Museum Techmuse

MW2006: Social software, folksonomy, blogs

Writing this from the Museums and the Web conference in Albuquerque this year. For those of us who've been in the business for more than a few years, every couple years or so the thought pops up: "I need to retool, or I'll become obsolete."

I had a sense last year at the conference that there is a fundamentally new use of Web technologies for Museums that is focusing less on grand production of media and more on text message button pressing sentence fragments contributed by users.  The buzzwords this year: social computing, folksonomy (tags created by visitors), blogging, Web 2.0.

I'll write more about this on the flight back from Albuquerque. It may seem disorienting at first, but I think it's all a good thing. It's about encouraging social interaction and participation in ways that we hadn't anticipated before the ready availability of blogging tools.

The Dog Chapel

Traveled up through St. Johsbury, VT this weekend to pick up our new puppy, Daisy. And on the way stopped at the Dog Chapel, a full scale art installation and participatory experience by author/artist Stephen Huneck. After a near death experience and being in a coma for two weeks, Huneck created the chapel as a tribute to the spiritual bond people have with their dogs.

The Chapel is a moving experience. In addition to sculpture, prints, and stained glass created by Huneck (click on photos below), the walls are filled with photos and stories contributed by dog owners from around the world as a testament to their departed companions. There are hundreds if not thousands of these stories posted. A box of kleenex is thoughtfully provided on the side of the chapel.

The installation isn't literally a museum, but it's a museum-like experience, and many museums would be delighted to involve visitors to the depth that this installation does. (And I'd guess they'd be delighted by the sales from the nearby gallery/giftshop, where I was pleased to spend over $100 on a framed print). To me, the Dog Chapel is a testament to the power of creating environments that allow visitors to add their own experience on deeply personal topics such as the death or celebration of a pet.

(click on thumbnails)