Photo from the Flickr Commons (Field Museum Library)

I’m relatively new to museums. Apart from a short intermezzo in an ecomuseum, the last year has been my only year within the walls of a museum. I do new media and technology. We do a lot of innovation. This is what I learned last year.

1. Work together
   There’s a lot of one man armies doing great work on new media and innovation in museums. Innovation isn’t a one man show, though. It’s a team effort. I’ve had the good fortune to be part of a team led by visionary people. However, even if you’re the only one paid to do new media and technology, try to work together with others as much as possible. To do so:
2. Do internal advocacy
   Odds are most of your coworkers know little about new media. That doesn’t mean they don’t like to know. Talk about what you’re doing, make them enthusiastic. I didn’t always do it, last year, and that was among my biggest mistakes. I learned the lesson and now I do workshops, regular mailings and I spent quite some face time explaining people what I’m doing. All the energy I put into internal advocacy comes back to me in – at least – twofold.
3. Curatorial staff is not conservative, per se
   Especially the last months I’ve closely worked together with our curatorial staff. I asked their input and tried to talk with them as much as possible. Listen to their needs and use their expertise. The result: almost daily they contact me with relevant information they find online, great ideas for projects and pilots and useful questions. And they’re about semantic web and augmented reality, not “how do I make text bold”.
4. Innovation is done by people, not by technology
   Whatever relevant project or installation I can think of can be made. Technologically. In everything I’ve been working on (and this includes all my prior experiences) the only scarce resource have been enthusiastic people. Enthusiastic, not skilled. Skills can be taught quickly. I treasure the many endlessly enthusiastic people around me.
5. For-profit is not a dirty word, at least not always
   I’ve discovered that, more than in most other sectors I’ve worked in, there’s a group of really good entrepreneurs in the cultural sector. They’re out to make profit, but don’t mind to share their knowledge and networks without asking anything in return. I don’t want to play favourites and will thank them in person. The lesson: don’t run away from businessmen immediately.
6. Work together (2)
   Without the many (young,) enthusiastic people from other institutions I’ve met and spent quality time with, I wouldn’t have learnt what I did. Our new networks have been of incredible value to me. Think outside of your institution’s walls and work together with people in similar positions elsewhere. Build the networks yourself, if there aren’t any.
7. Host activities
   As most of us working on new media, technology and innovation are struggling with the same challenges, why not host useful activities yourself? I’ve done workshops and unconference sessions to discover the answers to difficult questions. There’s no better way to move forward. And the best thing is: others learn from it as well. Don’t wait for a conference session or other institution to deal with your challenge: take the initiative yourself!
8. Use conferences to talk, not to listen
   Which brings me to conferences. I’ve had the opportunity to visit quite some of them. MuseumNext in Newcastle, DISH in Rotterdam, MW2010 in Denver and some 3 KJOs in Amsterdam. They had one thing in common: the plenary presentations were little useful. Most inspiration and ideas came from the conversations with people at the conference. A conference brings great people together, but it’s up to you to talk with these people and organise dinners or sessions with them to really learn a thing or two.
9. Talk about challenges, not best-practice
   Presentations are often not that useful, as they tend to give best-practices. They are about specific challenges solved by specific institutions in a very specific situation. Inspirational, but there are so many more challenges. When I talk with people, I’ve learnt to stay away from best-practices and address real challenges I face. Sharing a challenge makes it easier to solve it.
10. Take some time off
    On an average I’ve worked 67 hours a week. Add 10-15 hours of travel and 20+ hours of reading blogs, books and papers and at times there was little more I did than new media and technology. I love it and will continue doing so, but I realise that the enormous challenges we face might be better dealt with when the mind is empty and clear, the body full of energy.

This last lesson might be one to focus on next year. Because I’ll be continuing. Of course. I think to work on new media and technology in museums might be one of the most interesting places to work right now.

