Connection Cafe

MAY 7, 2020

Monday, May 18th is International Museum Day , the mission of which is to raise awareness of the fact that, “museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.”. 2019 saw more than 55,000 museums across 150 countries participate. First, be sure to check out the communications tools compiled by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) for participating museums here.

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Connection Cafe

JULY 23, 2019

It’s 2019, and a whole lot is changing in the museum and nonprofit world. That’s not to mention how strained museums already are in terms of resources. According to the American Alliance of Museums, the average museum has 6 volunteers for every paid staff member , a ratio which s oars to 18:1 in museums with budgets under $250,000. Adding to this equation, more museums are starting to unionize.

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Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

While many American museums require 37.5 The whole issue of wages gets at the heart of the faulty systems of capitalism, the culture of women’s work, and museums as privilege-concentrating institutions. Museums might earn their philanthropy partly through commercial enterprises, but for a very long time, their workplaces were run very differently. In the last twenty years, or so, professionalization has changed museum work. We are at that museum way more than 37.5

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Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

This month we’ve been thinking about “What is a museum?” (I'm I’ve been visiting museums my whole life. Does that make me the best judge of museums? People are the defining characteristics of museums. I’ve worked with and at plenty of museums that can sometimes feel empty. When the galleries are quiet, with my clipclop shoes the only sound, the museum feels dead. Her answer is what many a museum professional would want people to say. Museum matter.

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Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

Then, I get home, confined to the couch with a terrible sinus headache, to find ICOM was debating the definition of a museum. ICOM matters because museums are a global phenomenon. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed interacting with all the international museum folks at conferences, particularly at AAM. ICOM might not seem to matter to our workdays in American museums, but it does matter global. People can only define museums on what we have now.

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Connection Cafe

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

The following post was originally published on the Center for the Future of Museums blog. On Wednesday, August 8, over 300 museum professionals joined CFM director Elizabeth Merritt and Seema Rao, principal of Brilliant Idea Studio , to explore self-care in the museum workplace. Seema) In some museum work places, the culture of stress is tied to perceived effort, as you mention. Q: Do you know any museums that have implemented telecommuting successfully?

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Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

This month, we're thinking about the way we do work in museums. As someone texted me recently, Art History grad school didn't teach us anything about working with others in museums. Sharing articles that work is a great reason to stay on Museum Twitter by the way. Exposure to all sectors of museum work is important. Museums are "no" cultures, often for good reason. leadership museum staffThis week has turned out to be the hardest post I've written yet.

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Museum 2.0

JUNE 10, 2020

Nina Simon, Lauren Bentua, and many others would host us in the halls of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art. When we think about mapping these ideas onto an organization I think about how museum leadership can take these on personally as individuals (CEO, COO) and as departments (Human Resources, Education) and so on. Science museums are a forum and a space for communities to tackle issues that are important to them- climate change, poverty, food insecurity, air and water quality.

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Museum 2.0

JULY 10, 2019

Or maybe hello museum world! Previously, I had worked at the same museum for 17 years.) So, when you visit more than 300 museums, parks, and historic sites, what do you learn? This week, I wanted to start with us, museum and cultural workers. Each label, I assure you, is a testament to the care of scores of museum workers. I attempted to do some of the interactives in the National Museum of Scotland with encouragement from the education staff there.

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Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

After the International Committee on Museums spent some time debating the definition of museums, many folks took up the charge on social media to give their own definitions. ICOM2019 #ICOMKyoto2019 — Dan Hicks (@profdanhicks) September 7, 2019 But this week I want to focus on a tweet by Dan Hicks who suggested instead of a definition we need museum verbs. I know I’m missing early innovators of interaction in museums; feel free to tell me who in the comments.)

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Connection Cafe

JANUARY 28, 2020

I recently discussed what it means to be a “museopreneur” in a feature article published by American Alliance of Museums.

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Museum 2.0

JULY 1, 2019

In the spirit of this belief, I’ve decided to unleash the Museum 2.0 For that reason, I’m thrilled to announce that over the next two months, I’ll be transferring ownership of Museum 2.0 Seema is a brilliant museum educator, a generous spacemaker, a prolific writer, and a creative troublemaker. She is committed to community participation, equity, and innovation in museums. I know Museum 2.0 I’m excited to reconnect in August and share more about what Museum 2.0

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Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 3, 2019

I was thinking I’d do a few alternative histories of museums for the first post of the last month of the decade. As I imagined a world without the many museum tech projects of the decade, I felt inherently sad about the imagining away the successes that friends and colleagues have enjoying. As I imagined a world without Nina Simon ’s Participatory Museum , I felt sad about all the visitors whose voices (and post-it note comments) weren’t honored.

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Museum 2.0

MAY 7, 2020

As a Historic Interpreter for Telfair Museums, I would lead visitors through the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters on a 45 minute guided tour of antebellum Savannah history discussing politics and urban slavery. When the Museum closed I was expecting the next few weeks to be different. I hoped, at this moment of many museum professionals working at home, that I could have some digital lunches.

