What trends did you talk about?

In my last post I asked you to tell me about any new trends your museum might be planning to employ in the near future. The results are in... very few of you shared actual plans for implementing new trends, but many of you were willing to share your wish lists. Some of your responses were about ideas that have been discussed with no immediate plans for funded projects. Many of the responses discussed ideas that were being "kicked around" or actually put into budget proposals.

I received emails, texts, phone calls and talked to many of you at AAM and ATALM. Here is my very unscientific summary of what I've heard.

• Mobile Apps: there are several mobile apps out there now being used by a variety of museums. They provide added details on the art and artifacts in an exhibition, as well as guiding visitors through the museum. In some cases, major parts of a collection are view-able right on the app.
• Text marketing: this is a good way for your list of opt-in visitors to receive updated information on new exhibitions, and even obtain specials at the gift shop and cafeteria.
• By far, the most mentioned new trend is the use of the iPad. Other tablet brands were mentioned a couple of times, but not nearly as much as the iPad. This technology seems to be used in a variety of ways. Not only can tablets be used with a mobile app, but creative minds have used them to integrate a much more interactive experience into a museum visit.

Take a look at the video below to see a very creative way the National Gallery of Canada is using this "Technology in Museum Programming."




~Joe

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