Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

MAY 7, 2010

Nina has written a fantastic book engagement called The Participatory Museum. A third argues that the project won’t be truly participatory unless users get to define what content is sought in the first place. Rick wanted a better way to describe what kinds of projects led to different community outcomes.

Model 98

Model Activities Active Activism 98

Museum 2.0

OCTOBER 2, 2013

George Scheer is the director and co-founder of Elsewhere Collective, a fascinating "living museum" in a former thrift store in Greensboro, NC. In this post, George grapples with the challenges of balancing the care for a museum collection with that of contemporary artists-in-residence who are constantly reinterpreting it.

Artist 49

Artist Museum Proposal Participatory 49

Museum 2.0

APRIL 25, 2011

Note: the title of this post pays homage to Elaine Heumann Gurian's excellent and quite different 1981 essay of the same title. I've spent much of the past three years on the road giving workshops and talks about audience participation in museums. The Museum 2.0 It looks different in different types of institutions.

Question 49

Question Participatory Museum Evaluation 49

Museum 2.0

MAY 3, 2010

Last week, I attended Structure Lab , a half-day workshop on legal and financial structures for ventures for social good. The Structure Lab is set up as a "game" in which you explore cards in various categories (values, assets, financing, etc.) to better articulate what you are really trying to do with your project concept.

Structure 31

Structure Model Social Profit 31

Museum 2.0

MARCH 27, 2013

There's a constant dialogue in participatory work about how to make peoples' contributions meaningful. I've written about different structures for participatory processes (especially in museums), and recently, I've been interested in how we can apply these structures to the design of public space.

Design 49

Design Participatory Children Museum 49

Museum 2.0

MARCH 13, 2013

Visitor-contributed photos surround a collection piece in Carnegie Museum of Art's Oh Snap! It can be incredibly difficult to design a participatory project that involves online and onsite visitor engagement. The museum selected and is featuring 13 works recently added to our photography collection.

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Authoring Open Experiment Museum 53

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 25, 2009

Answers will differ depending on who's asking, but they are also influenced by the designed environment in which questions are asked. People answer questions differently in harshly lit interrogation rooms than they do in welcoming therapists' offices or in the privacy of their own computer terminals.

Design 31

Design Goal Difference Platform 31

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

What does the word "participatory" mean to you? The various definitions of participatory projects can lead to confusion and misunderstandings. How do we define and talk about these different kinds of participation? This isn't just a rhetorical question. Fortunately, science has a (partial) answer.

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Public Research Participatory Report 36

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

We're seeking great folks for public programs, participatory exhibit design, online marketing, 3D design, and whatever else you might have to offer. I had a bit of a wakeup call about internships last month at an "emerging leaders" lunch event at the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums conference. We might never get there.

Museum 35

Museum Student Participatory Structure 35

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

The Leading Change Summit was drastically different from the Nonprofit Technology Conference, NTEN’s flagship event that has over 2,000 attendees, dozens of tracks and hundreds of panels, big parties, a trade show, and all the things you would expect from a traditional conference. Taking in New Ideas: Facilitated Listening.

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Reflection NTEN Change Facilitation 124

Museum 2.0

MAY 19, 2016

Consider whether you want a bonded group (people who are like each other) or a bridged group (people who are different from each other). For example, when we held community meetings about the development of a new creative town square next to our museum, a group of middle/upper-class moms talked about not feeling safe downtown.

Build 35

Build Community Museum Participatory 35

Museum 2.0

MAY 9, 2008

There's a tag applied to many Museum 2.0 Posts under that tag tend to examine non-museum things, from malls to games to ad campaigns , and draw some design lessons for museums from their foreignness. What aspects of that socialness are desirable in museums (and how might we mirror buses or trains to promote them)?

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Participatory Design Museum Childhood 20

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Audience segmentation and research has become a hot topic in museums, especially when it comes to crafting appealing offerings that are customized to different kinds of visitors. I sat down with Kristen Denner, Director of Membership and Annual Fund, to learn more about the program's development and the museum's goals for its future.