Everybody’s talking about community building these days. Often we forget how easy it is (can be) and how frequently it happens. A volcano, some stranded Europeans and Denver. This is how you build a community:

1. Get a bunch of people together with more or less similar values.
   E.g. museum professionals working on participation.
2. Urge them to do something, change their status quo.
   E.g. by having a volcano erupt and cause huge ash clouds.
3. Make them understand that they’re involved in the new situation.
   E.g. by cancelling their flights home.
4. Have a community leader/manager take the lead in collaborative action.
   E.g. Jennifer Trant who starts a system to find those stranded lodging and something to do.
5. Find some early adopters and encourage them to participate and take group action.
   E.g. by setting the example yourself and offering your lodging.
6. Give the community the freedom to develop by offering tools, not rules.
   E.g. pen and paper, a common media channel and enthusiasm.
7. Put emphasis on the positive behaviour of individuals in the community.
   E.g. by talking to them or retweeting their initiatives.
8. Think beyond social media.
   E.g. by hosting unconference sessions, meetups and drinks. Or by putting up a pen and paper registration system (see photos).
9. Have an open attitude to newcomers.
   E.g. by stressing how everybody is in the same situation.
10. Ensure and celebrate tangible outcomes within the community.
    E.g. by blogging about their events and applauding the success of individuals reaching home.
11. Take action over time to reinforce the community.
    E.g. by hosting a little event at next year’s conference for those affected by the volcano.

Okay. Not all communities are built this fast. And not all of the above steps will be easy to take. However, as I’ve seen it happen at MW2010, I’ve seen it happen many a times. Step 1-3 are the most important. Step 4-10 are mostly important when you want the community to work towards your goals. Step 11 is merely cool.

Thanks to all stranded Europeans and helpful Americans after MW2010. Did I miss any steps? Please, add them!

A lot of great thing came out of Museum and the Web 2010. I’ll be blogging about some of them over the next week (as I’m stranded in Denver due to #ashtag). One of the best, without a doubt, was the Spinny Bars Historical Society, or SBHS.

I first came into contact with the SBHS when I accidentally joined one of their board meetings. Their extensive team, headed by revolving visionary Ryan, works on the promotion and conservation of spinny bars around the world. As they say on their website: “The Spinny Bar Historical Society is the world’s premiere historical society for any and everything related to the global phenomenon that is the Spinny Bar. These international delights are dissappearing from the Earth (which, we should point out, also spins).”

About the SBHS and their birth they gave a stunning presentation at MW2010. It’s a must see for everybody in the cultural sector, IMHO.

What’s so great about the Spinny Bars Historical Society?

Basically, in somewhat over 24 hours they put together an impressive new media initiative, incorporating almost everything museums are working with right now. And they’ve did it with sense.

What they’ve proven is that there’s only one way to do a new media project: Just do it. Most of the institutional, financial or even operational “buts” are merely fear to start going. The only limitation to being online and on-track with new media is the guts to really do so.

The Spinny Bars Historical Society spinning online

• Official homepage
• Facebook fan page
• Facebook friend page
• On Twitter
• Extra: A photo of me with the director (See how happy I am!)

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of questions about social media guidelines for museums. There’s been a lot written about the use of social media guidelines, so I’ll limit this post to my experiences.

Why use social media guidelines?

More and more people join social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook or blog about their life or work. Not everybody is a digital native with perfect understanding of the subtleties of the web. I think guidelines are to guide these people towards a rewarding and safe use of social media.

Social media guidelines help people:

• To benefit from the opportunities of social media.
• To engage in a constructive way in online conversation, be it about a museum or their favourite pet.
• To avoid doing things online they might regret, personally or professionally.
• To find their way in your organisation when they discover conversations about your organisation on the web.
• To feel comfortable while writing about their work online.

Social media guidelines are meant to enrich people’s online behaviour, not to limit it.

What should your social media guidelines look like?

The Online Database of Social Media Policies is a great resource to be inspired. However, I do believe most of the policies included are way too long and difficult to use. It works best to have short hands-on statements that focus on:

• What kind of behaviour should be encouraged.
• What kind of behaviour is definitely not allowed.
• How to deal with conversations about your organisation online.

