This morning’s twitter feed (artech05) included a link to the ‘Museums Suck” website (thanks to Seb Chan).
While the article is provocative, the site itself is quite interesting. William Crowley, whoever he might actually be, has actually spent a great deal of time posting videos he’s taken, discussing museums he’s visited and sharing technical knowledge.
This last point is of particular interest. Crowley provides insight into how to create interactives simply, efficiently and cost effectively. He discusses iterative exhibition design, provides instructions for developing a simple tilt application and a simple multi-touch surface platform. This type of public user innovation is quite rare to find in a museum context. Between Crowley’s sometimes hurtful assessments of the museum environment, he’s actually providing useful design and exhibition information.
The blog is only new and Crowley doesn’t tell us enough about himself to assure the critics that he isn’t a fraud, yet his desire to share useful technical information seems genuine. Granted he does this between his individual insights, but I admire his generosity.
Be warned though, the rest of the blog is not for faint-hearted! Perhaps this site is an example of ‘look who’s talking’ – one of the themes for next week’s Transformations in Cultural and Scientific Communication Conference!
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Social Media and Cultural Communication 
Check out the ExhibiTricks blog http://blog.orselli.net
as well. Even more “share” and less “suck” there.
Thanks for that! Good luck with your future endevours! Hope you continue sharing insights – both technical and otherwise!
I, for one, am sorry to see that museumssuck is already gone. The author’s tone was certainly vitriolic, but the only reason I cringed while reading it was because he was speaking truths that we’ve all heard in whispered conversations in our offices, after a few drinks at a conference, and possibly during our own long dark nights of the soul. He was naming things most of us would probably rather ignore.
Thanks for that Ed. I’m sorry to see him go too. He was remarkably generous with his knowledge and funny too! Perhpas he’ll turn up again some day….
I came across a William Crowley who’s a media engineer at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, CA.
Whomever was responsible for museumsux.com, had good thoughts, though I disagree with some of the ways he went about “speaking truth to power.”
William is not a fraud. He’s a friend and we worked together at The Tech. I’d be happy to talk anyone’s ear off about how great he is.
I’m surprised that more of us aren’t talking about this blog: http://silencedogetty.blogspot.com/ which takes museum suckage very seriously (and anonymously).
Hi Nina
Thanks for the post! I didn’t consider Matthew to be a fraud. I found him to be delightfully generous and insightful, particularly in his desire to share technical knowledge. It was difficult to verify his identity from here in Australia and we were lucky that a number of our members vouched for him!
I look forward to his return some day.
Thanks for the link to Silence Doggerty – btw – do you know who he/she is?
Cheers and thanks!