The following blog post is the transcript for the video clip linked here.
It is common to hear PR executives say “everyone is blogging now!” but is this really true. One organization that blogs that may surprise you is the Smithsonian Institution. This Institution began in 1826 when a British Scientist left a large sum of money to the USA to increase scientific discovery and experimentation. Today the Smithsonian Institute is in DC, the nation’s capital with 19 museums, 9 research centers and over 137 million collection pieces. The Institute has collections come through its doors through out the years providing millions of tourists with interesting and unique opportunities.
This Institution connects with its audience through its museums but also runs an extensive blog webpage supplementing educational mission. On the home page of the Smithsonian website there is a”connect” bar on the right side linking to their Facebook, Twiter, Flickr, Youtube, Podcasts and Blogs.
Upon clicking the blog section, the viewer can see 10 different blogs written by a variety of employees. “Around the Mall” and “The Bigger Picture” are two blogs that show the range of material available on this blog page. The Smithsonian Institution knows the target audience very well; they are tourists. Whether these people are history enthusiasts, travelers or locals the blogs provide more information prior or post visiting DC.
“The Bigger Picture” blog’s press release details all the reasons a company should create a blog. According to Merry A. Foresta, the director of the Smithsonian Photography Initiative, the webpage will be a source of interactivity from employees to viewers. It allows more people than those who can travel to DC to review, contribute and learn about photography. This is a great example of a company taking its components and transferring them to allow a wider audience to learn.
Today I will be looking at Alex Rockman‘s “A Fable for Tomorrow”. I learned about the exhibit completely online through the Institution’s press release section. I am a perfect example of your normal DC visitor, if you want to get me into your store, building or restaurant you must come to me. Where am I? Online.
my feet don't want to go to sleep 