Social Media and Organizational Change

Blog Post, Published Writing

This paper was originally published for Museums and the Web 2011. It was co-authored by Dana Allen-Greil, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, USA; Susan Edwards and Jack Ludden, J. Paul Getty Trust, USA; and Eric Johnson, Monticello, USA. (See citation and Creative Commons information.)

Abstract

Social media are altering how museums interact with the public. But how are they affecting the ways that museum professionals approach their jobs? How are large organizations dealing with new pressures for a more nimble, experimental approach to content creation, and a more personal level of engagement with staff? How do museums manage the ‘brand’ with so many people creating content, while also being flexible and bringing out the many voices in an institution? With the authors’ multiple perspectives, this paper highlights some of the ways that social media are changing the ways that staff communicate and work together, and addresses issues such as whether to distribute management of social media content across an organization or to centralize efforts; how to find tactics for educating and training staff about what social media are; and how social media can further the mission, set new expectations for current staffing positions held within the museum, and promote a cultural shift that embraces collaborative, agile ways of interacting with our peers and our audiences.

Keywords: social media, leadership, management, strategy, organizational structure

Podcast: O Say Can You Sing? YouTube Contest

Blog Post

The Smithsonian’s first YouTube contest was created to dispel the notion that history is boring and to engage people with the story of their flag and national anthem. After being closed for nearly 2 years of renovations, the museum was looking to make a splash with the debut of a state-of-the-art home exhibition for the Star-Spangled Banner. Partnering with USA WEEKEND for marketing muscle, we received over 800 eligible entries and thousands of people rated and commented on their favorite singers. The grand-prize winner performed at the museum and at the Orioles game in Baltimore on Flag Day.

This project won an American Association of Museums Gold MUSE Award for outstanding achievement in museum media in the category “Community.”

Listen to a podcast interview of me by Jonathan Finkelstein of LearningTimes for MuseumTimes.org.