On August 22, @CultureThemes ran #MusMeme for the monthly hashtag.  As I often talk about, finding a hashtag once a month isn’t always easy and there is a balance of finding a hashtag that works with the public and culture venues alike.  For August, I usually try to find a hashtag that will be quirky-ish but light as September is always busy with #AskACurator Day (September 12th 2018)…. did I get that one wrong!

All I put was:

Our next CultureThemes is going to be #MusMeme – a day to share memes all about museums, galleries, art, collections, etc. on August 22!

The general idea is to let the public and museums have a bit of creative license and fun with collections.

Simple, right? If people got involved, great! If not, that was ok to!

They got involved.  A LOT.  By 11am it was trending in the UK and pretty much stayed there all day almost into the evening. This screenshot is from 2.30pm

Read the rest of this entry »

Almost on a daily basis I’m being contacted about a hashtag for culture to show they care about what is going on in the world. #RefugeesMakeCulture #dayoffacts #thankyouNEA #thankyouIMLS and more.

My concern is we are going to dilute the message and overwhelm the same people we want to support. We also have to remember that not everyone wants to campaign and just want to escape to visit to see art, parks, museums etc.

Being international I’m also fully aware that not everyone can (or should) get involved in some of these campaigns – either it just doesn’t make sense politically or with their collection.

So while my personal account will support many, I am not sure I feel comfortable using Culturetheme, MuseumSelfieDay or AskACurator for all these events. I hope I don’t sound old and cranky! I’m just trying to respect the diversity of followers that have come to follow for fun, weirdness and escape the norm of how culture is perceived. Hope that makes sense.

And don’t forget #Museum101 is Feb 15 🙂 a bit of fun for people to say what they’d add to their ‘Room 101’

For more information, this is from CultureThemes:

For February, we’re shifting gears just a bit for #Museum101 theme on February 15th.  What is #Museum101?  Well if you ever heard of George Orwell’s book 1984 he talks about Room 101 where you can put things you fear or don’t like/understand in the room (ok it’s more about torture but we’re not getting into that for our theme). 

Lets remember that CultureThemes exists to highlight and spotlight the need for culture in our society, internationally. 

By: Benjamin Benita & Mar Dixon

What. A. Week!

Thank you to everyone who took part either as a museum or individual (or mascot).  Every single time another hashtag event comes around, the worry of exhaustion is always there … and every time you guys push the bar hirer.  Thank you really isn’t enough.

When we were designing the week of hashtags a few months ago we can honestly say we were hoping to reach 1000 museums – never ever expecting the numbers achieved.  To be honest, our main concern has never been about numbers but ensuring it was fun, maybe educational, a platform for museums to share their collections and FUN (and hopefully not something that would burn any community manager out…).  The 1000 mark was to benefit the museums, not the campaign.

Weeks before #MuseumWeek officially went live, there was a real buzz happening on Twitter.  It was so exciting to watch everyone sharing their plans for the week. There was a real collaborative feel – it was even crossing language barriers. Read the rest of this entry »

One week from today, Twitter will be exploding with cultural goodness when #MuseumWeek kicks off.  With 1400+ museums in 55 countries signed up (and that number continues to grow) there is truly something for everyone.

Mini FAQ

During the webinar last week, there were a few more questions asked and I thought I’d share them here: Read the rest of this entry »

Original sent via mailing list:  Sign up here.

#MuseumWeek is in THREE Weeks!

With 3 weeks to go until #MuseumWeek, we have organized two webinars on March 10^th for anyone who would like more information or explanations of what is expected during the week,

We will explain the concept of #MuseumWeek (and why you should get involved), talk about the daily hashtags, and most importantly, take questions!

Read the rest of this entry »

Authors: #MuseumWeek Coordinator Benjamin Benita & Mar Dixon

#MuseumWeek
March 23-29 2015
7 days of 7 daily Hashtags – But what do each of them mean?

Monday – #secretsMW
Tuesday – #souvenirsMW
Wednesday – #architectureMW
Thursday – #inspirationMW
Friday – #FamilyMW
Saturday – #FavMW
Sunday – #PoseMW

Thursday – #inspirationMW

‘Grab, record and create culture around you with your camera! Art, science, history, performance… it’s everywhere!”

This hashtag is permission for everyone to GET CREATIVE!  Using Vines, animations, pictures, videos, photoshop, Lego or whatever medium you’d like, everyone is encouraged to create art!
Read the rest of this entry »

#MuseumWeek
March 23-29 2015
7 days of 7 daily Hashtags – But what do each of them mean?

Monday – #secretsMW
Tuesday – #souvenirsMW
Wednesday – #architectureMW
Thursday – #inspirationMW
Friday – #FamilyMW
Saturday – #FavMW
Sunday – #PoseMW

Tuesday – #souvenirsMW

‘Museums and visitors share your souvenirs! From past visits to current, share your treasures from those lovely museums shops.’

Examples : Read the rest of this entry »

#MuseumWeek is Back!

SIGN UP FORM IS HERE

Mark your calendars as the week of March 23rd is the return of the very popular #MuseumWeek!  Last year, #MuseumWeek gave Twitter users special access to more than 630 European museums and galleries. For those that missed it, here is are two write ups from last year:

• #MuseumWeek – Why (and how) Everyone Should Get Involved
• Highlights of #MuseumWeek
• Twitter Post: #MuseumWeek: celebrating culture around Europe

I’m happy to announce that the dates (March 23-29) and themes for #MuseumWeek 2015 has just been announced on Twitter.

Les inscriptions à la #MuseumWeek 2015 (23-29/03) sont officiellement ouvertes. Ne tardez pas! http://t.co/S42arC7zAP pic.twitter.com/P8AWB0P6jb

— Museum Week (@MuseumWeek) February 4, 2015

This year, we (a great team including my partner in crime Benjamin Benita) created a combination of hashtags that we hope will be diverse enough for everyone to get involved. This isn’t just about museums – visitors and the public have a role in this campaign also!

Read the rest of this entry »