One bit of confusion that we have begun to see (<– 4 links) regarding the 1stfans Twitter Art Feed is the notion that we are “monetizing” twitter because we are “charging people” to access the feed. I think there are several reasons that this is the initial reaction to what we are doing, but most of them have to do with the idea that most content on the internet is free and Twitter is a platform that is free to use. I believe that belies the idea of Museum Membership in general, and I want to clear up some of that confusion here.
1stfans is a Membership program, and like all Membership programs it provides benefits to its Members in exchange for their support. Members get more benefits than other Museum visitors. That doesn’t mean they are more important than other Museum visitors, it usually just means they have access to things that other visitors don’t: viewing exhibitions before they open, separate lines for admission, private tours with Museum staff, free parking, Members-only e-newsletters, etc. It’s our way of giving them something back in exchange for their support. With the 1stfans Twitter Art Feed, we are trying to do the same thing for our 1stfans: give them access to something that isn’t available to regular online visitors to thank them for supporting our non-profit institution.
Put another way, one of the goals of 1stfans is to give people who enjoy what we do online a way to take ownership of the Museum by becoming a Member. We know that the best way art museums create value is through art, so we figured we need to give 1stfans who access the Museum off-site a dose of art! That’s what the Twitter Art Feed is: not a cash-supported club, but rather an art-based Membership benefit.
In the last week alone, we’ve had 1stfans join from Vietnam, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, the U.K., and Australia. One thing that we’ve heard over and over from them and other 1stfans outside of NYC is “thanks for giving me a way to get some real value in exchange for my Membership dues.” For people that follow the Museum primarily online (because they enjoy our presence on facebook, flickr, and twitter, or because they live far away and can’t visit us in person), we think the Twitter Art Feed is a great thing for us to offer. It’s that uniqueness and dedication to growing our online community of supporters that is driving 1stfans right now.
Shelley will post this afternoon with her own take on the subject.
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Sounds like a last desperate attempt to bring in some money to me. Does Twitter allow you to use their service this way? Fund raising efforts of this sort keep some people away – it will keep me away in the future. Don’t worry, when my membership renewal information comes, I’ll send you a note recapping this sentiment.
It’s great to see the Museum so willing to talk about the 1stfans experiment. I can see why you would want to shy away from the word “monetization” but I see no problem with the Museum charging money for a membership program that offers members-only benefits. That’s what a membership program is all about, just like the other membership programs that the Museum offers.
Also, not all content on the Internet is (or should be) free…
Wow. I feel like you’ve laid down the smack on my Tweet, Will.
Just to clarify… my post was not meant to be positive or negative. I actually agree with what the Brooklyn Museum is doing with 1stfans as long as the content has artistic value.
What people sometimes fail to realize is that coordinating the various social media tools (especially in innovative ways) results in human resource costs for nonprofit organizations. Yes, Twitter is free, but scheduling guest artists to Tweet in interesting and thought-provoking ways is not free.
I think $20 per year is a very fair cost if the BM is able to offer additional opportunities for engagement.
I’d much rather pay for what the BM is offering than get inundated with free Tweets about upcoming events. Boring.
-@BStephenson
HA! I didn’t mean to make an example of you, Brad! If you look at the other links I used, some of them are in the context of agreeing with the idea of 1stfans as well. It’s really the idea of “monetization” that we are trying to battle, because it implies that we are trying to make money, when the truth is we are just trying to get more people involved with the Museum.
I wholeheartedly agree to your human resource comment, as well. Shelley will laugh when she sees that.
-Will
Will,
You ARE trying to make money! Not make a profit or anything like that, but to have a program that brings a revenue stream in to the Museum to keep it afloat while it also gets more people involved with the Museum. IMO, There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Agreed, Tina! I think you just gave my job description, in fact….
-Will
Hey Brad,
I just came back to my desk and saw your tweet…the image above was a nice way of putting it and that’s why we used it in Will’s post. Dang, wait till you see the next tweet screenshot that’s used in mine
…and “human resource costs” – welcome to my life at 9pm and on weekends…no joke, so I’m glad you mentioned it.
Hey Tina,
I liked your post the other day! I’m curious to see reaction to my own conflicted feelings…coming up in the next post in roughly an hour because you mention a couple of issues here that I go into later…
As a 1stfan Member and a Member of the Brooklyn Museum I fully support the Brooklyn Museum’s efforts to engage their members as well as the general public. I would be very surprised if there is another museum in the world that does as much as Brooklyn Museum to be accessible and fun while fufilling their mission.
The 1stfan Twitter Art Feed is a benefit of membership. Becoming a 1stfan is a choice to be made – are the benefits: 1stfan member’s only events and skipping the lines for movie tickets at Target First Saturdays; and access to the 1stfan Twitter Art Feed something that you would find of value? If you choose not to join there are still many ways to enjoy the Brooklyn Museum for free – on twitter (there is a Brooklyn Museum twitter account), on facebook, on YouTube, on flickr, on their website and at Target First Saturdays.
I don’t have a problem with this at all. 1stfans is the first time I’ve bought a membership to a museum I’ve never visited. I have a significant affinity for the Brooklyn Museum through my museum work and friendship with Shelley, but donating to museums isn’t something I frequently do. So for me, it makes sense to become a 1stfan member, which gives me some member benefits while I support the museum.
I think that the whole concept of museum membership as a value-based purchase that reduces your ticket fee is screwed up. I’m psyched that Brooklyn is looking at new ways to innovate membership so that it emphasizes relationships rather than reduced ticket rates.