… when I wrote about American museums trying to adapt, make themselves more accessible? And how I was concerned that mostly what they were doing was upgrading their websites for podcasts? When what they also should do is re-think how their exhibitions work — as theatrical, artistic, educational experiences?

Well. The NYTimes reports that many museums “have discovered social media in a big way,” organizing FaceBook groups and YouTube videos. All to the good, when done with a degree of web-awareness:

“The content is followed differently online,” said Shelley Bernstein, manager of information systems for the Brooklyn Museum of Art. “The more you put out, the more likely people are to get interested and come in. I don’t think it’s seen as a replacement. It’s seen as a way to get people interested.”

The Brooklyn Museum wants to avoid the appearance that these online efforts are marketing, and it even gives away many images. …“We don’t want to seem like we’re trying to be overly viral,” Ms. Bernstein said. “We just want to be nice community members.”

OK. Now if they could learn more about how European museums often use video and theater techniques to make their displays come to life …