Social media – the key to the future?
19 October 2010
Museums and galleries across Scotland can reach worldwide audiences like never before if they embrace social media according to one of the keynote speakers at a social media seminar being held in Edinburgh on 21 October 2010.
Ewan McIntosh, Director of digital business developers NoTosh, will tell Scottish cultural bodies that it is only by continuing to develop their digital spaces that will they succeed in the future at attracting visitors and audiences from around the world. His address is one of four keynote speeches at a one-day event on social media in the Scottish cultural heritage sector which will examine social media practice in museums, galleries, archives and other cultural institutions. The seminar will look at what’s happening internationally and establish a focus for future research.
Aimed at professionals in museums and galleries with an interest in social media and education, the seminar also includes speeches about experiences of social media in museum and gallery contexts from Alan Muirden, RCAHMS Education and Outreach Operational Manager; Carolyn Royston, Head of New Media at the Imperial War Museum; Michela Clari from the University of Edinburgh; and Gail Durbin, Head of V&A Online.
Funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the event is a partnership between RCAHMS, University of Edinburgh, National Museums Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland.
Keynote speaker Ewan McIntosh commented that: “Scotland's cultural and educational institutions must embrace the basic principle of "open up, share, be useful to people online". An organisation’s physical space is always finite. But in the digital world it has the potential to be limitless. With the right approach, the nation’s cultural bodies can enhance their visibility and reputations across the globe like never before.”
Rebecca Bailey RCAHMS Head of Education and Outreach said: “The digital realm represents an unparalleled opportunity for archives like ours to showcase material, information and expertise. The web is an incredibly powerful exhibition space, but also allows organisations to connect and interact with the widest possible audiences. But it is an area where ideas and technology develop at an incredible pace – our hope is that seminars like this will help to create a roadmap for Scotland’s cultural institutions to ensure we can be at the forefront of digital and social media innovations.”
Social Media for the Scottish Cultural Heritage Sector takes place on 21 October 2010, 10am – 5.00pm at the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Galleries of Scotland.
