Social Media Musings
May 20th, 2009Two great posts I just finished reading about social media (which reminds me that I still want to do a major recap of what I’ve learned from Museums and the Web…).
This article from NPR discusses the shift from the web being page-based (and focused on displaying past information) to a constant stream of active information (a la Twitter) and what that says about our society today. The Pulitzer has a Twitter page and participates in this “stream” – do you? And do you think this type of constant information will eventually replace static information on the web? Which also ties in with something else I heard on NPR this morning – will these musings online have any hope for longevity? What will our version of Shakespeare’s sonnets be?
The other piece I just finished reading was by Kimberly from the Kemper. She wrote about social media and art on the Saint Louis Art Map and discussed how what we do on the web as museums needs to relate back to our mission and audience. It reminded me of the paper Nina Simon presented at Museums and the Web, which takes this idea one step further. She discussed how our approach to an online presence – with it’s emphasis on accessibility and the interactions with Web 2.0 – and how we should bring these ideas back inside the galleries. As she calls it, “going analog”. It’s an interesting read -check it out here.
I don’t understand why the Pulitzer just doesn’t get it?? Yes, your website is very 2.0, but does it work? No, every time I go to it to look at “the space” I feel like I’m playing or looking at an adolescence video game of some sort. Why do some organizations like the pulitzer feel that 2.0 website jazz is always good? Pictures and information should be key and you have that, but it’s all mucked up with this interface that’s just not right. It looks good, I guess, but it doesn’t really add to the experience of the organization, I feel it just annoys more. The interface is not fluid like others.
Thanks for your comment. We’re actually in the process of reconsidering the structure of our website – we’ve outgrown the current framework. It’s gotten to a point where it’s difficult to find all of the information we now have available online. I really appreciate your feedback – it will be helpful as we continue to plan.