Interview with John Hollar, President & CEO, Computer History Museum

Situation: Traditional media for reaching audiences – television, newspapers – have broken down. Audiences are atomized and increasingly “what you want when you want it.” How do you aggregate an audience in this environment?

Advice:

• Develop partnerships that align with you both in terms of audience and purpose.
  • We just finished a $20 million expansion. With 1.5 million technology workers in Silicon Valley, how do we spread the word?
  • We work with corporations in the tech sector, corporate alumni groups, tech retailers, convention centers, hotel concierges, and schools.
  • Our new campaign – Silicon Valley Starts Here – encourages Silicon Valley visitors to start their Silicon Valley journey with us.
  • School field trips are booked through the end of the year. Local foundations support transportation costs.
•  Leverage the digital world to expand your presence.
  • Everything physically present in the museum is also available digitally to a global audience.
  • We use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to generate viral networking.
  • Live events are captured in HD and broadcast through our YouTube channel to 2 million viewers.
  • We update our Facebook page and tweet daily. Facebook is fun and playful with “Today in Computer History” and Friday YouTube films.
  • Tweets include a quiz – “Who Am I?” – of famous figures in computer history with prizes.
• What are the implications for companies and institutions?
  • We must embrace the notion of living in parallel worlds – having both a physical presence and a broader digital presence.
  • Expert knowledge is here, but we must be able to access an increasingly digital audience that is global.
  • Digital capabilities can’t just be bolted on to an old structure. This must be a marriage that connects our knowledge and expertise organically to our audience, their needs, and the knowledge and expertise that is happening in the world.

You can contact John Hollar at [email protected]

Key Words: Media, Audience, Partnership, Purpose, Awareness, Campaign, Digital, Presence, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Inflection Point, Digital Lifestyle

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