Interview 46

Interview Director Museum Arts 46

Museum 2.0

JULY 7, 2010

Most of my work contracts involve a conversation that goes something like this: "We want to find ways to make our institution more participatory and lively." If new programs are sufficiently different from the traditional ones, they may be more effective as standalone program tracks than as gateways to the traditional experience.

Audience 40

Audience Museum Oakland Participatory 40

Museum 2.0

MARCH 28, 2012

How do you find out what's important to different communities, and how do you change your plans based on their needs? At the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH), we've started experimenting with a "community first" approach to program development. For example, one of our groups was focused on commuters.

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Program Community Design Museum 49

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 4, 2010

It's rare that a participatory museum project is more than a one-shot affair. But next month, Britain Loves Wikipedia will commence--the third instance of a strange and fascinating collaborative project between museums and the Wikipedia community (Wikimedians). I hope you'll share your thoughts in the comments.

Wikipedia 40

Wikipedia Arts Museum Images 40

Museum 2.0

MAY 3, 2011

Lots of museums these days have video comment booths to invite visitors to tell their stories, but how many of those booths really deliver high-impact content? Last week, I talked with Tina Olsen, Director of Education and Public Programs at the Portland Art Museum, about their extraordinary Object Stories project.

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Story Interview Museum Audio 53

Museum 2.0

MARCH 4, 2009

In other words, a new kind of talkback board or participatory educational program. A big board, with the "What if" question across the top and six different colors of cards. The thing that excites me about this is not the opportunity to use all the weird-colored cardstock hanging around the supply cabinets of most museums.

Game 24

Game Experiment Participatory Museum 24

Museum 2.0

APRIL 29, 2015

These are the slides and notes for the talk I gave at the American Alliance of Museums conference on Monday, April 27 about the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. When I became the director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History four years ago, I took this work with me. They talked about community building.

Build 20

Build Community Museum Artist 20

Museum 2.0

OCTOBER 29, 2009

Last week, Jim Richardson and I hosted MuseumNext , a 24-hour workshop for museum professionals focused on bringing new, wild museum projects into the world. We also ended the entire event with one of my favorite exercises, the Exquisite Corpse game, in which participants co-created comics of their craziest museum dreams.

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Facilitation Reflection Museum Participatory 32

Museum 2.0

JUNE 22, 2009

I'm working on a personal project (slowly) to open a cafe/bar venue that is also a design incubator for participatory exhibits. My goals are two-fold: to develop a dynamic, creative, social platform for my community and to distribute its successful elements to other civic learning institutions (museums, libraries, community centers).

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Action Ideas St. Louis Museum 31

Museum 2.0

JUNE 27, 2008

The VSA has replaced their keynotes with structured group dialogue. But the VSA has taken an intentional approach to these structured conversations with the goal of putting the (arguably) best part of conferences—the side conversations and hallway discussions—front and center. My first reaction was skepticism.

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Studies Associations Houston Museum 20

Museum 2.0

MAY 16, 2007

into the museum is the potential to encourage more positive in-museum interactions among strangers. I want in-person museum experiences to be more like experiences on social sites like Flickr, where strangers connect and form relationships around content. Structure the space with a clear story (and commensurate rules).

Museum 20

Museum Myspace Facilitation Social Network 20

Museum 2.0

MARCH 24, 2010

This is the third in a four-part series about writing The Participatory Museum. This post covers my personal process of encouraging--and harnessing--participation in the creation of The Participatory Museum. As the participatory content review progressed well, I started looking for other ways for people to help.

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Participatory Museum Process Experiment 33

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 2, 2008

Today, Museum 2.0 And when I think back on the last year and how it compared to year one of blogging, the shining difference is you--your interest, your comments, and most of all, your extraordinary example. I started the Museum 2.0 I started the Museum 2.0 and watched the Museum 2.0 and watched the Museum 2.0

Museum 20

Museum Voice Minnesota Participatory 20

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

"The words we use in attempting to change museum directions matter. Our museum in Santa Cruz has been slammed by those who believe participatory experiences have gone too far. I am glad this conversation is happening and that both museum professionals and local Santa Cruzans are engaged. But we do have ''and.''

