Heather Marie Wells

Publishing info Title: The Twitter Book Author: Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein Publisher:O’Reilly ISBN: 9780596802813 Price: $19.99. US Subjects: Web/Internet Application Normally when I need to research a technology topic for a presentation or an article, I like to scour the Internet for my references and examples. I’ve always felt that I would be able to get the most up-to-date information that way. It just seems like published tech books would be too out-dated too quickly. Recently I was supposed to facilitate a workshop on Social Media in Museums for the Arkansas Museum Association (it had to be canceled and we are working on rescheduling). Due to other work projects, I knew I wouldn’t have the time to search the Internet and figure out which references were reputable and which weren’t. I particularly needed to research Twitter since it was the newest (and hottest) of the social media apps, and although I use Twitter personally and professionally, I also realize I’m not an advance

Note: This is the second half of an article that I wrote published in the HHMAG RAG, Historic House Affinity Group Newsletter Volume 9, Issue 2, August 2009, pg. 7 although I have made updates to it. Last week I discussed two social media platforms that I think Historic House Museums can use to help the public connect on a more personal level to the home and how to get started with them. Today I want to get down to the more nitty gritty ideas of content. Suggested Content Now that you know the basics and have tips to get started, let’s get to the heart of the matter. What can Historic Houses do with these media to make the house more like a home? If you have diaries from the people who lived in your historic home, consider blogging their diary. Consider the journal postings on pepysdiary.com and orwelldiaries.wordpress.com . I personally would love to read a blog entry where there is a picture of something in the house accompanied by diary excerpts about the object, perhaps abo

Note: This is the first half of an article that I wrote published in the HHMAG RAG, Historic House Affinity Group Newsletter Volume 9, Issue 2, August 2009, pg. 7 although I have made updates to it. I love going to historic house museums. My favorite ones are those that make me feel like I’ ve been transported back in time. I love it when I feel like I’m a guest being invited into someone's home for a visit. Take a moment to consider that statement. Notice the words I used: guest, invited, home, and visit. Historic House Museums have an opportunity to shine above other institutions like science centers and nature museums by conveying intimacy and being personal. Unfortunately, Historic House Museums aren ’t always the best at conveying these characteristics through their online presence. However, I feel that the new wave of social media and networking sites can really help historic house museums to make those personal connections. There are a number of sites out there, and

Last Friday my day started out unlike any other: I was up at 5:00 am. For those who know me well, they understand that this is nothing short of a miracle. I'm more a night person than a morning person, but that day I had somewhere special to be. I had been invited to a sneak peak of a new James Turrell skyspace at Crystal Bridges. I wasn't sure what to expect. I hadn't really understood any of the literature I read about what a skyspace is. When I asked around, no one could adequately explain to me what it was. They would try a few words and then just get lost in their thoughts. At this point the responses all became the same: “Just go, it will be like no other experience you've ever had.” I'll try to explain the experience, but like so many before me, I'm sure my words will clumsily convey the event. First let me describe the structure. From the walking trail you can see the native Winslow/Fayetteville stones that cover the outside. The circular structure s

Recently there was an interesting discussion on the Museum-L listserv about email marketing and if it can become spam. Several people said it wasn't because you opt-in to these mailing lists. I thought I would share my responses here too. I have to say I have felt spammed by email lists I have opted into before. It is a slippery slope and I think businesses need to be considerate when using contact information given to them. Here are some of my guidelines. 1. Have clear opt out instructions (I also appreciate the chance to tell you why I'm opting out. Do I think you abused my email or had I just joined for the past six months because I was getting ready to take my vacation there and I wanted to do research). Also when I opt out honor that. Don't stop sending me emails for a month or so and then start up again. 2. If possible have opt out options for specific topics or events (if I have a conflict and know I can't go to your event I appreciate not hearing more about i

Title: Listen Up! : Podcasting for Schools and Libraries Author: Linda W. Braun Publisher: Information Today, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-57387-304-8 Price: $29.50 US Subjects: Internet in education; Libraries and the Internet; and Podcasting When I learned that Leo Laporte ( TWiT ) had done the forward to this book I figured it was a pretty safe bet that it would be a stellar reference for podcasting and I was right. Linda W. Braun set out to create a book that would explain podcasting to schools and libraries without the necessity of a lot of technical knowledge and I think she has achieved this goal marvelously. The book is broken into six chapters: This Thing We Call Podcasting; Before You Get Started; Real Life Examples; What Makes a Great Podcast: Developing the Content; What Makes a Great Podcast: the Technology; and Get the Word Out. The table of contents breaks the chapters down further into subtitles and sidebars making it easy to find the section you want at a glance. Each section

