Ms. Huffington describes her ambivalence toward the appearance of new media in museums. She writes that museums are our place of departure and imagination, a respite from the rest of the world, and that social media as connection for connection’s sake is, in her words, pointless here. “At their best social media build community and enhance communication.” How very 2010.
Social media IS community, made so by virtue of an ever- present and participatory dialogue. Social media is a powerful communication thread that ties us together in the present and with the past-it is the wiki of our lives. And what, if not that, are museums? Museums are the ultimate form of communication, connecting people from one time to many others, through the artifacts, thoughts, imaginations and conversations throughout centuries. The bemoaning of the museum for the quiet contemplation is a struggle between old and new, between the technology speakers and the technology ambivalent or even passers-by. (via New Media is the New Museum, Part 1 | Psychology Today)