Two days with a power blogger: learning the art of expression, connection and influence

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By Bethany Frank

Last week, power blogger Lorelle VanFossen came to the National Park Service office where I intern and taught a day-and-a-half workshop on the art of blogging and its uses in the heritage field. Lorelle stood in front of us and asked, “what do you say when someone says they have a blog?” Without missing a beat, one participant responded, “ask if there is a cure.”

That sudden burst of laughter broke the ice as we all discussed our thoughts on how blogging could potentially help the organization. Some responded with, “I don’t know; I am here to learn the answer” or “Because my boss told me to.”

But then we started discussing how blogging could help us reach a wider audience.

Using Ning to talk about the future of museums

Note: This is a 2009 repost from a previous iteration of Voices of the Past. The original transcribed interview with Angelina Russo is below, though the video reflects the updated branding. Museum3 (formerly Museum 3.0) is according its website “a non-profit organisation dedicated to the future of museums, galleries, science centres, libraries and archives.” Q: [...]

Social media for a cause: How "Invisible Children" can serve as a model for the heritage field

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On April 25th, thousands of people abducted themselves in solidarity in partnership with a San Diego based non-profit organization called Invisible Children. The event was organized through social media to make a statement. Has the time come for similar measures for the cause of heritage?

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How to promote your heritage event using the web

WordCamp Dallas

By Jeff Guin
This past week, I attended WordCamp Dallas, a meeting of bloggers and web professionals who are using the WordPress platform. WordCamp was phenomenal both in terms of the information delivered and the wonderful people who were there.

Seeing all the fabulous strategies used to make this event happen on a registration fee of just $30 per person, it got me to thinking, how could these strategies be applied to make heritage events more accessible and successful?

Podcast: Nina Simon on museum participation and curating a second life in the social space

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Nina Simon, the blogger behind the popular Museum 2.0 site, talks about why she believes social media is the key to helping museums and heritage groups connect their constituents with their content. Among the topics covered our the time investment required for social media as well as how to use social media philosophies to better visitor experiences without necessarily using the web tools.

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