I recently got to go to the Educators' Technology Conference . It was actually organized by teachers for teachers so some people wonder why I went. Well in my opinion it is important for museum professionals who are planning on using technology in their museum to know what technology is being used in schools so you know if what you are creating is compatible. It was very enlightening. It was fabulous, but not surprising, to learn that teachers are looking for educational content online for use in the classroom. Their looking for audio, video, worksheets, presentations, in short anything to aid them in teaching their students. The disappointing revaluation is that they often don't know where to look or they are blocked from going to the sites they know about. There was much discussion about the websites teachertube.com and schooltube.com , two fabulous sites dedicated to offering a place to find safe content for educational purposes. I was shocked to find out that many

I'm often asked to review books on tech topics and I'm finally getting some time to work on it. Currently, I'm looking at a couple of books on podcasting, because I'm pretty knowledgeable on the topic and I think it will be easy to decide if a book is helpful on that topic. However, I would love some suggestions on books that you think need to be reviewed. I've also been asked to write an article on podcasting for a Botanical Garden publication. I'm pretty excited about that as I love the outdoors and gardens, but I don't often get to do a lot of work with them. I've also started diligently working on an exhibit that I've been put in charge of to open in 2010. My plan is for it to be our first publicly curated exhibit and we will have the public vote on what artifacts will actually be included in the exhibit.

I have a presentation that I've done a couple of times that exams low-cost technology that can be used for museum applications. At the moment I'm spending some time looking at some new apps to add to the list. On the list are two video editing programs and two photo editing programs. What I'm most excited about is a simple little app called Readability . It's a bookmarklet that let's you decide how you want to view a webpage in order to read it (and print it if you like). When I demoed the Firefox plugin Nuke Anything, there was much rejoicing. User could delete annoying flashing ads and happily print their content without the ads wasting toner. But you had to do it one ad at a time. Now some of you might be thinking who worries about wasting toner. But when you are in the non-profit world, especially during a recession, you are always looking for a way to eke out every penny's worth. Well Readability is ten times better. It gets rid of everything at once an

The museum world is in mourning. Today a man walk through the doors of the US Holocaust Museum in Washington DC and shot a guard. Guards had to return fire for the safety of the visitors at the museum, including a group of 165 eighth graders there on a field trip. The guard, Stephen T. Johns, subsequently died at the hospital. The Holocaust Museum will be closed tomorrow and flags will be flown at half mast in his honor. I've been to DC twice and of course my favorite place is the mall. So many fabulous museums in such close proximity. My most recent trip to DC was last August. It was a wonderful trip and the first time my husband had been. On our last day in DC we stopped to get frozen lemonades after we had finally been asked to leave the Natural History Museum because it was closing time. It was such a lovely evening to be sitting on a bench at the Mall watching the sun set after a hot August day. We watched some guys playing football and there were little girls turning c

One of the things I love the most about my job is the unexpected things I need to do for my job. Tomorrow my parents are coming to visit me because it's my birthday. While they are here I need to get my dad to teach me how to square dance and call so I can then teach our education staff for the camps that we are having this summer. How many people get to say, "yeah, I need to learn to square dance for my job"?

My current projects are many and varied. For the museum I'm currently cataloging and organizing a very large manuscript collection of papers from the International Order of Odd Fellows. I'm also trying to catch-up on editing some podcast episodes and planning an exhibit that will open in 2010. I'm in the process of writing an article for the Historic House Museum Affinity Group newsletter and I'm putting together a workshop on social media for the Arkansas Museum Association. On the personal front I'm currently working on creating a portfolio.

Recently at AAM 2009 in Philly I went to a session called "Eye On Design II." The point of the session was to have ten people from the museum world look outside the museum world for inspiration. The concept is not new to me and I think it is important for anyone to look outside their career field for inspiration. Frankly, it's a pretty simple way to keep the creative juices flowing. Until recently I have always looked to the education field for inspiration. I mean after all there are a lot of similarities. Both fields have the goal of instilling knowledge. Both often have inadequate budgets and all to often staffs are not really paid what they are worth. Through several educational podcasts that I listen to I've found teachers are fabulous resources for figuring out how to achieve wonderful things with no budget. But this session at AAM has inspired me to open my eyes even more and search out other fields that can inspire my work in museums.