Artificial Intelligence, Marketing, Social Media
Samantha Sonnet
How Generative AI is Impacting Digital Marketing

Generative AI (GenAI) has become increasingly integrated into marketing and communication careers, and even our daily lives, with the rise of various text-to-image, text-to-video, & text-to-text tools. As digital marketers find new and innovative ways to keep up with the trends, and specifically GenZ in a quick-changing popular culture scene, how are they reacting to the rise of GenAI?

How Generative AI is Impacting Digital Marketing
Blockchain, Sustainability
Hannah Brainard
Blockchain Technology for Climate Action in the ...

Arts and cultural organizations are becoming increasingly aware of their climate impact, and many are taking action to reduce harm. Tracking, reporting, and offsetting emissions may seem like an overwhelming feat for small or mid-sized organizations, but emerging blockchain technology may help make the process more efficient and reliable. 

Blockchain Technology for Climate Action in the Arts
Advocacy, Arts & Technology, Laws & Legal, Social Media
AMT Lab Staff
TikTok — to Ban or Not to Ban

As previously foreshadowed by Samantha in an article written in July of 2023, TikTok: Opportunity and Risk, TikTok has been under a microscope from governments across the globe for quite awhile. The analysis provided in her article is still relevant today given the recent vote to ban TikTok, and the United States House moving forward to force Chinese state-owned TikTok company ByteDance to sell their ownership of the U.S. version of TikTok, or lose access to the United States TikTok market. To fully understand the situation, this article will recap TikTok’s controversial Privacy Policy and the 2023 testimonies, and also discuss the current governmental situation surrounding the ban. 

TikTok — to Ban or Not to Ban
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Technology, Data, Digital Futures, Management
Brett Ashley Crawford, Ph.D.
Digital Strategy: Not Optional Anymore

Digital strategy has become a buzzword after the explosion of AI in the last 18 months. Yet, it is not about AI. AI has been the tipping point for organizations and professionals to recognize that they must update or create a digital strategy for success. Digitally-forward arts organizations already have a digital component as part of their strategic plan. Read more to understand the need for technology to be a core component of strategic plans and operations.

Digital Strategy: Not Optional Anymore
Social Media, entertainment
Hannah Brainard
March News: Privacy, Security, and Trust Busting

This month, the United States federal government is placing increased scrutiny on big tech regarding privacy, security, and market competition. While the Department of Justice files an antitrust suit against Apple for its hold on the smartphone market, Congress makes a bold statement with legislation potentially banning TikTok in the U.S.. Meanwhile, Reddit’s initial public offering may signal a move for tech companies to go public. In the world of entertainment, innovative tech brings scent to the gaming experience, and artists explore blockchain to compete with music streaming platforms.

March News: Privacy, Security, and Trust Busting

online directories

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Not Your Grandmother’s Arts Directory

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Take a look at a current report on the state of your local creative economy. The research presented will without a doubt emphasize the power of leveraging yellow pagesthe arts on a community’s economy. Knowing this, how do we make intelligent use of the services creative individuals and organizations offer and ensure they are not wasted? How can we best connect an artist with an opportunity, the arts with our community? How do we maximize the abundance of creative talent available? Step one of one: free and easy-to-use online directories, cultural marketplaces, creative economy databases, and yup, you guessed it, social media. Utilizing online directories, artists can expand their networks virtually to an audience within and beyond the physical boundaries of their local community. Community members and those searching for creative talent can be easily connected to a musician, visual artist, performer or arts organization. Below is a sampling of online directories and registries developed to promote the arts, build networks, and create meaningful connections between artists and arts patrons.

  • Pittsburgh Artist Registry: Free to join and use, the Pittsburgh Artist Registry features multidisciplinary, Pittsburgh artists and organizations. Though the registry includes only artists and organizations native to Pittsburgh, its reach is far greater, exposing artists to curators, businesses, developers and organizations worldwide.
  • Matchbook.org: New England’s cultural marketplace with the end goal to ‘MATCH artists with the presenters that BOOK them.’ Get it?! A platform for a creative exchange of sorts, Matchbook.org has a user-friendly interface and a growing directory cataloging New England’s performing and visual artists, organizations, and creative venues. Those doing the booking can restrict their search using such criteria as art discipline, price range, and audience type.
  •  2 Degrees Portland: Moving to Portland, Maine? Relocating a creative business? Are you an artist, inventor, performer, designer? Need help securing a place? Want more information about school districts, studio availability, or local arts grants? 2 Degrees Portland, an initiative of Creative Portland, was designed to connect creators that are soon-to-be-Portland-residents with the people they need and want to know. 2 Degrees Portland utilizes Facebook and online surveying to connect and welcome new creative residents to the city. Without a doubt, a better “Welcome to the Neighborhood” gesture than a fruitcake.
  • Brooklyn Arts Council Registry of Brooklyn Artists: This expansive registry organizes Brooklyn artists across disciplines, providing both artists and consumers of the arts access to unique opportunities. For artists, registering for a listing includes membership to the online discussion community and access to the bi-weekly newsletter. For community members, educators, curators, collectors, city officials, and the general public, we can search, discover, book, hire, and love that Brooklyn talent. Additionally, users can search the Brooklyn Arts Council Directory of Organizations for a listing of Brooklyn based arts organizations (galleries, presenting institutions, performing arts schools, historical societies, etc.).
  • ArtsConnection Engine: A free service of IndianaArts.org, ArtsConnection Engine (ACE) is Indiana’s cultural portal connecting artists, businesses, arts organization, and arts patrons. The site allows a user to search by artist, organization, classified listing, or event. Each category is then divided by sub-categories, for a more refined and exact search.
  •  Americans for the Arts, Arts Services Directory: A national directory for use by both artists and patrons of the arts. Unlike local directories that match artists with those looking to be connected with their talent or service, Americans for the Arts provides a comprehensive listing of companies, organizations and resources to advance a community’s cultural and creative economy. The directory offers a range of search options, such as Program Area (i.e. cultural tourism or grantmaking) and Organization Type (Consulting or Regional Arts Agency) to facilitate your search.

From Portland, Maine to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and beyond, cities and towns are brimming with creative individuals and organizations that enrich our day-to-day lives, strengthen our economies, and revitalize our communities. Resources such as online directories and creative marketplaces provide a platform for artists and communities to connect- a mutually advantageous opportunity.

Plus, searching an online directory is nowhere near as cumbersome as flipping through the yellow pages, a la Grandma. And that’s the beauty of the intersection of technology and the arts.

How do you identify and connect with the artists in your community? How might technology better serve this connection?