For the first blog post, we had to read an article by Anne Lindsey, "#Virtual Tourist: Embracing our Audience through Public History Web Experience." It was a very helpful read. It helped me realize that we, as public historians, have to keep up with the times and embrace the change of the physical experience to the virtual experience. Many people do not have the ability to travel to the various places that they would like to go, and this is where museum websites can come in handy; if done properly.
Websites can be expensive to make, but that does not mean that an institution's site has to be lacking. Institutions need to be in-depth to help draw in people and make them want to visit in the future. An analogy that Lindsey used helped me understand some websites. She said that some websites are like pamphlets. They have all the basic information and brief examples of why you should visit, along with pictures and sometimes map directions. I like this analogy because not too long ago, my mother went out of state for a funeral, and along the way she picked up pamphlets of museums and tours that she thought I would be interested in. Websites that act like pamphlets can really pull people in, but sometimes that just is not enough.
Another part of the article talked about how public historians need to think like "outsiders." This made me realize that we have to realize the way people receive their information is changing. We need to take advantage of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Instagram, etc. I liked how she also presented four questions for institutions to think about when they create their sites:
1. Is the website for basic information?
2. Is it a tool for advertising?
3. Is it to create positive customer relationships and loyalty to the brand?
4. Is it a forum where guests can engage in an educational experience?
Even though there are many advantages and upsides to embracing the move to digital life, there are always disadvantages. With public history, one of the main disadvantages always appears to be that the viewers cannot ask questions, they do not get the physical experience, and they do not always get all the information that is needed.
For the second part of this assignment we had to find three historical organizations and review their websites.
www.salemwitchmuseum.com
I chose the Salem Witch Museum because that is what my website will be about. It is absolutely one of my favorite topics, and I have always wanted to visit Salem.
When you first go to the home page, the background is a picture of the front of a building (which turned out to be the museum). It looks like it came out of that time period and it draws you in. There is a top bar with three topics: Salem Witch Museum, Salem Witch Trials, and Museum Store. Each of the topics has a drop-down menu that leads to various links. At the top of the website there is a picture of a map that you can click. I assumed it would give you directions to the museum, but it was even better! It was a map of Salem, with all the different places that you could go visit as a tourist, including the museum. To make the map even better, it had little pictures of bats, ghosts, pumpkins, and other supernatural characters. The hours of operation and the prices were easy to find, as well as events that will be taking place.
There were many different links to various topics. There was one that talked about the statue outside of the museum. There is a slight interactive tour. There are many that talk about the witch trials, and they tell you where you can find more information. There is also a blog that is kept by the museum. It is very extensive; covering many topics and having posts dated all the way back to July of 2010. I also discovered that that have links to Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
The only downsides that I found with this website, was that the contact information link did not work. However, the address and phone number was listed at the bottom of every page. They also have an online gift shop where you can buy souvenirs from home, but it is temporarily closed.
Overall, I found this site to be very helpful and educational! However, I guess I am a little biased.
Andersonville
www.nps.gov/andes/index.htm
This site is technically part of the National Park Service, therefore, it was very simple and neat. Everything on this site is easy to locate. I found the directions, hours of operation, and fees automatically. There are photos and multimedia presentations that are available for viewing. There are many topics to read about on this site, as well. The contact information was all available. There are links to Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and iTunes. I'm not really sure why they need a link to iTunes, unless it is for a podcast about the parks.
Although, this website covers its information well, I feel like it needs more flair. Something to make it more appealing. However, since this is just one site of many on the NPS website, I can understand why they would make it as simple as possible.
Lizzie Borden House
www.lizzie-borden.com
This bed-and-breakfast/museum is on my list of places I would REALLY like to go. I was sure that I had viewed this website before, but it has changed and I'm not sure that it is for the better.
The home page is a little hard to follow. All the links are there, but it is kind of confusing. The main block on the home page (and every page as I discovered later) say my shopping cart is empty. The link to the gift shop is in the block right next to that, but it is still a little strange. The directions and contact information were easy to find, as well as room availability and how to reserve a room. After finding all of this, I realized that was the extent of access, unless you were part of the community.
To access all of the video tours, you have to become a member of the Lizzie Borden Community. It is free to register, so I did. I was then able to access the videos. They were a disappointment. The quality was very low and it was not very professional. There was also a section called Lost Lizzie TV. It has many videos about Lizzie Borden and the case against her. All appear to be low quality, as well.
As much as I want to visit the Lizzie Borden house, I do not feel that anyone would benefit from learning everything from this website. Oh, they do have a link to Facebook, so that is a plus.
