It seems like there is always something new to get excited about on the internet, conference backchannels buzz with talk of web 3.0 and museums using the semantic web, augmented reality and crowd sourcing. So why am I talking about blogging, isn’t that so 2005?
Why museums should blog
Blogging is a brilliant way for you to give audiences the chance to see a different side of the museum. There is a genuine interest in what happens behind the scenes in a museum or gallery and a blog gives you the chance to give those interested in your organisation a deeper understanding of the work that goes into an exhibition, research, event or education programme.
It can also provide information in bite-size chunks, perfect for casual browsers, and can give you an outlet to create build-up for something, such as with posts about the stages of preparation for a large event.
A museum blog is a brilliant way to increase the website traffic that you get from search engines, because a blog is regularly updated with rich content full of links. In my experience a museum can expect its traffic to rise by around 10% by adding a blog.
What to write on a museum blog?
Your starting point should be to think about your audiences, who are you writing for, and what would they be interested in? Remember that your visitors are fascinated by what goes on behind closed doors, so think about photographing exhibitions being installed, write about your exhibit of the week or talk about the ghost in the basement.
I would recommend that you are very careful not to post any press releases about new exhibitions on the blog, as the formal style of a press release would jar with the informal written style of a blog. You should try and keep your blog posts to under 500 words and use sub-headings to break up the text and make it easy to skim read.
Who should write your museum blog?
I think it would be a mistake to try and write a museum blog alone. A client of mine recently decided to set up a blog, they decided that they would to have two new blog posts per week and decided that it would take ten members of staff to accomplish that. They asked for volunteers from across the organisation, and asked those interested in being involved to write a sample blog post (to check they could write). One important thing to note here is that these individuals came from across the organisation, each bringing a unique perspective on the work that takes place behind closed doors.
How often should a museum blog?
A blog is meant to be updated regularly, and I’d suggest that you aim for a new blog post every week, to do this you really need to have a number of people writing the blog and encourage people from across your organisation to put idea’s forwards.
Get ready for a conversation!
Though at first glance a blog may look like a publishing medium, every blog post tends to invite comments from readers and you need to be ready to respond to these comments. This is a great way of gathering feedback and connecting with and getting to know your audience. It is worth thinking about how you will respond to feedback, some of which may be negative. Be open to the points that people put forward on your blog and always be prepared to learn from your audiences.
Can you recommend some good museum blogs?
Hi Scott
I think your starting point should probably be http://www.musuemblogs.org which lists a lot of blogs.
I really enjoyed the Powerhouse walking the wall blog – http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/walkingthewall/
Brooklyn Museum blog
- http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/community/blogosphere/bloggers/
Hope that helps
Jim
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I have another reason why museums should blog: it can be an incredibly motivating tool for staff.
Museum work could be defined as an incredibly varied mixture of incredibly boring tasks. For someone engaged on one of those behind-the-scenes cataloguing projects, being able to blog about the process and share interesting discoveries along the way with a wider audience can be very worthwhile. In effect, it can give a sense of purpose and perspective when that “light at the end of the tunnel” seems a long way off.
Hi Scott,
This is my recommended 5 good museum blogs list. Try it………….
http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/
http://yesterday.sg/
http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/community/blogosphere/bloggers/
http://conference.archimuse.com/
[...] januari, 2010 Ik las een paar weken geleden een interessant stuk over waarom musea zouden moeten bloggen (isn’t that so 2005?). Wat ik zo interessant vond was [...]
As a Canadian who was raised all over the world (including Brussels where my parents began instilling a love of art through years of art exhibits and teaching), I have reconnected with this portion of my past. I have been consuming every permanent and temporary art exhibit possible all over Europe over the past 6 months. My excitement and thrill at having so many opportunities so close, has recently turned to blogging about what I have seen, experienced, heard and understood.
Encourage people to blog about what they have seen at your museum, then encourage them to send you a link to their blog, followed by you having a space on a website linking back to the best of the blogs. Perhaps when the amount of blogging from non-professionals increases you could have a ‘blog of the month’ award. Kids would love it, teens would receive more positive attention, and adults could feel incredibly knowledgeable and brilliant!
I am more likely to blog about a museum or exhibit if I have a small pamphlet or description of what I have seen, with space on which I have written my own thoughts while travelling through a creative space. At home, I am able to refer to my thoughts, the curator and artist’s ideas of the work, add a website or newspaper article link, and suggest people attend if it is a travelling exhibit or if in the city soon. And if a museum follows through with the work in the previous paragraph, then I should have an internet address to which I can send my recent blog about the exhibit and museum.
It is all about connecting to people who have loved the work, who connect to you, who connect back, who connect those reading on to even more information and interest in the arts.
To create a blog on Museum is a great idea to attract people from all over the world. Museum Blog makes people excited……….