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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Twitter and microblogging: Instant communication with your community

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“What are you up to?”

It’s how we greet friends and strangers alike everyday. It’s also the question behind one of the web’s most popular social networking sites: Twitter. Voices of the Past posts links to its news, along with other community announcements, at www.twitter.com/ptnews. So what is microblogging, and what can you gain from it?

La. Folklore Society Presentation: Bringing Communities Together

I delivered this presentation today at the Louisiana Folklore Society Conference in Leesville, La. It explains the principles of social media using a Ning site I put together for my hometown: The Natchitoches Preservation Network.

Video Netcast: Past Horizons Magazine, Heritage Travel Community, Smithsonian 2.0

Past Horizons Magazine now published; U.S. National Trust launches social network, Facebook marketplace page

Smithsonian holds “2.0 conference”; UNESCO looking for site evaluators for Peru heritage sites; Obama administration unveils new Whitehouse.gov site; Preservation Today starts “Friendfeed” room for heritage discussions.

Preserving Our Global Heritage through Volunteer Archeology

by Dylan Staley

Past Horizons is a service that seeks to aggregate many different archeological opportunities for people of all skill ranges to get involved with the field of archeology and heritage preservation. The website is host to countless descriptions of projects going on around the globe. It’s not limited to the United States or The United Kingdom; its project listing includes projects from Belgium, Romania, Tunisia, Bulgaria, and numerous other countries (around sixty-five in all!)

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Heritage DIY: Create and Preserve your Family Tree the Web 2.0 Way

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By Dylan Staley

Geni is a web based family tree maker that is using the idea of Web 2.0 and collaboration to make finding your long lost relatives easier. Geni, built by some of the people that brought you PayPal, eGroups, eBay, and Tribe, allows you to work with your family members on building your family tree. So, you may not know your second great grandmother’s husband’s name, but your grandmother’s sister may know, and Geni provides the platform to allow this knowledge to travel the great distances that often separate families.


Voluntourism and More Meaningful Vacations – Volunteer your Vacation Time to Preserve Natural Heritage

by Dylan Staley

Everyday, all around the nation, families are taking vacations not to relax, but to help and volunteer their services to help preserve nature. Through partnerships with many organizations such as The Ocean Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, The National Park Service, The Association of Zoos and Aquariums and The Surfrider Foundation, families can donate their vacation time to serve a better purpose: to help take care of the world we live in.

KSU Digital Ethnography Project – An Analysis of How Students Learn Today

by Dylan Staley

Voices of the Past seeks new and innovative ways to bring education to the masses. It is not a class, it does not have an instructor. It is created by normal people, inviting others to join in their work. This blog could be one of the best examples of the way education can evolve: into something that is both by and for the community.