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1. Tweet dreams… our top 50 Twitter feeds for the arts
Writer-comedian AL Kennedy writes about the impact of the networking phenomenon Twitter on the world of culture, which helps many frustrated people involved in the arts who are “tired of being isolated from [the] audience, tired of being misrepresented and having what [they] love both mystified and over-simplified in ways that help no one except those who seek to make themselves necessary as intermediaries.”
2. West Yorkshire Playhouse decides against ‘tweet seats’
West Yorkshire Playhouse (U.K.) has decided to end its experiment of letting patrons Twitter on their mobile phones at the back of the auditorium during some performances. Although intended as a tool for marketing to young people, the theatre concluded it distracted audience members’ attention from the performance. (Andrew Taylor discusses the issue of audience attention further in his ArtsJournal Blog ).
3. How Nonprofit Groups Can Benefit from Foursquare
An article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy discusses how nonprofit groups can best use the social-networking site Foursquare. With foursquare, your friends can follow your entire day on their phones, knowing your every move. Unlike other social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, foursquare is focused primarily on sharing places we've been and that we would maybe recommend to others. In a posting on her blog, non-profit social media expert Beth Kanter also has some suggestions for ways in which non-profit organizations can experiment with Foursquare.
4. Channel 13 Is Putting Lincoln Center on the Set
New York public television station WNET has opened a new storefront studio at Lincoln Center on the corner of West 66th Street and Broadway, which station executives said they hoped would bring higher visibility and more viewers. The studio will be the site of a new WNET show, “Need to Know,” a national news and public affairs program, in addition to serving as WNET’s main location for locally produced programs. WNET — the parent company of Channel 13 and WLIW, Channel 21, in New York — also intends to develop programming with Lincoln Center, like performances by emerging actors, dancers and composers.
5. Classical Music’s Comeback, on Public Radio
Although there has been a marked decline in the number of ad-supported classical format radio stations in the U.S., public broadcasting stations have been successfully filling the gap in some markets, most notably WNYC’s purchase of WQXR in New York.
6. What You and Your Nonprofit Should Know About Facebook Changes
Beth Kanter highlights some recent changes to Facebook’s standard procedures. The switch from checking "fans" to "like” makes it possible for non-profit groups to turn their web sites into a Facebook Fan Page, minimizing the need for a separate “public” Facebook fan page. Facebook has also changed its privacy settings, adding a category called "Instant Personalization," which shares certain of your personal data with non-Facebook sites. Facebook received some criticism for making the default setting for this feature "Allow," which must be unchecked by each individual user who does not want the data shared.
7. What's Your Nonprofit's Social Media Measurement Strategy?
Beth Kanter also shared some recent reports and frameworks in both nonprofit and for-profit areas that have been published recently, which provide some useful ways to think about how to measure the ROI and effectiveness of social media strategies.
8. Market Smarter with Google and Facebook
The Center for Arts Management and Technology is offering a webinar for $25 that will focus on helping arts organizations use Google Analytics, Google AdWords, and Facebook advertising to market smarter.