1.
NOTES:When Your Community Does the Blogging: What, Why, and How
MuseumNext, Indianapolis, September 25, 2015
 I’mLori Byrd-McDevitt,the Managerof Digital Content&Social Mediaat The
Children’sMuseumof Indianapolis.
 In myrole I alsomanage the museum’sblog,whichiswhatI’ll be focusingon
today.
 I’ll be sharingabouthow we’ve involvedourlocal community inthe blog,
 and I’ll share waysothermuseumscando the same.
 I love my role as social mediaand blogmanager, because itallowsme todirectly
interactwiththe museum’slocal andonline community.
 Everyday I getto see whattheythink,thanksto Tweets,Facebookcomments,and
eventheirownblogpostsabouttheirvisits.
o All of thismade me thinkaboutthe role of the museum’sblogasa
platformforcommunityparticipation,whichtiedintomyownresearch
interestsasa museumstudiesstudent.
 For my mastersresearchI establishedthe term “OpenAuthority,” whichisthe
coming togetherof museumexpertise andcommunity contributions.
o Museumsare unique intheirpotential tobe a confluence of cultural
resourcesanddiverse communityperspectives.
 By invitinginvariedpointsof view,museumscanuse ourinherentauthorityto
openup the interpretationof content,makingitmore inclusive toall.
 I like touse thisspectrumto show whatOpenAuthoritylookslike. Manymuseums
use crowdsourcingasa wayto activelypartnerwithvisitors,especiallyonline.But
there’smuchmore nuance to openauthoritythanjustcrowdsourcing.
 Thisspectrumshowsthat there are more conservative approachestocommunity
participation, whichcan thenalsoleadtomore progressive approaches.
 Contributory projects are whatwe considercrowdsourcing,andare usually more
passive forthose whoparticipate,withthe museumtakingthe active role.
 WhereasCollaborative projectcanbe describedasCommunitySourcing.
o CommunitySourcinginvolvesbiggerasksmade of a more committed,loyal
community.These projectsrequire participantstobe more active and
motivatedintheircontributions, andthat’s whyCommunityBloggingfalls
here.
 And thenthere are Co-Creative projects,whichinvolve true participatory
interpretationcomingequallyfromboththe communityandthe museum.
o Thisis a topicfor a whole othertalk.Todaywe’ll be focusingon
Communitybloggingasa community-sourcedproject.

2.
 So nowlet’sdive into CommunityBloggingatThe Children’sMuseum
 Our blogstartedWAY back in 2010, whenwe kickedthingsoff withmultipleposts
a weekwrittenbystaff acrossthe museum.
o Staff blogginghasgone onso longthat it’sgottenquite involved.Pictured
here are ourCreative Directorandour Directorof Collections,who’ve
repeatedlycollaboratedonfunnypoststohighlighttheirdivergence in
perspectivesonexhibits.
 Overthe yearswe incorporatedmore postsfromguestbloggers,oftenexperts or
artistswhowork withuson exhibits.
 Fallingbetweenguest bloggingandcommunityblogging,picturedhere onthe
rightis a photofrom a 2013 post by the founderof our local Instagram
community,sharingabout hisexperience atourfirstmuseum-ledInstameet.Our
relationshipwiththisparticularcommunityhasremainedstrong,since.
 From earlyonwe alsousedthe blog to feature visitorstoriesthatwere submitted
as part of contests.These were one-off contributions,sothey’re agoodexample
of an early crowdsourcedapproach.
 We didn’ttruly experimentwith the ideaof Community Blogginguntil late 2013,
whenwe beganto thinkabouthow museumfamilies couldwriteforthe blogover
an extendedperiodof time.
 The renovationandexpansionof ourbeloved Playscapegallery wasagreat
opportunity,because localswere soexcitedforitsunveiling. We wantedtoletour
families playapartin reintroducingPlayscapetothe world.
 So,we createdthe “Playscape 5,”consideringitapilotfor a future,broader
communitybloggingprogram.
 We directlyreachedouttothree familieswhorepresentedthe age-spanfor
Playscape,andwhose parentswere knownsocial mediainfluencersinthe city.
 Overa periodof six months,eachfamily blogged forusonce a month.
 Beyondthe blog,theyusedthe #Playscape5hashtagtotweet,Instagram,andVine
theirexperiences inthe gallery aswell as learningmomentsat home.
 The resultof this blogseries wasthatreaders couldfollow alongonthe Playscape
5’s journey, andsee the new gallery throughthe eyesof familiesjustlikethem.
 The successof the Playscape 5 ledusto confidentlymoveforwardwithaformal,
recurring,andbrandedCommunityBloggingprogram, whichwe call The Children’s
MuseumBlogAmbassadors.
o Shownhere are the various brandedgraphicswe use on differentsocial
platforms,whichyoucansee are personalizedforeachblogger.
