Personal Connections
I am going to stir up the pot a bit in this conversation.  I am offering a 
ponderable moment and an opportunity for further dialog on this really 
important topic.  I would love to hear more perspectives on this.  I believe 
that museums are losing relevance in our society to a large percentage of 
generations that followed the baby boomers.  I believe that many museums 
are framed around an assumption that is beginning to fade from our 
society...the assumption that people care about what we have to say.  

The "most powerful" museums today (based on tourism studies) are powerful 
because they provide a tool that empowers the visitor to be engaged.  
Building connections has more to do with personal empowerment than 
scholarship.  Those of us who are drawn to the museum field are already 
empowered to continue our quest, continue enhancing our knowledge and 
quenching our thirst for more, more, more.  

In today's world, we are competing with "adventure" and "bragging rights" and 
other "I'm in it, I'm doing it" action oriented opportunities.  Many baby boomers 
and older generations seek "authenticity" and "real life" if only for a moment.  
When the word museum is mentioned to my friends, neighbors and relatives, 
their eyes cloud over and when challenged to define their mental image, they 
rarely describe museums with excitement and interest. 

Now we get back to "personal connection."  Their personal connection to the 
word "museum" is based on past experience and unmet expectations...not on 
deep thought or personal research.  

Museums can be known for personal empowerment, for "light bulb moments" 
and for a "one of a kind" experiences.  They can be known for bridging me into 
a place and time where I am compelled to behave and think differently so 
what I'm experiencing becomes relevant.  Well, enough of that.  

I believe that personal connections begin before our visitors get to our door 
and continues as we meet (and hopefully exceed) their expectations.  That, 
to me is building the personal connection.  

I suggest that we begin by looking at our image.  There is the name of the 
organization, the name of the place and the name of the experience.  Rarely 
do we set an expectation by putting our experience in front of the other two 
names.  We do name individual "temporary" experiences to bring visitors back 
to our places but we rarely provide in our invitations and in our entryways the 
name of the experience that is always found within our doors.

When I name some places (forgive me if any of these actually exist, I am 
actually attempting to make up places/names to demonstrate my point), 
picture what you expect to find within the doors:
     1.   Samule L Perkains Museum of Art
     2.   Ponderable Moments
     3.   Mud River Museum
     4.   Drywall Foundation Museum
     5.   Beachtown Museum
     6.   John Magic Museum
     7.   Mighty Mountain Civil War Museum
     8.   Taffy's Wax Museum
     9.   Stories of the South
     10.  Poetry In Motion
     11.  Stahl Horse Museum
     12.  Eagletown's Front Porch
     
Now that you have addressed the expectation you set in the mind of the 
potential visitor, you can address meeting those expectations...thus building 
that personal connection.

I believe that our two biggest goals are to get more people into our places 
and produce more supporters and stakeholders because their expectations 
were met ... and hopefully ... exceeded.

Let the dialog begin!!!!

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