As of two weeks ago, the Mississippi Heritage Trust has a page on Facebook and already has 62 fans. The page is viewable by both Facebookers and non-Facebookers alike, so you have no reason not to check it out. It looks like they’re doing a better job than I am of keeping up with newspaper articles about preservation issues around the state. Will the MissPres News Roundup become obsolete as all my readers flock to MHT’s page, leaving me to make grumpy remarks all alone? We shall see.

I have only recently and somewhat hesitantly joined the Facebook world, and I think it has great potential for preservationists. I say that while still being unsure of where the potential will be greatest. Will it help our preservation organizations pull in a more diverse membership, bringing in people who might have inklings about saving history but who otherwise would never get involved in preservation? Will it be more effective than mail or e-mail blasts at advertising events such as the 10 Most Endangered List Unveiling? Will it democratize preservation even further as “fans” make personal connections with each other as well as with the organization?

Are there any drawbacks to maintaining a Facebook page? How will it affect staff time? Can volunteer moderators be drawn from the membership to help keep it updated and growing? Facebook seems to have acquired enough momentum to become the primary social networking site today, but what happens in two years when some other site starts drawing people away? MHT has its own traditional website and now a Facebook page. Will they just have to continue adding new sites without abandoning the old ones?

All interesting questions and only time and further experimentation will tell the answers. Meanwhile, I’ve got to get working on my news roundup for tomorrow–it’s going to be so great, it’ll blow MHT’s Facebook newspaper updates out of the water. Guaranteed!

Categories: Historic Preservation, Preservation Education