I highly enjoyed the reading and research for this assignment. Hopefully, if anyone reads this they will find it helpful and resourceful.
Websites can be expensive to make, but that does not mean that an institution's site has to be lacking. Institutions need to be in-depth to help draw in people and make them want to visit in the future. An analogy that Lindsey used helped me understand some websites. She said that some websites are like pamphlets. They have all the basic information and brief examples of why you should visit, along with pictures and sometimes map directions. I like this analogy because not too long ago, my mother went out of state for a funeral, and along the way she picked up pamphlets of museums and tours that she thought I would be interested in. Websites that act like pamphlets can really pull people in, but sometimes that just is not enough.
Another part of the article talked about how public historians need to think like "outsiders." This made me realize that we have to realize the way people receive their information is changing. We need to take advantage of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Instagram, etc. I liked how she also presented four questions for institutions to think about when they create their sites:
1. Is the website for basic information?
2. Is it a tool for advertising?
3. Is it to create positive customer relationships and loyalty to the brand?
4. Is it a forum where guests can engage in an educational experience?
Even though there are many advantages and upsides to embracing the move to digital life, there are always disadvantages. With public history, one of the main disadvantages always appears to be that the viewers cannot ask questions, they do not get the physical experience, and they do not always get all the information that is needed.
For the second part of this assignment we had to find three historical organizations and review their websites.
www.salemwitchmuseum.com
I chose the Salem Witch Museum because that is what my website will be about. It is absolutely one of my favorite topics, and I have always wanted to visit Salem.
When you first go to the home page, the background is a picture of the front of a building (which turned out to be the museum). It looks like it came out of that time period and it draws you in. There is a top bar with three topics: Salem Witch Museum, Salem Witch Trials, and Museum Store. Each of the topics has a drop-down menu that leads to various links. At the top of the website there is a picture of a map that you can click. I assumed it would give you directions to the museum, but it was even better! It was a map of Salem, with all the different places that you could go visit as a tourist, including the museum. To make the map even better, it had little pictures of bats, ghosts, pumpkins, and other supernatural characters. The hours of operation and the prices were easy to find, as well as events that will be taking place.
There were many different links to various topics. There was one that talked about the statue outside of the museum. There is a slight interactive tour. There are many that talk about the witch trials, and they tell you where you can find more information. There is also a blog that is kept by the museum. It is very extensive; covering many topics and having posts dated all the way back to July of 2010. I also discovered that that have links to Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
The only downsides that I found with this website, was that the contact information link did not work. However, the address and phone number was listed at the bottom of every page. They also have an online gift shop where you can buy souvenirs from home, but it is temporarily closed.
Overall, I found this site to be very helpful and educational! However, I guess I am a little biased.
Andersonville
www.nps.gov/andes/index.htm
This site is technically part of the National Park Service, therefore, it was very simple and neat. Everything on this site is easy to locate. I found the directions, hours of operation, and fees automatically. There are photos and multimedia presentations that are available for viewing. There are many topics to read about on this site, as well. The contact information was all available. There are links to Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and iTunes. I'm not really sure why they need a link to iTunes, unless it is for a podcast about the parks.
Although, this website covers its information well, I feel like it needs more flair. Something to make it more appealing. However, since this is just one site of many on the NPS website, I can understand why they would make it as simple as possible.
Lizzie Borden House
www.lizzie-borden.com
This bed-and-breakfast/museum is on my list of places I would REALLY like to go. I was sure that I had viewed this website before, but it has changed and I'm not sure that it is for the better.
The home page is a little hard to follow. All the links are there, but it is kind of confusing. The main block on the home page (and every page as I discovered later) say my shopping cart is empty. The link to the gift shop is in the block right next to that, but it is still a little strange. The directions and contact information were easy to find, as well as room availability and how to reserve a room. After finding all of this, I realized that was the extent of access, unless you were part of the community.
To access all of the video tours, you have to become a member of the Lizzie Borden Community. It is free to register, so I did. I was then able to access the videos. They were a disappointment. The quality was very low and it was not very professional. There was also a section called Lost Lizzie TV. It has many videos about Lizzie Borden and the case against her. All appear to be low quality, as well.
As much as I want to visit the Lizzie Borden house, I do not feel that anyone would benefit from learning everything from this website. Oh, they do have a link to Facebook, so that is a plus.
I highly enjoyed the reading and research for this assignment. Hopefully, if anyone reads this they will find it helpful and resourceful.
RSS Feed