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Connection Cafe

MARCH 28, 2019

At the end of February, I attended the first of (what I hope will be) many Museums Advocacy Days (MAD) on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. There was something magical about the combination of something I love – museums – with something that scares me: US politics. The undercurrent through Congressman Moran’s speech and the other sessions was a reminder of the economic impact of museums on the US economy, as well as clarity (and data!)

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Museum Advocacy Lesson Louisiana 143

Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 17, 2019

These two adages were both in my mind last week when I asked people for the worst museum trends. In this decade museums worst trends were in labor and tech: 1. Suse Anderson spoke about the drawbacks of professionalization: Moves to “professionalise” the sector that make an MA entry level + cost of grad school + systemic under compensation —> further embedding class stasis of who can work in museums, whilst making public arguments for DEAI that contradict institutional actions.

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Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 9, 2019

Written by Seema Rao Last month, I shared some of my thoughts about the best of museums over the last decades. (I I'll mention now, Kate Livingston, listed Museum Twitter as one of the best things, and I definitely thought this as I read people's responses.

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Connection Cafe

SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

So when I stumbled across Austin Museum Day , project of the Austin Museum Partnership, I loved discovering that this event is offering free admission to thousands of Austin residents who likely wouldn’t otherwise visit cultural organizations. Like many other large cities, Austin has quite an economic divide, such that underserved populations probably aren’t even aware of the numerous museums in Austin. A: This year will be our 18th annual Austin Museum Day!

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Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 23, 2014

A new company in New York, Museum Hack , is reinventing the museum tour from the outside in. They give high-energy, interactive tours of the Metropolitan Museum and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). The tours are pricey, personalized, NOT affiliated with the museums involved… and very, very popular. Today on Museum 2.0, How did you first get involved with Museum Hack? Who is the audience for Museum Hack?

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Connection Cafe

OCTOBER 16, 2013

” In it the authors discussed how you should use social media at a nonprofit and it made me curious about how museums are using Twitter. Here are eleven things your museum should should do to get the most out of Twitter: Create a Twitter account. Gull Wings Children’s Museum does a good job of tweeting about their programs. The Hands On Museum does a great job of using Twitter consistently. I recently read “ The Social Media Police: Nonprofit Edition.”

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Connection Cafe

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

At The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, fundraising is all about data and their data is all about their donors. The Museum uses their data to get know their donors at a deeper level: what they care about, what motivates them, and how to keep them engaged with their organization. “We The Museum is extremely precise in their message to ensure their mission is breaking through the noise and remaining relevant with their donors. “If

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Connection Cafe

MARCH 31, 2015

I recently had the pleasure of attending the South Carolina Federation of Museums Conference in Florence, SC. Here’s what I learned: At the core of each museum is a personal mission. I wasn’t familiar with many of the museums who were in attendance at SCFM, even though I’ve lived and worked here for 40 years now! And that’s the core of a successful museum – personal mission. Nonprofit Management Arts & Cultural Membership Museum Technology Museums

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Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

We connect with people both professionally and personally, at the museum and on the street. This weekend, I got my answer in Seoul--the 18th biggest city in the world--at Hello Museum. Now, they call themselves a "small neighborhood museum"--in the middle of a city of 9.8

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AFP Blog

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

Museum launches social media fund-raising campaign - : The Edwardsville Children’s Museum is trying to raise $100,000 by the end of the year through a social media campaign, #SaveOurMuseum

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Museum 2.0

MARCH 6, 2018

It invites visitors to make the museum better. When visitors share their brilliance, it brings the museum to life. I believe that every person who walks into our museum has something valuable to share. This is the participatory museum, played out loud. creative placemaking Museum of Art and History participatory museum usercontent visitorsIt's late in the afternoon.

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Connection Cafe

AUGUST 16, 2018

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh utilized their resources to develop an innovative retention strategy. Participants earn special stamps when they visit one of the museums or attend an event for a chance to win a grand-prize.

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Connection Cafe

MARCH 28, 2014

About a year ago, the Dallas Museum of Art did something truly innovative. The museum’s memberships have tripled in the past year. While those numbers are staggering, it’s even more remarkable when you consider that they’ve also been able to track which galleries are most popular, who are repeat visitors, and what low income areas are being served by the museum most. The museum has taken Web 2.0

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Museum 2.0

OCTOBER 15, 2019

The Western Museum Association was kind enough to invite me to speak on a panel about engagement at their annual meeting in Boise. Phillip’s early remark about museums was an invocation for everyone. As an outsider, he immediately saw that museums were operating “under a business model that doesn’t work.” He then went on to note that we run museums with the hopes of being supported by philanthropy, when in fact we could have a product that people want.

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AFP Blog

MARCH 21, 2011

Museums Pursue Engagement With Social Media - NYTimes.com: "SHELLEY BERNSTEIN lives with her computer. Most days she hunkers down in her spartan office at the Brooklyn Museum where, as chief technology officer, she invents ways to keep people visiting the museum and its Web site, brooklynmuseum.org.".

