Our third 52 Museums Instagram project has wrapped up for 2018 and overall it has been another huge success! At the end of each week all participants are asked to complete a survey, give us their thoughts on how it went, what went well and what could be done better in the future. We had 27 respondents to this – not as much as previous years.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to send in their feedback it really does help us to make it even better for everyone each year.

Finally, a big thank you to all of you who took part and made 52 Museums 2018 such a success, and now with over 18.800 followers on the account here’s to an even bigger and better 2019!

For the 2019 list and sign up information please see this link.

In the beginning of the year we lost quite a few followers (over 3000) but climbed back up throughout the year to end with an additional 1,200.  We are seeing a lot of likes but not as many comments.  Looking over the account, it seems there wasn’t a lot of questions or post that encourage engagement/interaction with the public.  Post that were longer and had more substances (eg story behind the item in the collection) were popular.  But for 2018 – Stories were the favorite.

Please note:  The selection of quotes are anonymized as much as possible.

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Thank you to everyone who took part, followed, liked, and got involved with @52Museums on Instagram and Twitter in 2017.  It grew bigger than anyone could have expected.  The report for 2017 can be found here.

You can find more information about what it is and how it works here.

The 2018 schedule (and yes this is draft as changes throughout the year happens):

Please note: if you would like to be on the waiting list, please sign up here.

Hindsight is beautiful as we all know as I really should have put something about reading in there but felt ‘Other’ would provide a catchall.

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Our first 52 Museums Instagram project has wrapped up for this year and overall it has been a huge success, far better than even expected. At the end of each we ask all participants to complete the paid surveys, give us their thoughts on how it went; what went well and what could be done better in the future. We had 44 respondents to this, which is amazing, thank you to everyone who took the time to send in their feedback it really does help us to make it even better for everyone each year.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who took part and made 52 Museums 2016 such a success, and now with over 13,700 followers on the account here’s to an even bigger and better 2017!

[For the 2016 list and sign up information please see this link.]

Please Note:  I took out the names for the quotes to ensure anonymity.

52 Museums – Participant Feedback

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Credit Photograph: Oliver Wainwright/Guardian

Ok, I’m sure everyone at this point saw the sign with the article ”No sketching’: V&A signs betray everything the museum stands for‘ by Oliver Wainwright

I was with Mark Macleod (from The Infirmary Museum) and Silvia Filippini Fantoni (from the IMA) when Silvia first saw the picture but held off on sharing it until I read the article. I then tweeted it.

Hmmm

‘No sketching’: V&A signs betray everything museums stand for https://t.co/PLzPgyoAU2

— Mar Dixon (@MarDixon) April 22, 2016

And the storm was started. (See Storify here.)

First of all, as Oliver probably wanted, it was total click bait worth title but honestly many of the people responding didn’t read the whole article. I soon spent my day almost defending the Victoria and Albert as it turns out, it’s not the WHOLE of V&A being asked not to sketch, but instead a temporary exhibition.

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Credit: ‎@creoconceptsgh

This is a conversation that started when someone mentioned the routine questions received on social media when the answers are obviously on the website.  This took me by surprise as my first reaction is always to tweet/ask on social media as often I’m on my phone and don’t want to waste data clicking away on websites (especially bespoke ones where Contact Me isn’t where you find the address but a lovely form).

What I did find funny was the fact that many of the social media people were annoyed by the same questions: directions, open times, cost but I wonder how many took the time to do something to streamline the information.  Maybe a pinned tweet for half term, link directing them to Most Asked Questions on their bio instead of a link to their next exhibition, etc.

I started thinking more about it and took to twitter for my first ever poll and as you can see from the results, I’m in the minority!

When you want information from a museum do you:

— Mar Dixon (@MarDixon) March 23, 2016

At least that is the impression the poll gives.  However, many (and I mean many) follow up conversations give light to the reason the poll might have been skewed.  Here’s a selection of responses:

@MarDixon Difficult to answer as seeking certain info sends me to web site (hrs, transport, what to see, etc.), other to SM (promoted #s).

— Mark B. Schlemmer (@MarkBSchlemmer) March 23, 2016

@MarDixon I have had this very dilemma this morning. Where beat to check if a gallery is open today? Went to social first.

— Dan Feeney (@thatdanfeeney) March 25, 2016

@MarDixon @ITweetMuseums Depends on what kind of info. Want to visit – check website. Want a stream of content/happenings – social media.

— Phyllis A Sears (@PhyllisASears) March 23, 2016

@MarDixon option 1 -but the websites often don’t provide what I’m looking for

— Marie MIllward (@mariemillward) March 23, 2016

@MarDixon option 5 – Google it. At best they have info box, at worst you get a link to website or twitter

— James Morley (@jamesinealing) March 23, 2016

@MarDixon depends on the info that I need, but my 1st choice is website.Unfortunately lots of good Italian museum aren’t strong in SM.

— Donata Grossoni (@DGro25) March 24, 2016

What is your opinion on this? 

Today is the 10^th anniversary of @Jack’s first tweet ‘just setting up Twttr’. A lot has happened since then. I would love to say my first tweet was profound but like so many, it wasn’t (you can find your #FirstTweet here).

