New Media: Tweeting a Mission
- Feb 5, 2016
- 3 min read
How can historians and historical associations effectively use social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? Twitter especially poses an interesting conundrum for historians who are more comfortable with traditional media like books and journals; 180 characters can be pretty limiting! But some individuals and organizations have effectively made use of Twitter to meet their historical, educational missions.
In looking at Twitter pages for three different historical organizations, I discovered that each of them use it in different ways. The Burns Archives tends to publicize its work on Hollywood productions; the Newberry Library effectively exhibits its collections and publicizes its public programming; and the Frances Willard House Museum pumped some creativity into their Twitter account: they tweet as if Frances Willard herself is in charge of the account.
The Burns Archive, an archive which specializes in the photographs of “forgotten, unseen, and disquieting aspects of history,” tends to focus its tweets on the work it does on Hollywood projects. The archive’s creator, Dr. Stanley Burns, is an opthamologist-turned-historical consultant who began collecting photographs in 1975. He has since used his collection to augment the history of the medical profession and reintroduce the mourning practices of the 19th century. While the Twitter page for the Burns Archive sometimes features images from its collection that are not related to the projects it is not working on, most of the tweets relate to Dr. Burns’s consultation on projects like PBS’ Mercy Street.
The website for the archive is somewhat more representative of the entirety of the collection: there are manny, many sample photographs covering a wide array of topics. On the whole, the mission of the Burns Archive is to serve as historical consultants, and its Twitter page and website reflect that mission.
The Newberry Library effectively utilizes its Twitter account to supplement the infor
mation found on its website. It informs followers about featured exhibits and collections, and it helps celebrate fun social networking events created by those working in cultural institutions, like #libraryshelfieday.
Furthermore, the Newberry effectively uses its Twitter account to conduct visitor surveys of its public programs. Not only does the Newberry use Twitter to publicize its collections, it uses the site to receive feedback from its visitors to adjust its programming accordingly. The Newberry uses social media as an active form of reflective practice, pushing its mission while also seeking feedback to better serve its visitors.
However, I think the most creative use of Twitter I came across was by the Frances Willard House Museum in Evanston. The museum tweets like Frances Willard herself is running the organization’s social media. “Warmer weather means I must for now retire these Think Before You Drink embroidered mittens”; “EastCoast friends, might I suggest now as an excellent time to look over Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman? #jonasblizzard” (she even uses hashtags!); and, my favorite:
This creative mix of publicizing the museum’s collection–even through an extended closure due to renovations, using Twitter trends like hashtags, and staying true to Frances Willard’s voice and language creates a fun and inviting Twitter experience for followers. In my opinion, this combination effectively fulfills the museum’s mission:
“The Frances Willard Historical Association preserves and interprets the Frances Willard House Museum and its historic collections to promote vibrant discussion of Willard’s life and her work on behalf of women, temperance and human rights. The Association works to inspire and encourage everyone to exercise civic leadership as Willard’s lasting legacy. Educational uses of the Frances Willard House Museum, its grounds, and the Memorial Library and Archives benefit a local and global community of visitors, educators, and scholars.”
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