The IMA is not immune to the viral video idea.  Our first ever YouTube video was conceived as a marketing, viral video in support of an exhibition.  That was almost three years ago.

To date, this video has 4, 621 views.  Not our most viewed video by any means.  It never quite took off virally, but does serve as our lone example of a viral video attempt.

Can a museum/corporation/individual purposely set out to make a viral video?  I always felt that a ‘viral video’ often exhibited a certain set of traits – unplanned, shock and awe, and the unexpected to name a few.  And I’m not sure I include sketch comedy in this grouping – videos from Flight of the Conchords, Old Gregg or anything with Michael Cera are not viral – they’re comedy.  Right?

So what about Aleksey Vayne’s video resume (below), Susan Boyle or an SNL short?  Possibly.  Some are unplanned (the outcomes anyway), some involve live TV and others are planned as something viral, where rules do not apply.

Phil reviewed some other viral videos yesterday, but it still seems to me that a true viral video usually involves an individual that happened to catch an unthinkable, unexpected, imperfect moment on camera.  But I might be wrong.  Can an organization self-produce, develop internally, and create a real viral video?

I did want to mention ArtBabble (of course I would) and a video we produced in time for the launch.  I’m definitely not calling it viral, but it is most definitely a marketing video.  We feature this on our front page and our views are currently around 11,603.  We also have it on YouTube where we have 83.  So enjoy our ArtBabble marketing video and please let us know how we would produce an IMA viral video.  Phil might just do it.  (OR – if you just want to share some of your favorite videos in the comments, that would be fine too.)

The Museums and the Web 2009 conference was here in Indianapolis last week and I came out of it with a bunch of web related scripts for my patient Monday patients. Here’s a few…

boxee.tv – This is the most incredible 10-foot HTPC interface I’ve ever seen. Windows Media Center and Front Row don’t hold a candle. If it had a PVR feature it would be perfect. And since it already lets you watch Hulu and YouTube as if they are just a normal television channel, MW2009 chats thinks there should be a channel for ArtBabble.

blurb.com – Free book making software. Best part is, you can print as few or as many as you want and the prices are super reasonable. There was a session at the conference where I got to actually check out a sample of their product and it looked just like something you would buy off the shelf at Borders. Oh, they make little flip books too that are super cute. I’m thinking limited edition ArtBabble something.

Mega Menus – In a website critique session at MW2009, I suggested that this slick new interface techniqe was about to be “hot right now.” Funny thing is, nobody had ever heard of a Mega Menu and thus my avant-garde status was confirmed. Oddly, my favorite implementation is on the State Farm Insurance website.

Twitterfall – Thanks to Twitterfall and a video projector, all the Twitter activity tagged with #MW2009 could be seen streaming by as the IMA’s Director, Max Anderson, gave the conference’s opening plenary address. A few months ago a display like this may have been distracting; however, during Max’s speech it was really interesting and helpful to see what people were thinking about as words were hitting their brains.

Monday Music – “Once We Were Strangers” by Peggy Sue. Third rainy Monday in a row. Download audio file (JWNT1peggy.mp3)

Phil’s Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

Digital Graffiti – Pretty cool link from Jenny that tells of a little resort village that lets artists “paint” their town walls with digital graffiti. And for you projection artists out there, Digital Graffiti is accepting submissions for their 2009 show in Alys Beach.

Skittles.com – This new Mars website for its Skittles brand of fruity morsels takes all your buzz worthy social media sites (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc) and uses them as replacements for traditional brand landing pages. Clever. However, add in a goofy peice of navigation, an equally goofy enter your birthday thing, the possibilty for people to spam your Facebook Wall and Twitter feed with garbage, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for frustration. Taste the Pain-Bow.

PostSecret – Got a secret you want to share with the web? Write it on a post card and send it to PostSecret. Check the blog.

Museums and the Web – is going to be in Indianapolis this year and the IMA is hosting a few events. Check out the agenda here.

Danny Beyer, sporting the new IMA Blog t-shirt

The IMA joined Flickr a little late in the game, but I feel like we are really starting to use it in some interesting ways.  My colleague Despi recently created a set featuring the new IMA blog t-shirts.  You’ll be hearing more about that.  Our conversation department has been active creating individual case studies on art objects.  You can learn about a recent Thornton Dial acquisition here (complete with video), or the treatment of a Saarinen Sideboard.  It’s an interesting glimpse into some behind-the-scenes action at an art museum and a new way of discovering engaging content.  Look for more of these conservation case studies in the very near future.

2009 will bring lots of activity to the IMA, especially in 100 Acres: The Virginia B.  Fairbanks Art and Nature Park.  The Nugget Factory will be working very closely with the contemporary department to document the art installations, capturing artist interviews and developing new visitor experiences.  On Flickr, we created a set dedicated set to Type A’s involvement in this space, here (I recommend the videos).  Under development, is the official 100 Acres Flickr group.  We’re still tweaking it, but please feel free to join and contribute your photography.

IMA’s Horticulture department was kind enough to place some new signs across the beautiful IMA campus.  We often spot photographers walking our grounds and we would love to see their perspective.  I hope these signs encourage or inspire our visitors to go online and shape IMA’s presence on Flickr.  I mean that.

We really want you to get involved in Flickr

IMA blogger Noelle, also just completed a Flickr article in PREVIEWS, the publication for members of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  I told you we love Flickr, perhaps a little obsessed.  If anyone is interested in a copy, leave a comment and I’ll send you one.

And finally, Museums and the Web will be hosting their annual conference in Indianapolis next April.  They’ve created a group requesting images of Indianapolis.  It will give conference attendees from all over the world (Australia, Japan and Holland) a chance to discover our city and check out the new airport.

I’m all Flickr’d out.  Have any Flickr ideas?  Let me know.

A group of IMA staff (myself not included) attended the Museums and the Web conference in Montreal last week. This conference is an annual gathering for the ever-growing crowd of technology-focused staff in museums around the world. They also host the “Best of the Web” Awards. IMA’s project, Roman Art Webisodes, was picked last week as “Best Podcast.” IMA’s Dashboard picked up an Honourable Mention in the “Professional” category. We are excited that our work has been so well received by our peers.

Also, last week we were notified that Roman Art Webisodes were also chosen as an Official Honoree for the 2008 Webby Awards. A very competitive and widely entered contest, we placed in the top 15 in the Non-Profit/ Educational category for Interactive Advertisting. I was most excited about this competition since last year they honored David Bowie and he is on the judging committee this year. What could be better than winning an award from the same people who gave one to Ziggy Stardust. Needless to say we are delighted.

In other news, the Media and Technology Committee of the American Association of Museums has selected IMA’s Dashboard as the winner of a 2008 MUSE Award.

So who knows what’s next for us! We have entered many other projects in a variety of competitions, so hopefully as spring continues to progress we will have more good news…