MuseumTweets: Obsessed with Museums using Twitter

Common Courtesy

Amy — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:09:14 +0000

Lately my focus has shifted from my thesis to applying for jobs because, well, I need a job and an income for to pay for nice things like a place to live and food. I’ve been losing steam on the thesis and do want to finish it, but my bank account is shouting louder than the thesis is at the moment.

I have been sending out resumes and cover letters for several months, and given the economy I have cast a wide net. Administrative positions at local businesses, various roles at non profits, and here and there a job at a museum as they become available.

Of the dozens and dozens of jobs I have applied for, only two have sent me a note letting me know that they received my resume. One was a major museum in DC. Another was a small business in Seattle. No one has sent me a rejection letter.

Last week a rare opening at a local museum appeared on my radar on Craigslist and I drafted a cover letter and tweaked my resume. A week went by and I heard nothing. Particularly interested in this position, last night I sent a follow up e-mail directly to the museum contact listed on their website expressing my interest in the job. What transpired left me livid.

———————————–

Dear Ms. X,

Last week I applied for the xx position via Craigslist. After exploring the museum’s website I discovered that you are the contact for this position and am e-mailing you directly with my resume and cover letter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Amy Fox

—————————–

I have received many applications. Yours was not given consideration because you do not have any significant length of employment (3 years or more) with any employer. Stability is very important to our organization.

[Museum director's electronic signature here]

——————

No salutation. No closing. None of the usual “thank you for your interest, unfortunately…” type babble. Completely rude and unprofessional. It has been pointed out to me that this may be a cut-and-paste response. If so? It is doubly insulting, because what is the point of having a canned response if it is not polished and professional?

Instead of firing off an angry response I forwarded this to several friends and one has helped me realize that I would not want to work for someone who responds to anyone in this way. Not to mention a museum director who is so concerned about employment record as it relates to stability for their institution instead of considering the commitment it takes for someone to devote several years of graduate study to the museum field. Not to mention the things you can’t see on a resume. Such as the fact that although I have not been in the work force and been able to establish an employment record with more than three years at one position, I worked at the same company full time for four summers in a row (while working another part time job) and then continued to work there for a full year after finishing college and before starting graduate school. I realize that there has to be some criterea for eliminating applicants. However I fit all of the other requirements in their job listing, and interpreted “Must have at least 5 years experience in an administrative position” to mean combined experience, which is a common stipulation in job listings.

Perhaps I’m naive. I’m trying to dedicate my life to museums and I am somehow surprised that people are people, whether they work at a large corporation or at a museum. However, I think it is reasonable to expect museums to care more about their interactions with people as they are in the business of helping and educating people.

So, if you are ever in the position of hiring someone, please do them the courtesy of letting them know their application arrived safely.

What about my thesis?

Amy — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:58:51 +0000

Ah, my thesis. I’ve been researching and writing slowly for about a year. At this point the research is completed and I need to finish writing. I love researching and reading but synthesizing and writing is my kryptonite.

In short, the thesis is: museums are using twitter. I am identifying how they are using twitter and suggesting best practices. The last part is more difficult, but the first part isn’t easy either. Since the use of twitter is constantly evolving I find myself constantly re-evaluating and adding to my observations and conclusions on how museums are using twitter. And as for the second part, one need only read the two very different blog entries by Tyler Green and Nina Simon to understand the difficulties of suggesting best practices. There are no rules, and frankly, even if there were people would break them daily and that would be a good thing. Social media is so exciting because it is one area of museums that is completely creative and (mostly) without red tape. When I first started my research I was very concerned with how these twitter accounts were started. Who gave the okay to sign up? Which person or department manages the account? Do the tweets have to go through some kind of official filter? Given my coursework in museology, I assumed that because other areas of museums have careful checks and balances in place that social media like twitter would be similarly restricted.

Aren’t you glad that’s not the case? Because of this freedom, in the past year museums on twitter have completely changed my understanding and expectations of how museums interact with people. And perhaps that is why my thesis is still piles of notes and scribbles. Or perhaps I’m more interested in reading more blog posts and tweets. Either way, I will finish soon, at least by February. And I will make it available to anyone who is interested.

Why I love Museums and Social Media

Amy — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:37:59 +0000

I enjoy museums of all types and was drawn to social media because I believe that all people with their varying backgrounds and interests can find a connection with almost any museum with the right approach. For instance, picture a typical abstract expressionist painting at an art museum. Some people will find the painting interesting because of the visual and artistic aspects of the painting, but many will not. Others might find the history of the artist and the movement more compelling, still others may be interested in the chemical makeup of the paint and others may be interested in the construction of the canvas and stretcher. Someone else may be interested in the social implications of the art movement, someone else may be interested in the psychological impact of the work on viewers and someone else may be interested in how music relates to the artwork. And this is just subject matter. Theories of museum education and exhibition delve even further into the ways to engage different types of people. There are more traditional ways museums connect with their visitors including labels, gallery layout, docents, lectures, in-gallery activities, but every day there are more ways to connect people with museums. Museums have been building communities of interaction within their walls and are starting to expand that community beyond walls. Social media is one way to expand the ways museums can connect with people and twitter is simply one tiny slice of the social media world.

More room for my thoughts.

Amy — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:54:51 +0000

Whenever I have the time or something strikes me as urgent or fascinating I’ll start writing posts about my thoughts and observations of museums tweeting.