum Dancer Blog has moved

I have finally purchased my own domain!!! Yes, I am official now.
So from now on you can catch my blog at www.museumdancer.com.
My old posts and comments transfered to the new site along with the information pages.
The look of the website will most likely change, I am in the development stage of its creation.
Thanks for the support and I'll see ya on the new site.

What is a true Geek?

I am a self proclaimed Geek, however lately I have realized I am not quite as much of one as I thought.

courtesy of Great White Snark

I am a geek when it comes to museums, social networking, and dancing. I love me some Stark Trek, Star Wars, Princess Bride, Warehouse 13, Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Big Bang Theory but I am only mildly geeky when it comes to tech and even less geeky when it comes to programing. I spend a majority of my time on my office computer, IPhone, IPad, and personal Laptop. But I am slightly out of the loop when dealing with installing tech or programming. I am learning more everyday but I am no expert.

So my question to those of you that happen to run across my blog in a Stumble search or to my two subscribers (thanks Mom and Rob), Am I a Geek?

What qualifies me to be labeled a geek?

I have watched every episode of Bones and The Last Airbender however I am still working on The Big Bang Theory and Star Trek (Next Gen). I have multiple wish lists at ThinkGeek.com including a Yoda USB Desk protector and Settlers of Catan board game. I am a registered Apple Developer (however I have yet to develop anything). I am the Social Media Marketer for 4 separate organizations so i know the tricks of the Social Media trade but so do many many other "regular joes/janes."

I barely passed C Programing as an undergraduate however I aced Preventative Conservation and Care of Collections. I struggled with Calculus but I soared through the History of the Global Political Economy. I can set up your new computer but don't ask me to fix your old one.

I found a chart that I hoped would shine some light on the situation, however it only confused me more. The Geek Hierarchy Chart. It is a classification of someone's geekiness based on various categories (literature, video games, TV, movies, and art). The chart can be read from least geeky at the top to most geeky at the bottom. The closest thing I could come to me is "Science Fiction Television Fans." which is not very high on the geek chart. I am about a 3rd level geek.

courtesy of brunching.com

I also found a much simpler chart to explain the difference between Geeks, Nerds, and Dorks (a question I am sure has been burning in the back of your mind).

courtesy of zazzle.ca

Should I label myself as a Museum/Dancing/History/Social Media Geek who is a little geeky when it comes to technology and pop culture but is very square when dealing with programing or hardware? Or can I simply be called a Geek?

You tell me.

Social Media told through Dilbert

Dilbert never disappoints. My mom sent me this cartoon knowing I would totally get it and love it!

This comic strip depicts the social media world we live in today perfectly. Companies (and Museums) want the benefits of social media marketing however they are unwilling to let go of their fears in order to utilize it in the best way.

In my life as a graduate student I focused my research on this exact area of study.  Social Media Marketing is a fantastic tool for Museums to reach the "non-museum goer" but many museums see it has simply an advertising outlet.
The point of Social Media is to create conversations with people (i.e. museum worker to patron).  It is called "Social" for a reason. The idea is to create relationships with visitors so they feel invested in the museum.

(OK enough with my rant on Social Media for Museums)

In my current life, along with being the Curator for the Mississippi 4-H Museum I am also the Social Media Director of sorts. I am in charge of both Twitter and Facebook accounts for both MS 4-H and the MS 4-H Museum. So I have a slightly vested interest in the utilization of Social Media in the workplace. I spend a fare amount of my time at work on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Blogging about my experiences at the museum.

They say, once you put it on the Internet it is their forever. Well I do not see that as a bad thing. As a historian, I love the fact that their are records on FB and Twitter of how people today lived their lives and the everyday things that make up a culture are posted on easily accessible mediums. It may not be as romantic as reading through a journal of a peasant from 18th Century England but it does essentially make everyone their own archivist.

(Guess I am full of rants today, back to the point)

Any of my (few but fantastic) readers relate to this strip and got any good stories? Share them in the comments!! Pretty Please!!

Till next time y'all!

The Cube | Interactive Visual Display Systems | Floor Projection

I was online in search of ways to make our exhibits at the MS 4-H Museum more interactive and I found this, The Cube!

The Cube Interactive Visual Display Systems Floor Projection

(Be prepared I turn into a kid at Christmas right about now)

This is so freaking cool!! Imagine the possibilities in a museum! The touchscreen kiosk is taken to the floor! I totally want one of these for my museum! Think of the fun!!! Kids and Adults stomping around interacting directly with your museum content!!

(OK now back to the curator I am)

The Cube is made by GestureTek. I contacted GestureTek to inquire about pricing and they seemed eager to help me until I inquired about a base line price then they stopped contacting me so I assume the product is pretty pricey. Oh well, customer service can overcome a lot, too bad.

GestureTek also has many other interactive displays mostly marketing to large corporations and retail. I would never leave a museum if this was part of the exhibit.
I am also a big fan of the interactive table exhibit that they offer.

Illuminate Multi-Touch Display Table

The only question is, how do we make this educational? That is always the question with museums. We strive to keep the informal learning ongoing at our locations. I think this technology could be utilized just as our touchscreen kiosks are used. Include fun, interactive games and information for youth and adults alike.

Till next time y'all!

Didn't Know Video Editor was Part of the Job

One commonality of all museum jobs is that you are always asked to do things that were not part of your original job description. In fact most museum job descriptions are pretty simple when the job is not. This is also one of the major reasons I (and I am sure most museum professionals) chose my current career path. I wanted a profession that is challenging, exciting and ever changing.

On that note, as part of my job at the Mississippi 4-H Museum I am in charge of the Mississippi 4-H and Mississippi 4-H Museum Social Networking platforms (in simple terms: Facebook and Twitter).

I post pictures and updates on how our renovations are going at the museum as well as what the 4-H staff and youth have been up to (or what I know they have been up to). I began to get bored with the format I was following, so I decided to upload a video to the museum Facebook to make things interesting.

At the same time I stumbled across some footage shot by a former 4-H employee and a current 4-H employee. So the following video is what I pieced together from various clips of the original museum displays. I thought, "Hey I'm preserving history!"

I had no idea when I took this job that I would be able to practice my video editing (however weak they are) and create something to record the history of the museum itself. I added a little flair with music and a title and credits. Enjoy!!

Museum Geekiness has infiltrated the world!

The concept of the "geek" has been gaining popularity in main stream culture with newly converted trekkies (me) and the popularity of shows like "My Life as Liz" or "The Big Bang Theory."
However the idea of museum geeks being popular seemed too good to ever come to fruition. The current museum references such as the "Night at the Museum" movies portray a security guard as the star and the curator is seen as a joke. This is why I was surprised to see an entire section of products from my favorite screen printing company, CafePress, dedicated to museum workers and museums!!
So I will leave you with these images to ponder over. They made my life as a museum professional seem accepted, if only in my head.

Museum Chick Women's Light T-Shirt
Buy this product at CafePress

Small Museum, Big Project

For my first blog post I am starting with an article I wrote for a friend of mine, Kate Baldwin Van Cleef, for an online public history magazine she is creating. I am the curaor of the Mississippi 4-H Learning Center and Pete Frierson 4-H Museum (I just call it the 4-H Museum) and wanted to share my experiences in this process.

Mississipp 4-H Museum