Cultural institutions have been building bespoke digital exhibitions for decades. They are often costly to create, hard to sustain, and require robust marketing efforts to be discovered by their intended audiences. When its doors closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, the Monterey Bay Aquarium – like so many visitor-serving institutions – was faced with the challenge of keeping people aware of and engaged in our mission without the benefit of access to our physical exhibitions. Rather than build a stand-alone digital exhibition – which could take months to design and code, as well require a concerted effort and budget to attract an audience – the aquarium team dove into an existing
ecosystem of video games and shared our game play live on the fastgrowing livestream platform Twitch.

One of the aquarium’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is trust in us to protect and conserve the ocean. Building empathy with marine animals and developing a personal connection to our experts are critical features of the aquarium’s approach to inspiring people to care about, and to take action for, ocean conservation. In our social media communications strategy, we lead with a giftgiving mentality: each post and livestream is an opportunity to bring joy and spark curiosity in our followers’ daily lives. Over time, this strategy has primed a receptive social audience that is 3.5 million people strong and growing – and ensures that when we ask our fans to take meaningful conservation action (e.g., to contact their legislators), they act. During COVID, livestreaming – including
video game streaming Animal Crossing– helped us deepen relationships with and among our audiences, ocean animals, and experts across our social media accounts. We continued to stream on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube as well as expanded to newer platforms like Twitch and TikTok. The trend of livestreaming extended beyond traditional content, with many streamers also exploring casino games, including the โปรแกรมวีไอพี UFABET.

Like YouTube, Twitch attracts fans to the live video broadcasts of individual content creators. Twitch is best known for gaming, where individual streamers share their video-game screens with viewers, who can hear and watch them play live (as well as engage with the Twitch community via chat). Through livestreaming on Twitch, we were able to reach a young (73 percent of users are under 35) and highly engaged audience (daily active users spend an average of 95 minutes on the platform). In the process, we learned a lot about the power of offering live interpretation from within virtual games and expanded our ability to engage young people in a deep, sustained (and fun!) way around complex topics like climate change and plastic pollution.

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Read the article: “Aquariums report wave of webcam visits amid Covid shutdown.”

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Download the Google slides here.

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This was one of the salient discussion points of many during the “What is Digital Strategy Now?” professional forum hosted by myself, Rob Stein, Emily-Lytle-Painter, and Max Evjen at Museums and the We 2017. Check out the full recap on the American Alliance of Museums website.

Background:

At Museums and the Web 2012, Hart, Royston, Sexton, Stein, and Wyman debated several different approaches to Digital Strategy and how museums might think about integrating (or not) digital approaches into the overarching strategies of their organizations. In the years since, we’ve seen significant approaches in digital strategy from the Tate, SFMOMA, NARA, and many others. As the whole museum becomes more digital, what approach – if any – should museums take regarding digital strategy?

What do we know about digital strategies today that differs from 2012? What worked? What failed? What does the future of digital strategy look like? What do you do in the absence of an overall strategy? How do we support digital strategies to “manage up”? How does digital strategy bring disparate staff/goals together for a greater impact? Does digital strategy require a new organizational structure?

The panelists will address these questions and others while discussing examples of overall and standalone digital strategies that succeeded, failed, or changed into overall strategies, and will explore the reasons for those outcomes.

Session attendees will split into facilitated group discussions that tackle a series of provocative questions about digital strategies and how they should or should not be implemented in museums as a means to try answer to the question: What is the digital strategy of the future? To extend the reach of the session, panelists agree to document the discussions that take place in a post-conference report online to continue to include a broad audience in the best thinking about strategy and digital.

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In my intro remarks, I discussed the history of online exhibitions, the advent of bulletin boards (and later, commenting) for user-generated stories, and how blogs and social media, including Twitter and Instagram, have changed the role of cultural institutions from storyteller to a platform for story sharing.

Journey Through Hallowed Ground
The Cutting Edge of Public History: New Directions in Interpretation Symposium
March 28, 2018

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Read the full paper, originally published in Museums and the Web: Selected Papers from Museums and the Web 2018.

View slides.

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Here are a few episodes that come to mind…

Note: If you haven’t watched these episodes of Netflix’s “high-tech near-future” series Black Mirror yet, don’t worry! The content below does NOT contain any real spoilers…but the links do, so click at your own risk.

Season 1, Episode 1: The National Anthem

While it’s unlikely that your museum would be blackmailed by an anonymous (and horrifying) threat via YouTube, anyone who’s dealt with crisis communications or customer service is familiar with the experience of having your organization’s “hand forced by social media and the ineffable power of the internet.” As one TV critic writes, this episode is “astute depiction of public opinion’s changing tides, and the uncanny speed with which the unthinkable enters the realm of the acceptable.” What will you do the next time you’re asked to respond (ASAP, of course!) to a viral tweet or video campaign?

