A Few Interesting Tidbits

Today was a good day and an overall interesting hodge podge of stuff. I convened my first meeting of the Historic Clothing Committee for Historic Sites, a duty which I've taken over since Chris Graham's departure. We had a good turnout and good conversations. I will begin ordering both historical clothing and reproduction weapons and related items very soon. We also decided on a topic for our next workshop, which will be in March and will focus on period fabrics and materials.

This afternoon I attended a meeting of the Museum Educator's Roundtable. As with most organizations, the business meeting was pretty bland, but my breakout group session was very interesting. My group discussed the growing use, as well as pros and cons, of using new social networking technology to promote our museums and communicate with new and ever-changing and growing audiences. So, stuff like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, blogs, etc. and how to best use them to suit our purposes. I think lots of folks, like myself, are sort of just dipping our toes into that water, but there are some that have taken the head first plunge. So, good stuff!

Finally, upon my return home, I found the latest issue of North Carolina Historical Review awaiting me. A couple of very interesting articles in this edition, including "'The Cure for All Our Political Calamities': Archibald Maclaine and the Politics of Moderation in Revolutionary North Carolina" by former blogger John Maass and an article by my friend at the state archives Chris Meekins titled "Unionism and the Arcane Origin of 'Buffalo'". Also some good book reviews in this issue, so I can't wait to get into it (when that will be is anyone's guess).