So what is 2.0 and why is Blandwood trying it out? The term "2.0" refers to a new generation of internet-based information that allows users, or in this case, the visiting public, to share and generate content on a website. Blandwood has had a website for ten years (version 1.0), but museums are using new technology and social networking as a way to engage with their visiting public. The idea is to make museums more interactive and more approachable, allowing them to integrate into society, instead of remaining a static environment in which participants are asked to "not touch." By opening up our museum in this interactive medium, we are able to ascertain what visitors think is important about our site. It allows staff to see Blandwood from the perspective of the visitor. What did they find important? What did they find that was interesting? What did they remember? What did they not like? In turn, these results can be used by the museum management to make changes to existing programming, add programming, or examine what isn’t working for the museum based on the visitor’s experience. Blandwood is experimenting with 2.0 technology on two fronts, using existing the social networks Flickr and Facebook. Flickr is one of the most popular online photo-sharing websites. Its use is free and anyone with a Yahoo.com account (they are also free) may post photographs and comments. The images can be titled, but more importantly, they can be tagged – a process in which descriptive words are used to label the photo that make them easier to find in a keyword search. A tool within Flickr allows an administrator to monitor the page content and organize its content by subject groups. This prevents inappropriate material from being uploaded to your group page. Blandwood has a Flickr group, and a number of photographs have been posted from recent events, including the archaeological dig and Bluegrass at Blandwood. Blandwood encourages its visitors to upload photographs or to post their comments on the Blandwood group page. Both of these applications allow levels of control by the museum. The group or page administrator may invite people to join directly through the site or they may join on their own; however, the administrator can remove any member, photograph, or posting that is deemed inappropriate. With digital cameras and websites, images of historic sites such as Blandwood are already part of the public venue. By creating our own 2.0 sites; we are able to add our version of those images to the public eye. By becoming part of 2.0, Blandwood opens itself to a new and creative way of interacting with the public. Won’t you sign on and become a fan? Thanks to Ashley Poteat, Curator/ Director of Blandwood, for contributing this article. This interactive technology is being used by multiple museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMA), and all of the National Trust’s Historic Sites. Version 2.0 is user friendly and unlike a fixed website, it allows the visitor to generate its content. This is accomplished by visitors posting photographs or comments to an open forum that has been created by the museum for this purpose. In this way, the visitor becomes more than a viewer – it allows them to become a participant.
Another 2.0 arena Blandwood is exploring is Facebook. This application also allows visitors to upload photographs and post comments, but it has the added benefit of allowing the administrator to send out messages to all group members or fans. A museum like MoMA has over 22,000 members, yet the administrator of the group can quickly compose a message and distribute it among its membership. With this technology, the possibility for producing public awareness takes on a new dynamic with this type of interaction. Facebook also allows for other applications to be added to the group page, thus creating multiple interaction opportunities. For example Flickr can be linked to your Facebook page. One drawback is that you do have to be a member of Facebook (it’s free) to become a member or fan of an organization’s group. Blandwood does have a Facebook page, and we invite you to join.
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