Blogs?

Some of you may be new to blogging. I know I am. This is the very first blog I’ve been involved in. I’ve stumbled across some blogs on my Internet travels, but I never really thought too much about it. Now that I am a blogger I wonder…What is a blog and where did they come from? I’ve attempted to research the history of blogging on the Internet and there doesn’t seem to be a clear path of how blogs came to be. I did find out that blogs evolved from online diaries. Once upon a time someone decided to make their personal diary public to friends and anyone who stumbled across the web address. These online diaries evolved into online journals and then web logs, or something like that. Web logs are what we know today as blogs. Blog is the shortened version of web log.

This only leaves me with more questions. Why did blogging become so popular? Is this all just a fad? What comes next after blogs?

If you have the answers to any of my questions your wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Here's what I found when I entered "blog" in the Google search engine.

Guggenheim expansion

Guggenheim Foundation builds its largest museum in Abu DhabiThis article really highlights some fundamental issues that art organizations will face in the coming decades as our world continues to forge through Middle Eastern issues and globalization as a whole.

Some questions that come to mind:

• Was the money simply available, or did the Guggenheim solicit the UAE based on extensive marketing research?
• What benefits does the Guggenheim Foundation receive in positioning itself in Abu Dhabi?
• What type of curatorial concessions, if any, will the Guggenheim make to successfully market their collection to the Abu Dhabi patrons?
• If concessions are made, is this considered censorship or cultural sensitivity?
• Will the development strategy be focused on monies in that region, or will most donations be solicited from the U.S. and the Guggenheim's current contribution sources?
• How are other large arts organizations positioning themselves in the global economy?

And I feel as if I might be able to question the relevance of the Jewish associations in the Arab country- but that might be just too trite.

I'd like to hear of other's impressions of this event, in addition to examples of other arts organizations taking on new frontiers.

What is Web 2.0 anyway?

The concept of “Web 2.0” has been touted as the “solution” to any number of non-profit management issues. Though the term has been used to mean a wide range of things, in general, it’s the idea that the Web is no longer about one-way information flow, but a dynamic portal where users contribute, comment on, revise and maintain data contained on Web sites. Think of the difference between the Encyclopedia Britannica Online (first generation Web site) and Wikipedia (Web 2.0).

TechSoup, through its NetSquared project, is categorizing the tools most commonly associated with Web 2.0 (blogs, RSS feeds, wikis) as the “social web” because of their ability to affect social change. Although I wasn’t able to attend, I heard wonderful things about the conference they held in May -- we had a MAM grad student who came back revitalized and excited by the possibilities for of Web 2.0 for the arts sector.

As John Falk and Beverly Sheppard point out in their excellent new book, Thriving in the Knowledge Age, the dawning of the “Knowledge Age” has resulted in increased public interest in museums and other cultural institutions. The book points to the new challenge for cultural institutions: can we adapt to this new landscape and become “bottom-up” entities?

The Web is a good place to start.

How do we “customize” arts experiences so that users feel the same kind of buy-in as they do with their other leisure activities? NFL.com has a “My Team” section on its front page that I can customize, when I browse over to Fandango.com I see “Cary’s Favorites” on the right side of the screen, and Amazon has been giving me recommendations for years.

How do we reach the people who truly care about our missions? Google has based its business model on only advertising to people who have indicated interest in a product or topic while MySpace links bands with their fans in a very personal way.

Blogging allows us to communicate frequently and informally with our constituents; creating an “Audience Reviews” section on our Web site allows our visitors to have a voice; hosting discussion forums lets us tap into what’s top of mind for our members.

What works for one organization may not work for another – we all have different audiences who will each have a unique response to an initiative.

One final word… It’s important to carefully consider the time commitments involved in starting any Web 2.0 initiative. Planning new online initiatives should be done just as strategically as for “bricks and mortar” programs.

We’d love to hear about how your organization feels about Web 2.0… Please comment.