A New Tech Style: Proposed Social Media Initiatives for the Early Days of the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum Created by: The Students of MSTD 6601 Diane Barber, Lisa Delsesto, Julia Falkowski, Katherine Jones, Karlie Leung, Erin Murray, Cait Reizman, Ryan Sprayberry, Marissa Walker, and Charles Zange 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................7 MATRIX............................................................................................................................................ 13 MUSEUM OPENING .......................................................................................................................... 14 Goals............................................................................................................................................ 14 Audiences ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Research/Methods ......................................................................................................................... 14 Activities ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Yarnbombing.............................................................................................................................. 15 Tweetups................................................................................................................................... 18 UNRAVELING IDENTITY: OUR TEXTILES, OUR STORIES ................................................................... 24 Goals............................................................................................................................................ 24 Audiences ..................................................................................................................................... 24 Research/Methods ......................................................................................................................... 24 Activities ....................................................................................................................................... 26 “ClothesLook” Photobooth............................................................................................................ 26 “StoryWeaver” Blog..................................................................................................................... 29 SEAT OF EMPIRE: PLANNING WASHINGTON, 1790–1801 ................................................................... 33 Goals............................................................................................................................................ 33 Audiences ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Research/Methods ......................................................................................................................... 34 Activities ....................................................................................................................................... 36 “Secrets of Washington” Videos .................................................................................................... 36 “Vote For Your President!” Comment Wall (#Yes2George #Yes2Thomas) ......................................... 39 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX A: Glossary................................................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX B: Suggested Hashtags.................................................................................................. 43 APPENDIX C: Yarnbombing Locations.............................................................................................. 44 APPENDIX D: Example Tweetups .................................................................................................... 45 APPENDIX E: Local Social Media Influencers .................................................................................... 46 APPENDIX F: GW Faculty............................................................................................................... 47 APPENDIX G: GW Student Organizations ......................................................................................... 51 APPENDIX H: Suggested “StoryWeaver” Blog Prompts....................................................................... 56 APPENDIX I: Project Timeline.......................................................................................................... 57 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................ 58 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Museums have long existed as places to interpret and engage with culture; in the contemporary world, social media furthers this exchange. To promote the new George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum (GWTM) and more actively involve visitors, we members of the Fall 2014 GW class, MSTD-6601 Museums and Social Media, have developed a selection of specific social media activities to increase attendance and connect the surrounding community with the institution. The museum is undergoing a monumental transition in preparing to open an established institution, The Textile Museum, in a new physical space on the George Washington University campus, while simultaneously combining it with a previously unaffiliated collection, the Albert H. Small Collection. Opportunities and challenges for this merger can be addressed in part by a well-planned social media campaign. For instance, the opportunity to create a new group of visitors from the community surrounding the museum can be achieved using social media: drumming up excitement around the opening and creating relationships with previously established social media presences in the community. At the same time, the challenge of maintaining the original group of museum members can be surmounted through campaigns focused on that audience’s interests. This report illustrates how and why social media can accomplish these goals. Social media is not a passing trend. It is an integral force in contemporary culture. According to Pew Research Center’s 2014 Internet & American Life Project, 74% of online adults use social networking sites. In addition, there is strong participation across different age groups, from 89% of 18-29 year olds, to 82% of 30-49 year olds, to 65% of 50-64 year olds. Even in the 65 and older age group, almost half of users are using social media (49%). The high amount of use by 18-29 year olds is especially noteworthy considering that the median age for the GW/Foggy Bottom zip code is 20.3. Research also indicates that the percentage of use of networking sites is steadily increasing in all demographics. Pew Research from 2013 shows that Facebook continues to be the most popular social media site, with 71% of online adults defined as active members, up from 67% in 2012. However, it is becoming increasingly uncommon for online users to limit themselves to just one social media service; 42% of online adults use two or more social media sites, the most popular of these being Instagram at 17%, and Twitter at 18%. The social media site with the largest recent growth has been Pinterest, which saw usership increase six percentage points, from 15% to 21% of online adults in 2012-2013. While it is established that social media use is widespread, that does not necessarily mean that it is impactful. Fortunately, Pew Research has also looked to answer questions of impact. Some highlights from this research show how Americans feel about the ability of an online presence to aid an organization: • 60% of Americans say the internet has a major impact on allowing users to connect with other groups • 52% say the internet has a major impact on fundraising • 51% say the internet has a major impact on the new member recruitment 3 These statistics establish that social media is highly utilized by across all demographics and that an online presence is important. Having established the value of social media, our team based the proposal on an abundance of compiled relevant research. We looked into current social media trends and uses and examined notable examples from museums across the country. Based on our research, we created unique social media opportunities through objectives divided into three specific sections: the museum opening, the Unraveling Identity: Our Textiles, Our Stories exhibition, and the Seat of Empire: Planning Washington 1790-1801 exhibition. The following report consists of three sections, each focused on one of these subjects. Each section opens with an overview of the proposed social media activities’ goals, audiences, and methods. Sections include matrices illustrating the feasibility of activities in terms of difficulty and impact. Each section covers the proposed activity in detail by