 We selectourAmbassadorsthroughanapplication-basedcall outtoour local
bloggingcommunity.
o We reachedoutto around75 active bloggersandreceived24 applications,
which,at 1/3 of the community – was muchmore than we anticipated.
o So we were thrilled…
o In the applicationwe specificallyaskedabouttheirpersonal passionsand
unique perspectives.Aswellassamples of theirwritingstyle.
o We selectedourapplicantstocreate amix of pointsof view,agesof
children,andunique experiences.
o The reach and influenceof their personal socialmediafollowing doesplay
a role in theirselection,but isnotthe mainpriority.
 Similartothe Playscape5,theyeachblogonce a monthfor six months, usingthe
#BlogTCMhashtagduringvisitsandwhentheirlearningextendsintothe home.

3.
 Afterourfirstclass of Blog Ambassadorswrappedupinearly2015, we began
planningforroundtwo.
 We received18submissions,andselectedfourforoursecondclass of
Ambassadors,whoare bloggingforus currently fromMay through October, and
three bloggersforourthird class,whichwill kickoff inNovember.
 Thistime we were happyto receive anumberof submissionsfromDaddybloggers,
of whichthree were selected.
 We’ll getmore intothe logisticsbehindthe Ambassadorprograminasecond,but
let’sfirstchatabout WHY you shouldtryCommunityblogging.
 Firstof all,itprovidesan invaluable inside lookintowhatyour audiencesare
thinkingandexperiencing, overanextendedtime.
o I like tosay that it’sa directline to your community’sbrain!
 Our Evaluationstaff have especiallylovedtheseblogs,becausetheyprovide such
unprecedentedinsights.Ourbloggersoftenjoininfocusgroupswhere the
evaluationteamcanaskadditional questionsabouttheirexperiences,too.
 Andthe blogsalsoprovide anendlesssupplyof photos,quotes,andmemorable
momentsthatwe can repurpose. We all know it’snotalwayseasyto gather
photosof these authenticmomentsaround the museum.
 The secondreasoninvolvesRadical Trust,whichcallsforaquote fromColleen
Dilenschneider:
o “Radical trust isthe confidence thatamuseumhasintheircollaborations
withonline communities.Institutionsdisplaytrustinthese communities
by beingtransparent,open,andhonest.”
o AndI love thatquote because it tiesindirectly toOpenAuthority,which
seekstohave an opendialogue betweenamuseumanditscommunity.
 You showradical trust byempoweringcommunitybloggerstotake the reinsof
your museum’splatforms.
 It seemsscaryto hand overcontrol of the blog,because it’sseenas thisepicenter
of a museum’sauthenticvoice.Butthat’swhythe community’sperspective isso
valuable — it’sauthentic.
 We’re luckyat The Children’sMuseum tohave such incrediblyloyal and
enthusiasticfamilies.Communitybloggingisourway of showingour appreciation,
and our trust, really, of acommunitywhoisso graciouswiththeirsupport.
 If you value whatyourcommunityhasto say, why not give themwings—letthem
say it on your blog.
 Colleen’squote alsomentioned Transparency,whichis expectednow inadigital
worldwhere institutional responsescanbe made quicklyandopenly.
 Transparency alsoforcesan organization tobe okay with laughing at itself, andto
knowitsstrengthsas well asitsweaknesses.
 Openingupthe blogto a communityperspective notonlyincreasestransparency,
it showsthatyou’re confidentwithwhoyouare.

4.
 Nowthat we’ve gottenthroughthe “WHY,”let’stalkaboutthe “HOW.”
 It all starts with connectingwith your community.
o If there’sa specificaudience orgoal foryour blogprogram, you’dwant to
considerhow toconnect withthatrelevantsubsetof yourcommunity.
 For us,it startedby connectingwithourlocal mommybloggers,whichsoon
expandedtodadbloggersandalso,because of ourcontentareas,geekand pop-
culture enthusiasts.
 We beganto buildourlistof contacts simplybykeepingthe informationfrom
bloggerswho requestticketsinexchangefor reviewingthe museum.Whenthis
happenswe alwaysask if they’re interestedinbeingonourlistof bloggers,and
theywill alwayssayyes.
o We don’tuse theiremailsforanyotherpromotional purposes.We are
strict inonlycontactingthat listif itis a directemail fromus aboutan
exclusivebloggeropportunity.
 We thengrew our listof contacts bythrowing special “BloggerPreviews”for
exhibits,andwe pulledoutall the stops!Forlargerexhibits,theygetafull dinner
and goodie bags,inadditiontoa firstlookat the new gallery.Forall exhibitswe
hosta tweet-upwithfungiveaways.