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Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 17, 2018

It's time to make your dreams a reality and apply to become the next executive director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH). When you check out the job description , you'll see the MAH is not looking for museum-director-as-usual. Museum of Art and HistoryHey, you. Yeah you, generous community builder. You, brilliant manager. You, fearless fundraiser. You, playful leader.

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Connection Cafe

NOVEMBER 24, 2014

Guest Post from Debbie McKenzie, Development Manager for Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. . Here at Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose our member families visit an average of 3-4 times a year (with a few visiting weekly) – they are getting their money’s worth, so offering a Groupon type deal for membership has never felt right – too little of the proceeds end up in the Museum’s coffer.

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Museum 2.0

JUNE 6, 2011

This is the casual attendance data from my first full month as the Executive Director of The Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz. This graph is making me change the way I think about what our museum is for and how we should market it. First Friday is not just a Museum event; it happens all over Santa Cruz and has grown tremendously over the past few years. More people come to the event who don't casually visit the museum than the other way around.

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Wild Apricot

MARCH 5, 2018

Museum Membership Software can take all the administrative and membership tasks at a museum and automate them completely while you focus on what’s important — your members and your collection

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Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

It gave me a chance to really think about how we have been opening up our museum and what it means for our community. Museums can be incredible catalysts for social change. We're doing it in Santa Cruz and it has absolutely transformed our museum into a thriving community institution. We see every visitor who walks in the door as a contributor who can make our museum better. How can we make museum objects more like dogs? Museum of Art and History Core Museum 2.0

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AFP Blog

OCTOBER 18, 2013

11 Ways Your Museum Should be using Twitter | npENGAGE : recently read “The Social Media Police: Nonprofit Edition.” In it the authors discussed how you should use social media at a nonprofit and it made me curious about how museums are using Twitter. The Gibbes Museum of Art, for example, does a great job of using Twitter to share announcements about exhibits, raise awareness for their events, and start conversations with groups scheduled to attend the museum (see below)….

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Connection Cafe

AUGUST 12, 2015

Trendswatch 2015 , the annual forecasting report from the Center for the Future of Museums , is now available! So when AAM and Blackbaud hosted Trends Watch 2015: Using Open Data and Personalization at Museums with Elizabeth Merritt , Michael Edson , and Stephen Watson , attending it was a definite no-brainer! In case you missed the event, here’s a recap of two of the top trends to watch this year: Open Museums and Content. Personalizing the Museum Experience.

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AFP Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

Museums Test New Ways to Captivate Patrons—With and Without Technology | Nonprofit Quarterly : 'via Blog this

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Museum 2.0

OCTOBER 1, 2014

Recently, we''ve been talking at our museum about techniques for capturing compelling audio/video content with visitors. It made me dig up this 2011 interview with Tina Olsen (then at the Portland Art Museum) about their extraordinary Object Stories project. We ended up with a gallery in the museum instead. The other parts of the gallery are for experiencing the stories, and for connecting with the Museum collection. interview Museums Engaging in 2.0

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Museum 2.0

MARCH 24, 2011

Two recent events have got me thinking about pranks and unauthorized activities in museums. Improv Everywhere staged an event at the Metropolitan Museum in which an actor posing as King Philip IV of Spain signed autographs in front of his portrait, as painted by Diego Velazquez in the 1620s.

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AFP Blog

APRIL 22, 2014

Center for the Future of Museums: Khan Academy & Cultural Understanding : Smarthistory at Khan Academy is used by museum visitors, independent learners, professors, teachers and their students. There are nearly 600 short-form art history videos created from conversations recorded on-site (in urban spaces, archeological sites, museums, churches and mosques), as well as hundreds of essays on art and art history.

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Museum 2.0

APRIL 14, 2011

Dear Museum 2.0 As of May 2, I will be the executive director of the Museum of Art & History at McPherson Center in Santa Cruz, CA (here's the press release ). I am closing down my consulting business at the end of April, but the Museum 2.0 Museum of Art and History

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Museum 2.0

AUGUST 25, 2016

They wanted to help museums and galleries across the UK make significant, sustained changes in the ways they engage community partners and visitors as participants in their work. The result, Our Museum , is an extraordinary funding program with a focus on community participation. In its first five years, Our Museum yielded real change at twelve diverse UK organizations. You could spend a day getting lost in the meaty, thoughtful writing and videos on the Our Museum site.

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Museum 2.0

MARCH 19, 2014

Here are a few of the hashtags I''ve seen applied to photographs of museum objects on Instagram lately: #heytherebigfella #biggysmallistheillest #forbrightfuture #myfavorite #instagood #bestday #withmyhomies #whatever #learnedfromthebest #revolutionary #nowicandie These tags all do a great job capturing the magic of exploring a museum. They position museums as social starting points, experiences worth sharing, braggable moments.

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