Some of you with long memories might recall my report on the forced closure of the UK's first dedicated Museum of Computing back in the Spring of 2008. A year on, and I’m pleased to pass on the good news that Swindon Borough Council has now offered the museum a three-year lease on new premises in Swindon's town centre. Numbers 6 and 7 Theatre Square is 30m from the town's new Central Library and 50m from the Wyvern Theatre in 'The Promenade'; a section of the town designated as the cultural area in Swindon's regeneration plan. The museum will reopen to the public in July.
According to museum founder Jeremy Holt, who campaigned for thirteen years to get the Museum of Computing off the ground in 2002, this new location is ideal. “Our last venue at the University of Bath was very difficult to get to without a car,” he says. “The Council's new offer puts the Museum in the heart of the town, in a prominent place near bus routes. It will be good for the town because the collection of 2,500 items, demonstrating Britain's role in the advancement of technology, has attracted worldwide interest.” The three-year lease also means that the Museum can apply for professional accreditation from the Museums and Libraries Association.
Museum Curator Simon Webb has a passion for gaming and says the Gaming exhibitions, in particular, have been their most popular, offering entertainment as well as a trip down memory lane. Mr Webb plans to set up championship league tables and is investigating the possibility of online competitions with other towns.
Sponsored by Intel, which has its European headquarters in Swindon, and local IT public relations firm, Blue Click, the new Museum will have considerably more display space to house the main exhibition as well as specially themed events, which will change twice a year.
Blue Click's managing director, Rhona Jack says that when the museum's closure was announced last year, the website received over 56,000 hits in 48 hours, as well as letters to the Times newspaper. “There are many 'techies' out there who care about the history they helped create,” she says. “Many items have featured on BBC's World Service, CNN, Sky TV, ITV, regional TV and radio stations. National newspaper features list the museum among the top 25 places to visit in the country, so its good reputation is building.”
Jeremy Holt says that all technological breakthroughs are only possible because of what has gone before. He would like to hear from technology related groups who need a place to meet, as he expects the Museum to be a resource for the local community. 'Wired West' and the Linux and Ubuntu user groups have already expressed an interest in holding regular meetings at the museum, and IT companies who can give talks on computing topics are especially welcome. As an educational resource, the museum is also keen to see schools visits focusing on curriculum areas such as ICT, mathematics, design and technology, business studies and 20th Century social history.
If you can offer help with putting together an exhibition, become a volunteer or simply want more details, visit www.museum-of-computing.org.uk
While on the subject of computers and, in particular, their impact on our everyday lives, I was interested to read the findings of new research by bigmouthmedia, which reveals the most popular social networking tools in use by the UK’s business and professional communities.
LinkedIn emerged as the senior executive’s networking tool of choice. Half of those surveyed use the service, while 80 per cent of the FTSE100 managers who engage in online networking use it as their only application. Meanwhile, Facebook proved to be the second most popular service, used by 30 per cent of the executives polled, while Plaxo came in third with a 7.5 per cent share.
Social networking may have become one of the most talked about trends in the online world, but until now there has been little hard evidence showing to what extent the business community has embraced these tools. According to bigmouthmedia chief operations officer, Lyndsay Menzies, the research shows that while many leading executives are now deriving measurable benefits from this rapidly developing channel, some of the UK’s most prominent organisations have failed to get to grips with it.
While the social media has been one of 2009’s most hyped phenomena, little evidence exists as to what extent businesses are deriving benefits from the plethora of available services. In order to gauge real-world attitudes to the tools, bigmouthmedia assessed the online networking performance of 50 CEOs and senior marketing executives selected from the FTSE100 and the Sunday Times Fast Track 100. The research suggests that use of social media remains relatively rare amongst the FTSE100 executives sampled, with only 25 per cent of them engaged in any form of online networking, compared with 80 per cent of senior players from the Fast Track list.
The full research document, including testimonials and best practice advice, is available here
Les Hunt
Editor