Public History Commons^™

A Partial Presence Is No Presence: Public History Institutions And The Danger Of Social Media, Alex Warren

Graduate Student Research Symposium

243.6 million people use social media in the United States alone: that is roughly ¾ of the population.[1] This massive audience gives the perception that, especially for smaller public history organizations, it is a simple and effective tool to reach their audiences. But this may not be the case. Although social media provides an opportunity to put forth information to a wide public audience in a way that would otherwise be near impossible for many non-profit organizations, the reality of a successful social media presence provides potentially catastrophic results for an unprepared organization.

Effective social media use requires consideration …