 Thiswas our initial wayto invite thisaudience in,toshow themthatwe value
theirsupport,andto make themfeel like apartof the museumfamily.
 Eventslike thisestablishgoodwill. Yougive a little.But you geta lot.
 Movingfrom connecting to collaboratingisn’t easy,but beingpreparedhelps!
o An earlywaywe collaboratedwitha unique communitywasthroughour
“Social MediaLifeguards”contest.
o Thisis where local influencerswere giventicketstoa popularadults-only
museumeventinexchange forsharingaboutitontheirsocial channels.
o Eventhoughthiscollaborationwasusingtheirpersonal accounts,we still
alwayshave to be careful withhow the museumisrepresented,
especiallywhenbeing“family-friendly”issoimportant.
o So forthe Lifeguards we didhave specificguidelinesforcontent,which
has workedoutreallywell eachyear.
 Likewise,whenitcame to CommunityBloggers,we foundthatbeginningwith
more structure was keyto success.
 For the BlogAmbassadors,we meetwitheachbloggerpriortotheirtimeframe,
where we layoutexpectations,talkabouttopicideas,andconfirmscheduling.
o Afterward,Imaintainan openline of communication;theyknowthat
theycan come to me withideas,questions, orconcerns atany time.
 For now,our BlogAmbassadorshave anoverarchingtheme fortheirposts,within
whichtheyhave free creative rein.
o Each of theirpostsillustratesawaythattheirfamilywasinspiredbythe
museumtoextendtheirexperience athome.
o For instance,an exhibitmayinspireacraft,a recipe,anothertrip
elsewhere,orsharingamemory.
o Recentlyabloggersharedaboutherfamily’slove of ouriconicChihuly
glasssculpture andwhatit’smeantto themthroughthe yearsas they’ve
discoveredotherChihulysintheirtravels.
 I neverheavilyedit blogs,asthisdefeatsthe purposeof beingauthenticand
transparent.Ionlydo lighteditingif there are inaccuraciesinexhibitnamesor
information, oranyglaringgrammatical errors. Andpeople tendtoappreciate
those kindsof edits.

5.
 A big part of collaboratingis, let’sface it, compensation.Thisis alwaysa big
question whenitcomesto communityblogging.
 Afterdiscussingthe topicwithsome of ourmore professional bloggers,we’ve
decidedtonotfinanciallycompensate ourAmbassadors.
 We’ve foundthattheyconsiderbloggingforusaninherentvalue, because it
raisestheirown social mediaprofileandaddstotheirexperience.
o We foundthatthe applicationprocess motivated those whobecome Blog
Ambassadors todo theirbestandvalue the opportunity.
o Theyreceive abranded,personalizedbadge fortheirownblog,andare
alsofree to share the contenton theirownchannels afterit’sappeared
on the museum’s.
 We doshow our appreciationinotherways,including
o an annual membership
o “welcome”and“thankyou” giftpackages
o free ticketstospecial eventsthatmayoccur while they’reAmbassadors,
o and otherunique opportunities.
o Also,everyonealwayslikesagoodbutton. Youshould seriouslyconsider
investinginabutton-maker,if youhaven’talready!
 More recently,we’vebegunusinga Memorandumof Understandingwithour
bloggerssothat we can furtherclarifythe expectationsonbothsides.
o It mostlylaysoutthe logisticsandwhat we discussinour initial meeting.
o In thisMOU we alsoinclude asectionon legal concernswithhowwe can
use theircontent,and bestpractice in properlyattributingideasor
information fromoutsidesourcesorblogs.
o Believe itornot,“lifting”ideas fromotherblogsdidbecomeanissue with
one of ourformerAmbassadors,whichisactuallywhatledusto adoptan
MOU. Andwe’re now verygladwe have one.
 While we feel like we’re ina goodroutine withourAmbassadorprogram,there’s
still alot of room to grow,
o bothwithlooseningthe structure of the suggestedcontent,
o and especiallywhenitcomes to increasingdiversityin perspectives and
audience representation.
 In the future,thiswill call forwiderrecruitmentfromoutsideof ourtypical
bloggercommunity.
o We’dlove tosee more participationfromneighborhoodmembers,
grandparents, familieswho adopt, familieswhohave experience with
special needs,andothercultural perspectives.
 No matterwho participates,the mostimportantthingisthat our blogempowers
membersof ourcommunity
o to share theirunique pointof view
o and have a renewedsenseof ownershipover theirmuseumexperience.
 Andthat bringsme to the end.
 I’dbe happyto chat withanyone more aboutthis,sofeel free toreachout.
 Thank youso much.