Season 2, Episode 1: Be Right Back

A lot of us who work in #musesocial argue that it isn’t just an add-on or an after-thought—“social media IS your museum’s reputation” and all that. It’s the heart and soul of the museum, the embodiment of our relationships with the people we serve. But how far should we take that idea? This episode got me thinking: What if everything your museum ever posted on social was used to re-create your museum? Would the new entity closely resemble your true museum identity or would it turn out to be an empty shell? Would someone say (to your re-created-by-social-media-posts self): “You’re just a few ripples of you. There’s no history to you. You’re just a performance of stuff.” I hope not. An optimistic view of this episode is that it’s “an encouragement to embrace the many overlooked, annoying, contradictory things” that make us, us. How much can we bring our full, authentic, warts-and-all museum selves to the table?

Season 3, Episode 1: Nosedive

Are you being genuine or are you just in it for the likes? When you’re chasing that social rating, who are you hurting in the process? This behavior can start out relatively harmless but it can also be a trap. Studies of the “hedonic treadmill principle” show our engagement on social media provides a temporary boost from likes or favorites but does not result in long-term happiness. Are you helping your museum succeed or sabotaging your relationships with those closest to you? As one TV critic writes, “If any episode will make you chuck your iPhone into the nearest body of water, it’ll be this one.”

Season 3, Episode 6: Hated in the Nation

All I’m going to say about this episode’s take on social media mob mentality is this: be sure you research that hashtag before you post…

Season 4, Episode 6: Black Museum

Okay, this episode doesn’t have a strong social media connection but, WHOOOEY, there are some dark museum interactives on display here. It might be time to stop and think: is your museum’s tech shop a “slave to innovations” regardless of the human or societal impact?

What do you think?

While these episode summaries seem to paint a pretty bleak and dystopian picture, what actually I love about Black Mirror is the texture and nuance it affords to its assessment of human decision-making. We’re fallible but we can also call upon our brains and courage in the face of rapid technological transformations in the world around us. I encourage you to watch the full episodes and let me know what you think!

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In 2014, I asked “How can digital staff at museums work better with curators? What one thing do you wish we understood better?” That tweet received a handful of responses, including this rather pointed reply).

In 2015, I posed the equestion: “What has been the biggest impact on your role as curator with rising emphasis on technology, outreach, & museum education?” and received one (very brief) response. (I had better luck that year with a hypothetical about curating your dream exhibit with no budgetary limitations.)

Last year, I skipped the annual tradition (likely because I was at home on maternity leave, caring for a small but very opinionated baby as well as a toddler and had presumably heard quite enough of other people’s perspectives at that point).

For my 2017 #AskACurator submission, I whipped up this quick query and sent it into the Twittersphere for comment:

What is the biggest challenge for curators in the digital age? (And what is the greatest opportunity?) #AskaCurator

— dana allen-greil (@danamuses) September 13, 2017

I was thrilled to see that I quickly received several substantive answers, mostly from curators at European museums (who were farther ahead in the day and presumably benefitting from Twitter-fingers already running on adrenaline/caffeine).

Challenge: the sheer scale of digitising Natural Science collections. Opportunity: new discoveries from accessible #BigData

— Natural Sciences NMS (@NatSciNMS) September 13, 2017

‘Collecting’ the digital! How to represent digital innovation w/code,data,hardware+software at a time of rapid innovation #AskACurator

— Daniel Martin (@CuratorDaniel) September 13, 2017

For us, the biggest challenge is to create quality content to be shared with a broad audience. It is really important…

— MagazzinoItalianArt (@magazzino) September 13, 2017

I feel that algorithms make cultural themes harder to get the attention they deserve. It’s important to balance b/n visitor engagement &info

— AnabelRoqueRodriguez (@anabelroro) September 13, 2017

Using digital means to show that ‘real’ reality is still far more interesting than virtual reality.

— Collecties UvA (@CollectiesUvA) September 13, 2017

#AskACurator Stay relevant, be a vehicle and understand that tools are not only objects we used but part of who we are

— Elvira Dyangani Ose (@edyanganiose) September 13, 2017

The Canadians jumped in to share their thoughts…

Challenge: making everything available. Opportunity: making everything available #Collections @ROMtoronto

— Deepali Dewan (@DeepaliDewan) September 13, 2017

The greatest opportunity afforded by the digital age: the accessibility of info & images, a big challenge is credible sourcing #AskACurator

— CDN Mus Immigration (@Pier21) September 13, 2017

It’s brilliant to be able to work internationally via video conferencing, sending photos… However, we are not done with materiality.” 2/2

— Nat’l Gallery Canada (@NatGalleryCan) September 13, 2017

Of course, the Americans took it to a whole new level…

Seriously, art as we know it is over. Our brains & societies are revolutionized and we have to invent everything new #AskACurator @akmunroe https://t.co/syDpJs7e4S

— Guggenheim Museum (@Guggenheim) September 13, 2017

1/2 @curiousoctopus: The greatest challenge is to know when to stop. Too much digital can be a bad thing…

— Museum of Modern Art (@MuseumModernArt) September 13, 2017

2/2 @curiousoctopus The opportunity is to have a whole new space of communication, w/ tools that enable new forms of communication.

