Change is Good

As you probably noticed, I've made a few changes to this blog. What's that saying? The only constant is change. Change is inevitable. Not all change is bad, and I hope these changes will be for the better.

After I attended SSA in Little Rock, I headed to Houston for the American Association of Museum's 2011 Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. The four days of this international conference were packed full of sessions about collection management, registration and technology.

One of the sessions I attended was Blogging Basics 201: How to Keep Your Blog Working for You. I want to do some good with this blog; I want this blog to be a conversation with the Museum's visitors. And I hoped that the session would provide me with tidbits to meet those wants.

I was not disappointed!

The first tidbit was "Focus on the Visitor." In a blog, one should focus on what is useful or enjoyable for the visitor. This blog is meant to be a conversation between Museum staff and visitor. I hope that I've provided valuable content and insight on "behind-the-scenes" of The Petroleum Museum. Please do not be afraid to ask questions or comment on something! We can only improve from that feedback.

The other tidbit I took away was "Network Your Networks." While the Facebook page and the Twitter feed are linked, this blog was left out. So, now, the Facebook page and the blog are linked; whenever I update the blog, those posts are fed into the Facebook page. And today, I added Facebook and Twitter widgits to the blog. If someone finds the blog via a web search, they can directly like The Petroleum Museum on Facebook or follow it on Twitter. Try it!

Networking also works off-line. The Museum will soon establish The Filling Station in our Cafe Area. A physical space, The Filling Station will remind visitors of our social media networks, to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Of course, the most noticeable change is the background of the blog. After attending the AAM session, I found the old background and layout to be too formulaic and stiff. I wanted something more open and inviting you, the visitor, to stay a while.

What do you think of these changes?

Social Media

Social Media and Web 2.0 have been gaining a lot of momentum in recent years. While I was not (and still am not) an early adopter, I either have used or do use a variety of Web 2.0 tools, such as Facebook, Flickr, Blogger, and Twitter. For instance, I'm not a regular on Twitter but I do follow quite a number of museums to know what's going on.

These tools are perfect for non-profit organizations to use and to disseminate information about their activities and other events. In fact, The Junior League of Midland, Inc. is launching its own Facebook Fan page in order to announce and advertise upcoming community projects and fundraising events.

Yesterday, I registered for a series of webinars sponsored by IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) Connecting to Collections. One of the first sessions is called "Using Social Media to Tell Your Collection's Stories." Colleen Dilenschneider, one of the presenters, posted on her blog about museums and social media. Check it out here.

What is your favorite social media or Web 2.0 tool? How could a museum benefit from its use? Do you connect with any museum through social media?

Or is it weird that I'm using a Web 2.0 technology to discuss social media?