To say Twitter has changed my life is NOT an understatement. I started off local, chatting mainly to people who were in Bridgnorth or Shropshire then started exploring museums, libraries, publishing and of course tech.  While I’ve loved Twitter from the start, it wasn’t until January 16^th 2011 when I fully understood it’s power. That was the day I tweeted:

“I Love Libraries because ______” Fill in the blank and RT! #savelibraries

And they did. They filled in the blank and shared so much it went world trending. My first experience at seeing the power of social media. From big names (Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood) to local libraries to people on the street, I was being thanked for highlighting the plight of libraries world wide. (If you ever want to know *why* I tweeted it, just ask.)

At this point I’d love to say I remember what the next world trending was but I honestly can’t remember the order.   I do know that thanks to @CultureThemes our community these hashtags have gone world trending multiple times including:

• #AskACurator Day
• #MuseumSelfie Day
• #LoveTheatreDay
• And more.

But we’ve created communities along the way with Open Community Lab (a spin off from MuseomixUK) and @52Museums.

We’ve worked together as a (sometimes dysfunctional) family/society. No we don’t always agree, politics are a bear, but in the end we keep coming back to this platform that makes us express ourselves in 140 tiny little characters.

And we wouldn’t change it for the world.

THANK YOU TWITTER!!

Just a quick update to thank everyone who took part in #LoveTheatreDay.  Here are some stats shared by TwitterUK (our – CultureThemes – partner along with Guardian Culture Professional Network).

— 90K total Tweets mentioning #LoveTheatreDay related terms, in the 24 hour period. (Note this is more than double last year where there were 40K).

— Trended top in the UK all day, and was in the top 10 worldwide all day (as high as 2nd). Also trended in France, USA, Italy.

— More than 500 theatres, venues, amateur groups, industry bodies etc from 10+ countries worldwide took part.

— Highest share of conversation about the day was in:

1) UK
2) USA
3) France
4) Canada
5) Phillipines

While there were many ‘favorite’ moments – I was personally touched by @ComedieFR (Comédie Française) in France who tweeted to discuss the recent events and illustrate how important it is to keep enjoying theatre and why/how the show must go on. Thank you.

There were also many touching moments when theatres were talking to each other – many from different countries.

The use of periscope grew a lot this year also. I managed to catch a few and it made me feel like I was there (and not in a flat in Vienna).

Below is are new items shared from TwitterUK: Reverb and Twitter Moments (not in UK yet but coming soon!)

Behind the scenes: Love Theatre Day pulls the curtain back

This year #LoveTheatreDay is going to be bigger and better – how do I know? From the amazing response we had last year going World Trending.

How #LoveTheatreDay Works

Throughout the day, we encourage everyone to tweet using #LoveTheatreDay and say why they love theatres.  This is open for the general public of course but we want people who have been (or are in) am dram productions to also tweet and share.  I also asked museums and galleries to share their collection that is theatre related and publishers to share books related to theatres.

During the day, we have 3 sub-hashtags (please note, it’s more important to have #LoveTheatreDay then the sub-hashtags):

• #BackStage (10am-12pm) will offer audiences and other arts professionals a glimpse into how a production comes together in the weeks and months leading up to the big night.
• #AskATheatre (3-5pm) will offer a unique opportunity for theatre aficionados and aspiring actors to hear first-hand from the individuals and groups that make the magic happen.

• #Showtime (7-10pm) will give those who can’t make it to a theatre the chance to sit in the “virtual stalls” to experience the a performance, or several, via Twitter.

The most important message for me is, like museums, theatres do SO much within their community that goes un-noticed.  With further cuts looming, lets highlight all the brilliant work that is done outside of the 2 hours show.  Theatres worldwide work with kids, teens, adults and older generation. The community outreach is amazing.

We’d also like to spotlight the amateur dramatic groups that help facilitate the love and joy of theatre to so many people. For example, The Royal Shakespeare Company in Strafford-Upon-Avon is currently working on an exciting project with 14 amateur groups. Their website states:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation sees the Royal Shakespeare Company working with 13 partner theatres, 84 amateur performers and 580 schoolchildren, alongside 18 professional actors and the creative team for a major tour of A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.

How wonderful to see a connection from amateurs to professionals!

We’d love to hear from everyone involved in theatre – whether it’s with the 3 hashtags or general #LoveTheatreDay tag. To sign up please see our form here on this Guardian Cultural Pro article. And don’t forget to follow #LoveTheatreday, @CultureThemes, @GdnCulturePros, and @TwitterUK!

I’ve been using Periscope before it came out (I was a beta tester back in March).  I have to be honest, I was a bit confused with the concept.  Having not used Meerkat or really care about filming before, I didn’t see the need for live streaming. Why would anyone use it that wasn’t at a conference?

Then I started to play with it. First around my town, then on my travels and you know what? It’s a game changer. Why? Because although I live-tweet, blog and over-share, this allowed a two-conversation to happen between the viewers and myself in real-time. I am able to Periscope and have a dialogue in a way that is quicker and more efficient than Twitter or blogging. The conversations from Periscope have lead to a few blogs.

I can’t remember my first live stream from a museum or art gallery but do know the first time I saw a great response was at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and (thanks to free wifi) was able to have a bit of fun with live streaming. I didn’t save the first one but did upload the live stream I did with a conservator fixing art in the middle of the gallery.

With each periscope I’m learning more. For example, on my first attempt I was really confused how I was suppose to type a response to the questions popping up on the screen. (Answer: You don’t type, you talk – they can hear everything you’re saying! NB This led to one of my tips: don’t swear).

Please note: Periscope is available for ios and Android now.  Read the rest of this entry »