Millennials and museums

Came across two interesting reads lately. Millennials and Social Media: Why Nonprofits Need Them to Survive appeared recently on the Know your own bone blog. Colleen makes some strong points about how millennials use social media, in particular, to generate change. I believe they will take this mindset into their future senior roles in museums. Out with authority, privacy and didactism and in with sharing, viral marketing and facilitating.

The other, The Teen, The Tweet, And The Governor: Social Media Lessons From The Emma Sullivan Fiasco came to me via Russ from our Webteam and Fast Company. Some interesting observations about the perils of misunderstanding social media. The post contains some wise and sage advice that I believe works for all audiences, as they state: "My advice would be not to ignore or talk down to Millennials when they express dissent; instead, reach out and ask them about their opinions and where they come from". I also think the next skills museum workers need to nurture are embracing diverse points of view and respect for others.

Oh, and for a definition of millennials or GenY, Wikipedia to the rescue as seems appropriate!