Where art and technology meet come two new social media experiments, pushing the boundaries again of where the
Mattress Factory is willing to go.
MFiCONFESS and
MFSCREENtxt are two unique projects that extend the museum's reach beyond its walls and into the world of social platforms .
“This is another way to build a deeper relationship with our visitors,” explains Jeffrey Inscho, spokesperson. “This gives them the ability to share and engage in a dialogue with one another and continue the discussion (about the museum) for an in-depth amount of time.”
MFiSCREENtxt, the first museum project of its kind, was created with
the help of
BrightKite, a location-based social network company in
Denver.
A 42-inch flat screen hangs in the museum lobby and
displays text messages and photos sent by museum visitors, allowing
participants to directly message one another Twitter-style. It may be
viewed online, allowing visitors to maintain an ongoing discussion with
visitors or the staff. The program also
interfaces with Twitter.
MFiCONFESS, also located on the first floor lobby, offers visitors an opportunity to broadcast thoughts or responses to the question: What does the Mattress Factory mean to you? Comments are stored on YouTube. Not everyone chooses to answer the question, Inscho notes. One Pittsburgh couple captured their engagement.
“What a visitor says on film is better than any marketing jargon than we could put out there. It’s more real, more credible, unbiased and coming from people who are there.”
The ultimate goal is to bring the experience of the museum into real world of the participants in a unique way.
Writer:
Debra Diamond SmitSource: Jeffrey Inscho, Mattress Factory
xt
Image courtesy Mattress Factory