Examples could be:

• Threat your colleagues and partners with respect.
• Do not react emotionally on conversations about your organisation.
• Inform communications about any online conversation of our organisation.

I do believe it’s best to reach a common understanding about the specific your social media guidelines within your organisation.

How to use social media guidelines?

Simple: as guiding principles. Show and explain them regularly to all employees and share best practices. I always emphasise why the guidelines help the employees and the organisation similarly.

Social media guidelines give your organisation a fixed set of rules about which to talk in case of emergencies, trouble or under stress. They delegate responsibilities and engage all employees in the efforts of the organisation to have a healthy and active online presence.

How do you use social media guidelines in your organisation? Have you ever had to use them? I’m curious to know about that. Thanks!

Next Monday, February 1^st, is “follow a museum” day. As there are a lot of museum with quite extraordinary collections, I think it’s worth following one or two for inspiration, information and entertainment. Therefore, I applaud the idea of follow a museum day.

However, I also have my doubts.

Followers seem to be the new currency. The more followers, the better. I strongly disagree. It’s involvement that matters. It’s not about the number of followers a museum has, but about the communication with its audience a museum has.

Jim hinted using Ad.ly Analytics to measure the involvement of your followers. I say 100 involved followers beats 100.000 uninvolved ones. (Read about the “benefits” of being on Twitter’s Suggested Users List by Anil Dash.)

So why try to get more followers? Aim at increasing conversation!

Two examples of starting a conversation with your followers I’d like to share, both from Holland, are Museum Boerhaave’s MBtrail and the Museum of National History’s INNL series (this last institutions pays me, so I don’t claim to be objective.)

Each Friday employees of Museum Boerhaave take their followers on a trail through their museum wonderful collection. Questions about objects or topics are answered and people are triggered to discover more about the museum. Considering the amount of retweets and interaction, the MBtrail engages (a part of) their followers.

The Museum of National History has by now done three INNL interactive history themes, using Twitter to engage people. We take a subject, like winter, and trigger people with historical objects and stories to add their own content. Their contributions are then used to update the “file” on the subject. We reach some 10-20 people intensely with each edition of INNL and many hundreds who read and enjoy the end result.

Internationally, there are other great examples of museum engaging in conversation with their followers over Twitter.

So, with “follow a museum” day coming up, I’d like to ask you: what will you do with your new followers? Will you bombard them with publicity for your institution, or will you focus at increasing conversation with them?

Dea Birkett proposed “follow a visitor” day for museum. This will be March 1^st. Another great initiative, but too long after the first. I say: make sure your new followers of next Monday are welcomed with some good engaging conversation. As a museum, do something special next Monday for your new and old followers.

I will think about something to do now. What will you do?

I love social media. And I think part of the future of museums is in social media. The future of museums is their community, how they can truly connect with their audience. In that, I am not alone.

This morning I received a link to a rather interesting article called “Museum’s new mantra: Connect with community”. A short Twitter discussion ensued between Jim Richardson, Jon Pratty and me. A conclusion for museums: “Conversation is king”. Later today Ryan Donahue added that if conversation is king, content should be its queen: “One by itself is uninteresting.”

Now I don’t know about the monarchy in your country, but ours has quite some difficulties connecting with the regular people. And I think that analogy applies to museums as well. And I don’t think social media can easily take that away.

As a museum about history, we face the situation that people look for definite answers. “When happened this or that?” etc. And they look at us for the answer. We’re like a secondary school teacher. How often have you had a real conversation with your secondary school teachers? (And: would social media have helped, had it been there?)

Conversation is king, definitely. It’s the core of social media. Something to talk about (content) is an inseparable part of conversation. Conversation, however, also requires equal partners. How can a museum about history in its role as source of information about history, be an equal partner in conversation with people who come to us for information?

