DixieLeigh

Another question I got from AAM was how do you control the content of the comments.  The hard and fast answer is that you can’t. You cannot control everything…you have to learn to let go.

Yes, there are some truly horrible people on the internet, but everyone who deals with the internet already knows this.  It is not your place or your responsibility to police what everyone is saying. Those commenters that go on every video to dislike it, insult it and the people in it, and start fights with other commenters are called trolls and they are a fact of life on YouTube. Another fact of life on YouTube: Freedom of speech is very important on YouTube, both in the videos and in comments.

When Oprah first joined YouTube, fellow YouTubers and viewers protested for several reasons. One was that she represented corporate culture and YouTube regulars considered themselves the opposite of corporate—they were creative and able to do and create whatever they wanted without having to go through corporate channels. The tagline says it all…Broadcast Yourself. You don’t have to go through radio or record companies, TV stations, etc., you can do it yourself. Whatever you want. This is a very important part of YouTube culture—one that hasn’t really gone away.

The other major problem YouTube viewers had with Oprah was that her PR people deleted comments on her videos when they didn’t like what was being posted. This was not taken well. That kind of action reeks of dishonesty. You and what you say are not going to be universally liked and whitewashing your comments to make it look like you are is shady. Oprah’s channel became an example of an entity that didn’t understand the YouTube culture and couldn’t translate its popularity to YouTube (though the age gap between Oprah’s followers and YouTubers probably added to that problem).

Further word of caution: If you go to a number of the more corporate, image conscious organizations, you’ll notice that they disable comments on their videos. DO NOT DO THIS!!! Sorry for yelling, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves! YouTube is a social media, not a one-way communication tool. Also, it takes away progress your museum has made in being more participatory, open organization. The image you are projecting is of a place that knows everything and doesn’t care what anyone else has to say. Most museums are trying to shake just that image, so don’t set yourself back by being thin-skinned.

Possible remedy for those who are not convinced: There are some channels that, at the top of the description for their videos, put a statement that reads something like: “This is a no fighting zone. Any inflammatory comments will be removed.” OR “If your comment is racist, sexist, or demeaning to others in any other way, it will be removed.” Your museum can decide what they deem too inappropriate to allow and decide on language appropriate to the culture of YouTube to express this rule. Put it at the very top of your description box so it’s easily seen and be aware that you might get jokers in the comment section testing you. Good luck!

Another question I got at the meeting was what should happen to the videos already created by the museum? Answer:  Leave them on your channel.

I know that the things I’m suggesting a museum do with their YouTube channel are far removed from the videos they are currently creating, but everyone’s YouTube channel evolves.  Series come and go, sometimes a YouTuber disappears for a while while they figure out what they want to do…skills improve, they get a better handle on what their audience wants…all sorts of things happen.  Also, the videos museums have already uploaded are great resources, just not created with a YouTube audience in mind. As you do get a better idea of the direction your channel wants to go and what your followers are interested in watching, you can revisit some of your older videos and remake them in your new style–ensuring that they get more notice from your newer fans.

Another question I got at the meeting was where do we start? My answer was that you have to start by finding inspiration. I know…what an unhelpful answer. But it’s true. You can’t just barrel into creating videos without understanding what people want to watch on YouTube.  You don’t have to copy anything exactly, but I think you do have to develop an appreciation for what others are doing and perhaps pick and choose elements from other’s videos and series.

For instance, if you are a science museum you might want to look at Fun Science by charlieissocoollike, minutephysics videos or the scishow.  If you are a zoo or a natural history museum, maybe you want to look at CGP Grey’s videos on misconceptions (zoos might also want to look at popular videos with animals like Teddy Bear). If you are a history museum you might want to look at the vlogbrother’s crashcourse or one of their videos from their main channel or CGP Grey. As an art museum look at HennesyYoungman. There is no way an art museum can do exactly what he does, but there are ELEMENTS to his videos that can translate into a museum video teaching about art. You might find inspiration in a video that has nothing to do with the topic of your museum.

Don’t just look at their video style, also look at how they are using other social media, merchandising, planning meet and greets, interacting with fans, etc. RayWilliamJohnson has done a great job of connecting all of his social media, though you might prefer how YouTube musicians and other YouTube stars do it. NigaHiga, charlieissocoollike, DeStorm, RayWilliamJohnson and other YouTubers like Maximnoise have found ways to get their fans involved in their videos. Freddiew climbed the YouTube charts in one year to gain 1 million subscribers–his journey and how he did it can be a huge inspiration to museums. There are so many elements to a successful YouTube channel.  It requires more than just uploading a video and hoping for the best. It requires a plan not just for the videos, but for everything connected to them.  But first, before all that, it requires inspiration. So I do, indeed, stand my my unhelpful answer, and wish you luck!

I’ve been thinking about the questions that I got after my presentation and I think I’m going to write a series of posts in the next few weeks that address them. The first question I want to address is one there was no time for at the meeting. Someone mentioned that I should explain the correlation between YouTube and Kickstarter. The simple answer is that there is no correlation–not really.

I cite Kickstarter.com because it was while I was doing a report on them that I noticed their emphasis on the importance of video in talking to potential funders.  This led me to connect successful online fundraising with YouTube—which is a powerful video platform with which to build strong relationships. Also, it is important to have a donor base to draw from when launching an online funding request and YouTube is a wonderful way to build that passionate donor base.  These are the only correlations.

Your museum can decide to go with any micro-funding online platform that they choose. I know the most about Kickstarter.com because I completed a report on them for an internship, but there are others out there.  They all have their differences, mainly on how they collect funds and whether they allow you to collect money if the project is not fully funded. Another option for your museum would be to collect money on your own website if this is something your museum is equipped to do.  It all comes down to the best match for your museum.

Kickstarter.com is a well-known option for people trying to fundraise online. I have attached a generic version of a report on Kickstarter.com I completed for an internship.  Most of the information cited comes from Kickstarter’s website itself.  They are a very open website—they never delete a project, sucessful or not—so I have no problem trusting their information.

I completed the report in Fall 2011, so I thought I would also link to a blog post they created about their 2011 results as well.  They talk a bit about their growth from 2010 to 2011.  It’s fun to see how they’ve grown and what people are funding.

However, as I said, Kicksterter.com is not the best choice for everyone.  Research all of your options and decide from there what is best for you.