This is a features I have been wanting to start for some time…a round-up of interesting and relevant stories I have read. Here’s the first round!
FROM THE MARKET EARLY AMERICA BLOG
Remember To Follow Copyright Laws (Jan. 10)
MUSEUMS/LIBRARIES/DIGITAL COLLECTIONS
January 2012 IMLS Profile: Boston Children’s Museum Finds Community is Great Teacher (Jan.) – Museum finds a creative way to partner with community organizations
Yes We Scan! (Jan. 10)- The National Archives considers digitizing its collections
Petition to the White House to Digitize All Public Government Info (Jan. 12)
Digital Learning Day is February 1 – How can museums get involved?
FROM THE MUSEUM TRENCHES
Series of Posts on the New First Ladies Exhibit at the National Museum of American History
Introducing the Children’s Book Club Blog (Jan 10 – Monticello)
“The Daily Show” Highlights Paul Jennings (Jan. 5 – Montpelier)
From the Staff of Life to the Fluffy White Wonder: A Short History of Bread (Jan. 19 – Tenement Museum)
SOCIAL MEDIA/ONLINE MARKETING
Be Generous: Offer Facebook Timeline Covers (Jan. 11) – a great way for you to encourage your supporters to promote you on Facebook!
QR Codes on Cardboard: That’s One Way to Raise Money for a UK Homeless Charity (Jan. 9) – creative use of QR codes!
Facebook Kills Fake Historical Profiles (Jan. 11) – This is too bad, because I know of a lot of history museums using the same technique to interact with people.
Scanning for Good: 5 Reasons QR Codes Are a Safe Option for Nonprofits (Jan. 11)
A New Breed? 7 Roles of the Content Marketing “Engineer” (Jan. 9) – A question I get a lot if “how much new content should we post? This article covers that topic, as well as how to track it all.
Facebook Grows a Soul, Not Crops (Jan. 12)
BUSINESS OF MUSEUMS/SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES
At the Colorado Symphony, Half-Steps Toward a “Consumer-First Business Model” (Jan. 6) – Does your strategic plan suffer from some of the same problems as the Colorado Symphony’s? Are you thinking “outside the box” in practice or only on paper?
Online Shoppers Are Rooting for the Little Guy (Jan. 15)
Report Says Think About This: $1 of State Investment in Arts and Culture Creates $51 for Economy (Jan. 18)
In the hustle of trying to put together exhibits and publications, it can be easy to forget about copyright laws. In fact, when dealing with history, many items are over 75 years old and are considered part of the public domain, making it easy for us to use them at will. But two current situations concerning copyright infringement made me want to write a little about it here. (more…)
I’m sure this has happened to many of you before. You are sitting in a staff or board meeting, brainstorming ways to increase your visitor traffic, and someone says, “I know! We need to create a Facebook page and start Twittering!”
What these people do not understand is that Facebook and Twitter are merely tools – they are not a salvation for struggling organizations. They have a reputation as being “The Way” to interact with younger audiences. This is true – younger audiences are on Facebook and Twitter. But just creating a Facebook page and expecting younger audiences to come pouring through your doors is an error in thinking. (more…)
Last week, I attended a lecture on the history of the Susquehanna Hose Company, the fire department that has guarded the small waterfront town of Havre de Grace Md from flames for over 100 years. Havre de Grace has many historic underpinnings, including George Washington, who often passed through town to take the ferry across the Susquehanna River; General Lafayette, who gave them their French name; and the War of 1812, where Rear Admiral George Cockburn torched the town for flying an American flag early on the morning of May 3, 1813. A few of the buildings in town survived the fire, and many more exist that date to the Civil War and the turn of the century.
During the speech the president of the fire company gave, he spoke of his fire fighters’ awareness of the historic treasures they have in town. He talked about several fires where they lost historic buildings and how upset the company was that they couldn’t save the buildings. He also talked about working with the owners of historic buildings on fire prevention. (more…)
I found this article by Tom Basson and really liked it: 16 Tips to Simplify Your Life (and Increase Your Productivity).
As busy museum professionals, we can all make use of some of these tips. For me, I am going to focus on turning off my technology and ignoring my phone for a few hours each day to get actual work done. I am constantly pulled away from the task at hand to reply to emails. Although, have you noticed that people are becoming increasingly impatient for replies to emails? I’ll sometimes get a follow-up “Did you get my email?” email within a few hours of receiving the first. I fear that our world of instant information and feedback is making us impatient and rude. Which makes me agree even more with Mr. Basson’s #4 and #13…we need to give ourselves breaks. For me, my breaks always take place beside my iPhone. I need to stop that!!
Do you have any other tips for ways to calm down your hectic life?
So if you have been on the museum conference circuit in the past two years, the term “crowd-sourcing” is not new to you. Conference sessions aplenty have been conducted about this concept, discussing it from every angle – Is it good? Is it bad? How do we get more? How do we get less? How do we convince people who think it is bad that it is good? How do we convince people who think it is good that it is bad? Round and round and round. No decisions made. Which is good. This is not a topic the museum community should decide on its own. (more…)
Recently First Lady Michelle Obama announced the “Let’s Move” initiative, “dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.”
The Institute of Museum and Library Services saw the importance of this program, and expanded on it when it introduced the “Let’s Move: Museums & Gardens” initiative. This program “will provide opportunities for millions of museum and garden visitors to learn about healthy food choices and physical activity through interactive exhibits and programs.” (more…)
In this month’s (May/June 2011) Preservation magazine is an article about how Woodlawn, the former estate of George Washington’s granddaughter Nellie Custis – and a favorite of mine – has implemented a new innovative farming program based on the estate’s roots as a farm. The article explains, “Restauranteur Michael Babin dreamed of starting a sustainable farm just outside Washington DC, to supply fresh, local produce to chefs and also to give the community a place to learn about food production.” (more…)
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