Blogs Galore Three

I know, it's lame to have two of these posts in a row. . .

... but I think I am driving my Facebook friends crazy reposting and raving about this particular blog. So I will put it here: without a doubt, The Center for the Future of Museums blog by Elizabeth Merritt of the American Association of Museums is absolutely essential reading for those of us who are working with and for museums today. Every post is a gem - please consider putting this on your RSS feed or Google reader. This last post, The 'Realness' of Museums' Online Communities: A Platform for the Future, for instance, includes fundamental points as:

- Social media and online engagement do not belong solely to the marketing department.
- Individuals subscribing to museums' online communities want to be educated and inspired. (In other words, don't use Facebook to only talk about the hours you are open, but as another platform to meet your mission and mandate.)
- Online communities create personal connections to the museum.

Some of these points might be very obvious to those who work and are familiar with social media in museums . . . but I am not sure if we are all there yet. And if you are still questioning where we are going with all these online relationships, check out the CFM previous post, An Alternate Future of Museums, Part II. There you can read about translating online social engagement to in-person community participation. As I said on Facebook: Bingo!