Relentlessly Social at the Annual Meeting

Posted on May 16, 2013

Guzel duChateau, the Alliance’s New Media Manager, dishes on how we are going social in Baltimore.

This year the Alliance is doing something new at the Baltimore Annual Meeting.

For the length of the conference we’re running a Social Media Desk on Twitter. “What does this mean?” you may ask. For those joining us in Baltimore, there will be a physical desk in the Pratt Street Lobby with two computers and a large monitor displaying the #aam2013 Twitter feed. You’ll also find the daily line-up of scheduled conversations interspersed with open hours for drop-ins and the more organic conversation.

Through these conversations individuals, whether in Baltimore or afar, will be able to share insights from sessions, sparks of new ideas and discuss topics of broader interest to the museum field.

Our own Elizabeth Merritt, will be joining us twice. On Sunday, 10–11 a.m. ET, she and I will discuss futurism broadly. We’ll discuss some of the this year’s sessions featured in CFM’s Guide to the Future and share resources related to those topics. If you have questions about futurism and museums, or just question for Elizabeth, tweet them at us! Then on Tuesday at 9 a.m., Elizabeth will be joined by Rob Walker, author of Significant Objects, warming up for their 10:15 a.m. session exploring objects, and stories, and value. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about the project and what it means for museums.

We’ll also be taking the desk into the General Session and live tweeting Ford Bell’s speech and the remarks from Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, our keynote speaker.

What do we want from you?
We want participation! Join the conversation, tweet questions at us. We have hours dedicated to Alliance programs (MAP, Accreditation), audience engagement, the sexy topic of 3D printing and even why it’s important to be involved in your local and regional museum communities. If you aren’t able to make it to Baltimore, here’s your opportunity to engage, ask questions, share your knowledge and learn from others. If you are in Baltimore, please stop by! Sign up for a time slot to lead your own conversation, check out the Twitterfall and see what others have to say about the meeting (and perhaps get meta and tweet a picture of your tweet on the monitor), or just take advantage of the comfy seating near the desk. (We’ll be near windows!)

This project comes to us courtesy of Adam Rozan (@adamrozan), director of audience engagement, Worcester Art Museum, Mass. (@worcesterart) and is being run in collaboration with Guzel duChateau (@guzelfrances and the voice behind @AAMers), new media manager, American Alliance of Museums.