These are the slides for a presentation that I gave at the California Association of Museums 2009 in San Francisco. The focus was on preparing your museum for a incoming technology savvy generation.

1. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
This Is Not Your Parents Museum
Chris Alexander
Manager of Interactive Technology - SJMA
Consultant/Freelancer

2. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Generational Gap
the new overpowers the old

3. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
It’s all about technology and advancement

4. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander

5. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander

6. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander

7. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Generational Gap
๏ Young adults are more saturated with technology
than ever before and they are changing the world.
๏ Older adults have exposure, but it is not
engrained.
๏ End of newspapers
๏ End of phone books
๏ End of maps
๏ End of passive museum viewing?

8. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago

9. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago
๏ Look in the newspaper to see what is on display
(Friday newspaper only)

10. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago
๏ Look in the newspaper to see what is on display
(Friday newspaper only)
๏ Call and invite friend to go

11. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago
๏ Look in the newspaper to see what is on display
(Friday newspaper only)
๏ Call and invite friend to go
๏ Look up on map how to get there.

12. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago
๏ Look in the newspaper to see what is on display
(Friday newspaper only)
๏ Call and invite friend to go
๏ Look up on map how to get there.
๏ Sit in traffic and find parking once there

13. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago
๏ Look in the newspaper to see what is on display
(Friday newspaper only)
๏ Call and invite friend to go
๏ Look up on map how to get there.
๏ Sit in traffic and find parking once there
๏ Purchase ticket at admission desk

14. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago
๏ Look in the newspaper to see what is on display
(Friday newspaper only)
๏ Call and invite friend to go
๏ Look up on map how to get there.
๏ Sit in traffic and find parking once there
๏ Purchase ticket at admission desk
๏ Wait for docent for docent led tour

15. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago
๏ Look in the newspaper to see what is on display
(Friday newspaper only)
๏ Call and invite friend to go
๏ Look up on map how to get there.
๏ Sit in traffic and find parking once there
๏ Purchase ticket at admission desk
๏ Wait for docent for docent led tour
๏ Purchase permanent collection catalogue at store

16. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum Visit 15-20 years ago
๏ Look in the newspaper to see what is on display
(Friday newspaper only)
๏ Call and invite friend to go
๏ Look up on map how to get there.
๏ Sit in traffic and find parking once there
๏ Purchase ticket at admission desk
๏ Wait for docent for docent led tour
๏ Purchase permanent collection catalogue at store
๏ Eat lunch in café

17. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future

18. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on
view or if there are lectures.

19. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on
view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in

20. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on
view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online

21. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on
view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online
๏ Look up directions in iPhone and get traffic report.

22. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on
view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online
๏ Look up directions in iPhone and get traffic report.
๏ Take mobile or cell phone tour (pick and choose what I want
to learn about).

23. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on
view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online
๏ Look up directions in iPhone and get traffic report.
๏ Take mobile or cell phone tour (pick and choose what I want
to learn about).
๏ Pass on PC Catalog in store - would rather visit artist videos
on YouTube at home.

24. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on
view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online
๏ Look up directions in iPhone and get traffic report.
๏ Take mobile or cell phone tour (pick and choose what I want
to learn about).
๏ Pass on PC Catalog in store - would rather visit artist videos
on YouTube at home.
๏ Use mobile device to look up on Yelp local restaurant for
Lunch

25. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit or Near Future
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on
view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online
๏ Look up directions in iPhone and get traffic report.
๏ Take mobile or cell phone tour (pick and choose what I want
to learn about).
๏ Pass on PC Catalog in store - would rather visit artist videos
on YouTube at home.
๏ Use mobile device to look up on Yelp local restaurant for
Lunch
๏ Log back into Facebook group and interact with other users

26. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Current Visit
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online
๏ Look up directions in iPhone and get traffic report.
๏ Take mobile or cell phone tour (pick and choose what I want to learn about).
๏ Pass on PC Catalog in store - would rather visit artist videos on YouTube at home.
๏ Use mobile device to look up on Yelp local restaurant for Lunch

27. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
What do all these tasksVisit in common?
Current have
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online
๏ Look up directions in iPhone and get traffic report.
๏ Take mobile or cell phone tour (pick and choose what I want to learn about).
๏ Pass on PC Catalog in store - would rather visit artist videos on YouTube at home.
๏ Use mobile device to look up on Yelp local restaurant for Lunch

28. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
What do all these tasksVisit in common?
Current have
๏ Go to Facebook and go to museum page to see what’s on view or if there are lectures.
๏ Find friends via text to see if anyone wants to join in
๏ Buy tickets online
๏ Look up directions in iPhone and get traffic report.
๏ Take mobile or cell phone tour (pick and choose what I want to learn about).
๏ Pass on PC Catalog in store - would rather visit artist videos on YouTube at home.
๏ Use mobile device to look up on Yelp local restaurant for Lunch
The can all be done on a mobile device!

29. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Access to information

30. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Access to information

31. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Access to information
๏ Visitor have immediate access to
information
๏ They want small nuggets of info
๏ They want short audio or video
๏ They like the ability to share with
friends
๏ They like to be able to take something
with them

32. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Access to information
๏ Visitor have immediate access to
information
๏ They want small nuggets of info
๏ They want short audio or video
๏ They like the ability to share with
friends
๏ They like to be able to take something
with them
Do you want to be a part of the info they receive?

33. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Website Relevancy

34. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum
Website

35. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Museum
Website

36. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Twitter
๏ One of the newest that museums are still trying to figure out.
๏ Twitter is considered a microblog where users make 140
Twitter
character updates.
๏ Nina Simon and Koven Smith on their blogs
(www.museumtwo.com and kovenjsmith.com) talk about
Museum
the institutional voice on Twitter.
๏ Unique uses might be to have an artist post updates about
Website
a commission, a curator post about an exhibition, or a
conservator discussing the restoration of an artwork
๏ Some museums on Twitter include the Getty, LACMA,
MoMA, Tate, and Brooklyn Museum
๏ Brooklyn Museum has a special online membership
“1stFans”

37. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Facebook
Twitter MySpace
Facebook and MySpace
๏ Museums have been active on MySpace for several years now and
Museum
more recently on Facebook. Website
๏ Offers the ability to start a group around your museum where the
members of the group can interact with one another
๏ Offers an alternative to the institution’s own website offering hours,
fee, exhibition schedules.
๏ Museums on both include: the Smithsonian, Oakland Museum of
California, Judah L. Magnus, MFA Boston

38. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Facebook
Twitter MySpace
YouTube
๏ Museums have been making great headway with creating
Museum
their own video content and posting it online.
Website
๏ Videos focus on artists, exhibitions, museum, staff
๏ Ease of creation has made this possible - affordable HD
cameras, software, audio equipment YouTube
๏ Artists are surprisingly willing to participate
๏ Helps to market the museum
๏ Museums on YouTube include: Indianapolis Museum of Art,
MoMA NY, San Jose Museum of Art, Exploratorium

39. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Wikipedia
Facebook
๏ Most museums have an entry on Wikipedia
๏ Whether they started it or not is another story
Twitter MySpace
๏ Artists and art pieces also have entries on the site
๏ Museums are starting to utilize it in unique ways
๏ Wikipedia Loves Art involved 15 museums and consisted of a scavenger
hunt and free content photography contest aimed at helping to illustrating
Museum
Wikipedia articles Website
YouTube
Wikipedia

40. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Flickr
Facebook
๏ People are photographing and posting photos of your museum
Twitter MySpace
whether or not you have a no photography policy or not.
๏ They are also tagging these photos making your museum, artists
and artworks easy to find.
๏ Allows a forum where users can discuss these items as well
Some Museum
๏ of the photos are incredible
Website
๏ Possible marketing uses
๏ Graffiti at the Brooklyn Museum utilized Flickr to highlight the
exhibition itself as well as its in-gallery and on-line interactive
Flickr YouTube
projects.
Wikipedia

41. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Facebook
Twitter MySpace
Museum
Website
Flickr YouTube
Wikipedia

42. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Facebook
Twitter MySpace
Museum
Website
Flickr YouTube
Wikipedia

43. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Facebook
Twitter MySpace
Museum
Website
Flickr YouTube
The new museum ecosystem
Wikipedia

44. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Questions that come to mind
๏ How do you address this new environment?
๏ Is it just fun or is it marketing the Museum?
๏ How long will it last? Passing fad?
๏ Does a Museum need a presence in all of these places?
๏ Who manages it all?
๏ Is it important?
๏ How much broader can it get?

45. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Contact Info
Chris Alexander
Manager of Interactive Technology/San Jose Museum of Art
Consultant/Freelancer
email: cmalexander@me.com
web: www.chris-alexander.com
Presentation: www.chris-alexander.com/category/presentations/

46. Reach Out and Touch Your Visitors… with Technology! Chris Alexander
Creative Commons Credits from Flickr
Thanks for your help!
adam mulligan - Texting and Donut
John Scone - European Cars
mjecker - Phonebook
mrbill - Touchtone Phone
Phil Gyford - iPods
preshit - Macbook Pros
sfantti - Traffic