How social media thinking could help museums to turn out all right

Photo by Camdiluv on Flickr.

Last year – best wishes for 2012! – I got my hands on a copy of The Happy Museum: A tale of how it could turn out all right. It’s a happy little publication (PDF) I hadn’t heard of before about the role museums play in our changing world, and should play to remain relevant and add to a more sustainable future. And, hidden between the lines, there’s a twist in the story that takes is from society straight to social media…

In 2010, when asked to imagine museums in 2020, I wrote about how I believe a museum has and should have a responsible position in culture, art and heritage and also in society in general. The Happy Museum takes this further and focuses on the role museums can play to limit consumption, make people happier and generally contribute to the well-being of people.

The Happy Museum has two USPs when it comes to playing an active part in these areas, and I’ve added a third which I believe is equally important:

1. Apart from the gift shop, museum don’t try to sell anything but understanding and enjoyment. Therefore they are a sanctuary from the advertising and commercialisation of the public space.
2. As public (social) spaces, museums offer a counterpart to the ever more privatised public realm, where hardly anything is freely accessible anymore (especially when they are truly “free”, as in “gratis”).
3. In the world of StarBucks and Apple stores, museums provide an opportunity to experience something ‘unique’ in the original meaning of the word: one of a kind (not unique as in: venti triple half-caf organic caramel macchiato).

The Participatory Science Centre – wrap up of a workshop at NEMO, Amsterdam

Science centres are all about participation and the joy of discovery. Science centre NEMO in Amsterdam is no exception. Even on a school-week Tuesday the building is buzzing with energy and the sounds of excitement bouncing against the roof. I was positively surprised, therefore, that I was asked by Diana of NEMO to host a creative workshop on specifically the topic of participation and innovative ways of engaging with audiences.

NEMO is looking for ways to have visitors participate and engage with their content in a more sustainable and relevant way. In my own words, they want to build enduring relationships with their audience that go beyond the one-off event a visit to their building nowadays is. The main focus of the workshop, therefore, was how to embed participation in a meaningful way in the activities of NEMO, so that it builds connections between the institution and people, and fosters enthusiasm.

With over 500,000 visitors a year, NEMO has about reached its limits in the number of physical visitors it can welcome. So, not surprisingly, when asked about their future vision for NEMO, most participants drew an image of a science centre leaving its building, and using modern technology and media to take control of the public space.

Most of the installations in NEMO are participatory in a playful, but unconnected way. Often it’s not clear why people should participate other than because they can, and little is done with the effort visitors put into their contributions. Also, NEMO is almost entirely focused on children, with the immediate effect that when I visited them on a school holiday, the place was filled with bored-looking parents. Read the rest of this entry »

Donating is not necessarily about giving money

Tuesday I partook in a workshop/brainstorm session for a new mobile platform to make it easier for young people to donate to ‘good causes’, appropriately named GIVERS. Research shows that 80% of young people are more than willing to give money (Dutch link), but very few actually do. This, because young people base their decision to give on factors other than the ones addressed in most campaigns. Ease, transparency, sense of ownership and a positive message are more important than tear-jerking photos of starving kids.

A surprisingly unique group of people showed up at the workshop. All had great ideas, good hearts and broad experience. Also – refreshingly! – there were people from the social sectors, culture and the corporate world to create a dynamic mix of ideas. And, all people were young, if not in age, than at heart.

Most of the details of the GIVERS platform are still debatable, but the basis is an easily available mobile app/website. Monthly, a curated set of projects in different categories (development, healthcare, etc.) will be presented with short videos. People can make easy donations and after donating to a project, will receive regular updates about how their money is spent, etc. 100% of all donations goes to the projects; companies who adopt a project pay for overhead.

GIVERS looks like popular crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and the Dutch Voor De Kunst, but with a focus on more profound and sustainable relationships between organisations, companies and (young) donators, through tangible projects. Read the rest of this entry »