Last week we noticed an intriguing Twitter conversation originating from a question Chad Weinard posed to the Twitterverse in response to Silicon Valley venture capitalist Benedict Evan’s assertion:
A key premise for the next decade: it’s easier for software to enter other industries than for other industries to hire software people
— Benedict Evans (@BenedictEvans) September 3, 2016
The resulting conversation meanders in several directions addressing what museums could learn from tech companies, what tech companies could learn from museums, and, best of all, the value of ‘thinking out loud’ with colleagues near and far – in this case facilitated by Twitter.
We asked Chad to share some thoughts on the conversation, and he put together the running commentary below.
What do you think about embedding museum teams in tech companies and vice versa? Have you found yourself involved in impromptu conversations about museums using social media? How have these types of dialogue helped you connect with other professionals in the field or affected your ideas?
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Thanks Chad!
Chad Weinard is an independent museum technology + experience consultant based in Durham, NC. You can have conversations with him @caw_ on Twitter.
The IMA Lab is so fortunate to be one of the rare instances of a tech group existing within a museum. It’s a great position for us be in.
Thanks for the comment, Stuart! The field is indeed lucky to have the IMA Lab with all the work the group has contributed to the field since its inception. Fortunately, more museums seem to be recognizing the value of labs and experimentation, though recent examples at the Met and NYPL perhaps indicate that these spaces are vulnerable to budget woes.