— Museum of Modern Art (@MuseumModernArt) September 13, 2017

Wide access 2 the buffet of world wonders & wisdom that can b harnessed 2 enhance visitor exprnce by wise (or even wisecracking) curators!

— AmVisionaryArtMuseum (@TheAVAM) September 13, 2017

How we do make people (everyone) care about the questions and problems mostly outside of the scale of daily life (evolution, extinction)?

— Nicholas Pyenson (@PyensonLab) September 13, 2017

The Philadelphia Museum of Art responded with two diverse answers, including a personal video response from a curator of contemporary art:

Visitors focus on taking picture rather than looking at the art in the gallery. Nothing compares to the real art experience! #AskACuratorr

— Phila Museum of Art (@philamuseum) September 13, 2017

#AskACurator @danamuses pic.twitter.com/QYxJRWsJvw

— Phila Museum of Art (@philamuseum) September 13, 2017

Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret: This is actually a question I pose (with slight variations) at the beginning of every semester I teach. The graduate students at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown’s Museum Studies programs usually tackle the issues with similarly themed approaches: Digital technologies can help you reach more people, provide deeper opportunities for exploring and learning about collections, but it is hard work, costs a lot of money and skill-building for staff, and it might eventually lead to people losing interest in ever visiting the real thing. (Spoiler alert on that last point: No, it won’t.) You can see all of these key points and more from the sampling of nearly 100 responses I received today, including:

challenge: remaining relevant when the word “curator” pertains to everything from an iTunes playlist to a granola bar brand #AskACurator

— Robin Lawrence (@RobinCLawrence) September 13, 2017

Challenge: copyright/permissions & protecting from misuse. Greatest opp: crowdsourcing! We often get new info/IDs on photos #AskACurator

— Kyra Schuster #USHMM (@kyraator) September 13, 2017

Digital Challenge=defend validity of seeing art IRL. Opportunity=power/speed of research/making connections is intoxicating. #AskACurator

— Laura Vookles (@lvprosewriter) September 13, 2017

Challenge: decline in in-person research. Opportunity: collections available to a much wider audience.

— Brandice Nelson (@MiniMuseologist) September 13, 2017

The biggest challenge – standing out from internet noise. Biggest opportunity – biggest audience imaginable #AskACurator

— Zachary Wnek (@ZacharyWnek) September 13, 2017

Its ephemeral nature- file formats & storage media become obsolete so quickly; constant reformatting is expensive in every way #AskACurator

— ArcticMuseum (@arcticmuseum) September 13, 2017

While some of the specific responses give me pause, I’m heartened to see so many curators thoughtfully engaging in public dialog on this topic. Their replies reflect the nuanced and complicated ways digital technologies are impacting museum work as well as shaping the experiences and expectations of the audiences we serve. I want to thank all the curators who took the time to respond (and, let’s be honest, in many cases the thanks also go to the social media managers who helped facilitate their efforts!). I very much appreciate that you showed up, shared your perspectives, and did it with refreshing candor. Please continue to dialogue out in the open about the changing roles and relevance of museums in today’s world! We all have a lot to learn from each other.

Stay tuned because #AskAnArchivist day is coming up next month! I can’t wait to see how the archivists of the world will answer my question…

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The goal is for History Hub to serve as a one-stop shop for crowdsourcing information related to a research subject. We are working to apply what we learn from the beta site to a longer-term solution that can be used freely by other federal government agencies and interested organizations looking to expand public participation with history. History Hub provides opportunities to reach the communities you are interested in serving and connecting them with your collections. We’re already using it to reach active communities such as volunteer transcribers and genealogists. Who else might benefit from these shared tools? How might your organization use History Hub to further your mission? Join us!

Presented at Museums and the Web 2017.

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Unfortunately, Storify has stopped allowing embedded archives but you can see the highlights in this Twitter Moment captured by Arielle. In it, we touch on our first museum memories, how to achieve work-life balance (WHAT work-life balance?!?), and what we think is the next big thing in museums and technology.

#MCN50 Chat with Dana Allen-Greil and Arielle Feldman

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