Megan West(erby)

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There it is, folks. The arts are for the older and richer. THIS is the perception (or reality) that we have to change. While yes, we absolutely need to have a better grasp on who is using social media in order to identify our target demographic and generate the best ROI, ultimately we really need to change the too-often-held belief that arts are so esoteric they doesn’t count as an “interest” of the general public (unlike golf…or entertaining…or travel). Why wouldn’t a hotel group want to know what level of interest potential clients have in local performances? Or whether it would be worthwhile to establish a gallery space in the hotel?

So, organizations, artists: social media isn’t going to magically make audiences out of people who don’t care about what we do. Doing the same thing on a different platform doesn’t make the people who weren’t listening before suddenly perk up and get excited.

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~ When They Don’t Notice: The Implications of Omitting the Arts from General Interests | Technology in the Arts

29 July 2009 ·