Or, how can we truly engage in conversation with our audience? Conversation that is more than chitchat (“loved the new installation”) and in which both conversationalists are equal partners. How can we make our content the core of our conversation with our audience, without limiting them because of our role as “teacher”, and still maintain our status as a source of historical information?

One of my first jobs as a Community Manager for the Museum of National History was to build a presence on existing social media websites. There’s quite some literature available on social media strategy. That helps. I think I developed a strategy that could be the envy of all museums worldwide. (I’ll brag about that when it starts to pay off.)

However, what I noticed is that strategy is only one. There’s also the practical side of becoming active on social media websites. I didn’t read a word about that. I simply used my experience as a user and the small things I did in the past and thought this would work for a large ambitious museum as well.

That proved a learning experience. Looking back on the first month, I can already identify things that I could and should have done better. Therefore I’d like to share my practical experiences with developing a social media presence with you. Please share your experiences as well to avoid others to make our mistakes.

1. Consider your “username” carefully. On most social networks your username is almost an irrelevant thing you only see in the URL. Nevertheless, it’s good to be consistent. Therefore, use a service like NameChk to see which name is available on the websites you’d like to use. Remember Twitter has a 15-character limit on usernames.
2. Pick a good standard password. All social networks have different password requirements. Pick a standard password that is at least 8 characters long and combines numbers and letters. Add some capital letters to make the password stronger.
3. Make sure your logo fits in a square. Websites such as Flickr require a square logo. Make sure you have a square version of your logo in different sizes available when you start making accounts. Your rectangular logo can be used when possible (on Facebook, for instance).
4. Have different descriptions at hand. I made a document with the description of the museum in different lengths. Twitter has a 160-character limit, LinkedIn a 250-character minimum. Write different descriptions, from one line to some paragraphs, to cover all social networks.
5. Make sure you have some basic content. Nothing looks sadder than an empty profile page. Therefore, make sure you have some basic content to post. Import your RSS feed where possible. Have some photos at hand to post them. Think about some discussion questions. Post some events.
6. Link your social media presence. The activity on different social media websites shouldn’t be isolated. Therefore, every time you register a new account, make sure you link to it from the places where you already have an account.
7. Have some friends you know you can trust. If your page on Facebook only has 4 fans, it doesn’t look trustworthy. Therefore, make sure you have a group of people at hand who will become fan, friend or follower of your page. I don’t know how many is OK, but I notice on Twitter that the more followers we have, the more new followers we get.

Probably there’s much more practical advice on how to start the social media presence of your company or organisation. If you have some, please share it here, so future community managers have an easier job. Thanks in advance!

Internationally, there are a lot of museums active on Twitter. Unfortunately, most of them use Twitter only as a modern announcement board. There is very little interaction with their followers.

The Brooklyn Museum is one notable exception. In the museum they encourage visitors to send their feedback to their Twitter. Also, they reply, retweet and encourage visitors to engage in conversation. Not surprisingly, they have over 23,000 followers, which is the highest I’ve seen of all museums.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York is another good exception. They basically have the same approach as the Brooklyn Museum and even have a nifty background image on their Twitter. However, it’s obvious they’re still figuring out their strategy.

What can we learn from the way these two museums use Twitter?

• Both museums post updates regularly, keeping their audience fixed
• Both museums reply to their followers, making conversation two-directional
• Both museums retweet interesting tweets from their community

For the Museum of National History I’ve only just begun using Twitter and I’m still working on our strategy. The three lessons above seem easy enough, but Twitter is such a powerful tool that there must be more to it. How can a museum get all out of Twitter?

So far I have thought out the following strategies for our use of Twitter, which will be deployed over the next month.

• Trigger the audience to react to tweets by asking them questions. We could for instance put a historical question out there and reward the first correct response.
• Engage the audience by letting them decide on the content of a blog post. The idea is to ask every week what should be in our history books from that week.

Nevertheless, there should be much more possible with Twitter for a museum. That’s why I put the question out here. What do’s and don’ts do you think apply to Twitter when you’re a museum? And what strategies can we use to truly engage our audience?