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