Participatory 53

Participatory Museum Arts History 53

Museum 2.0

JUNE 6, 2008

On June 4, we opened The Tech Virtual Test Zone , a new 2000 sq ft gallery at The Tech Museum of Innovation featuring exhibits on the theme of art, film, and music that were originally developed in Second Life by a community of creative amateurs. Some museum pros have been puzzled by this.

Virtual 21

Virtual Tech Lesson Develop 21

Museum 2.0

MARCH 10, 2010

This is the first of a four-part series on the behind-the-scenes experience of writing The Participatory Museum. Overview: Stages of Development and Participation Types The Participatory Museum was written over a 15 month period that began in December of 2008. Many of the book sections started as blog posts on Museum 2.0.

Participatory 21

Participatory Museum Statistics Process 21

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

DECEMBER 15, 2006

danah boyd has a post called " On Being Virtual " (be sure to read the comments) As Kevin Gamble on the SLED list notes, what she seems to be saying is that if you look at the rise of social tech amongst young people, it's not about divorcing the physical social structures to live virtually. I really don???t way to the future?

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Environment Teach Second Life Learning 50

Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

Yesterday, I had the delightful opportunity to participate in the 3six5 project , a yearlong participatory project in which 365 people write 365 journal entries for every day of 2010. The reward for participants of having your contribution displayed is fairly and clearly structured. It showcases diverse voices.

Participatory 34

Participatory Project Museum Journal 34

Museum 2.0

JULY 30, 2014

Our work to transform the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History into a participatory and community-centered place has been heavily supported by the James Irvine Foundation. Interestingly, they argue instead that structural change--including but not exclusively programmatic change--is what makes the difference in participant makeup.

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Report Malaysia Memphis Museum 52

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 13, 2014

I first learned about this technique from Sam Kaner''s excellent book, Facilitator''s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making. To me, this is analogous to the benefits of having multiple staff members engaged with community partners on participatory projects. Two-time camper Katherine Gressel wrote about this difference and its impact.

Facilitation 36

Facilitation Professional Learning Participatory 36

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

FEBRUARY 13, 2007

I personally want to move away from the metaphor of making movies of the computer screen to more shoulder-to-shoulder instructional media and perhaps something that is more participatory or for lack of a better word, social. t be accessed from different locations or computers. (3) Tagging in Art Museums. 2) Bookmarks can???t

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Screencast Instruction Instructional Tag 50

Museum 2.0

JUNE 11, 2014

This post was written by my colleague Nora Grant, Community Programs Coordinator at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Pop Up” has become an international buzz term to describe ephemeral, experimental projects--from pop up restaurants to pop up boutiques--but a “Pop Up Museum” is still somewhat mystifying.

Museum 49

Museum Grant Lesson History 49

Museum 2.0

JULY 14, 2008

What’s in the crystal ball for museums and libraries? The IMLS (Institute for Museum and Library Services) has commissioned a preliminary proposal for an NAS (National Academy of Sciences) report on museums and libraries in the 21st century. What are the essential differences and similarities between libraries and museums?

Library 20

Library Museum Reflection Alternative 20

Museum 2.0

APRIL 19, 2010

"How often do we hear colleagues from museums and galleries stating as their fundamental reason for working co-creatively with audiences that they want to make a great piece of museum work, rather than primarily for reasons of social inclusion or democracy?"

Arts 22

Arts Participatory Museum Artist 22

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 25, 2010

A simple example: the cocktail party The best place to start conceptualizing structures for social participation is via familiar social experiences. The difference between the first and second party is the extent to which guests can move from "me to we" instead of being expected to plunge headfirst into interpersonal engagement.

Design 34

Design Museum Social Participatory 34