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Black Mirror and its (sometimes scary) connections to museums and social media

| Dana Allen-Greil

The other day someone posted this amazing Black Mirror GIF on the Museum Social Media Managers Facebook group. The GIF was a reaction to an article about Instagram’s new algorithm changes that incentivize certain behaviors and bury content when narrowly defined rules of engagement are not met. I couldn’t help but think about all of the other potential Black Mirror connections one might make to #musesocial and #musetech.  Continue reading →

Opinion: The guy who wrote “Why I hate museums” is not lazy, uncultured, vapid, or unintelligent

Natural History Museum London by Flickr user kevandotorg
| Dana Allen-Greil

Museums SHOULD be about enlightenment, inspiration, or quiet reflection.

Museums should NOT be about fun and entertainment.

Frankly, I’m a bit sick of these blanket pronouncements, from both sides of the aisle. While CNN’s opinion piece “Why I Hate Museums” laments how boring museums are, the New York Times bit “High Culture Goes Hands-On” rails against not just people having fun in museums but even people having a shred of “engagement” in museums.  You can see more examples of black and white arguments about what museums should and shouldn’t be (and what “good” and “bad” visitors are) in the comments on the CNN article and in letters to the NYTimes editor. Continue reading →