Santa Cruz Tech Ecosystem
Learning Cultural Competency through Social Media
by Nina Simon
Museum 2.0 and Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
What if there was a place where we could learn more about the experiences of people who are totally different from us? Where we could hear directly, in their own words, what they love, hate, fear, desire, dream?
Nina Simon, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
There is that place. It is called the Web.
I don’t care who you are interested in learning more about–people of a particular race/ethnicity, gender, political affiliation, physical ability, generation, sexual orientation–there is a bubble on the Web populated by them. People often complain that social media can become an echo chamber to reinforce pre-existing beliefs and expectations. It’s true. The extreme atomization and diversity of media sources can enable people to burrow into mirrored caves.
But most of the Web is open. Which means you can go into whatever cave you want–including those occupied by people who come from different worlds from you.
Earlier this spring, I decided to go on a mission to use social media to increase my cultural competency around Latino experiences, issues, and interests. At our museum, we’re making a big effort to increase our engagement with local Latino families. Alongside work we are doing locally with specific neighborhoods, individuals, and organizations, I wanted to use the Web to learn more about Latino issues generally.
Continue reading the complete article here: http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2014/07/learning-cultural-competency-through.html
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Sara Isenberg publishes Santa Cruz Tech Beat for the benefit of the extended business and technology community. When she is not volunteering her time for the tech scene, Sara makes her living by managing software projects, web strategy planning, and providing development team services (including account management, vendor management, strategic partner management, beta project management, referrals to qualified technical team members, and more). Please visit her website: Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management, or contact Sara by email if you have any project management, account management, or Development Team leadership or service needs.
Tagged Museum 2.0, Nina Simon
