Beyond Sufjan Steven’s Chicago
Circulating a Playlist
For this stage in the pop-up museum planning, I decided to create a Spotify playlist of Chicago music. I am still in the brainstorming area of my exhibit, but I know that I love to have ambient music to motivate me. Also, while re-reading the to-do list for the museum, I remembered we agreed on needing some kind of background music. So, what better to be playing than ‘Chicago in Conversation: what do you have to say’ the playlist?
I shared this playlist and asked my publics for song suggestions to put on the playlist. My most successful circulation was on Twitter, where I received 4 replies. On Instagram, I only received one. This does not necessarily surprise me, as I did use my non-main Instagram account which has much less followers. However, I was a little disappointed at Twitter for not giving me more music! Most of my followers are big music fans, so I was expected more interactions.
I decided to make these posts interactive by asking for suggestions in order to make the public feel they were able to contribute. Thusly, I was asking the audience what they had to say, and gave them a platform to do so. I think that is a beneficial part of social media, that we are able to interact with the public more directly. Of course, that is also a down side. However, I received no negative responses so that part of the circulation isn’t applicable.
I also made the playlist itself collaborative. While Spotify isn’t necessarily a ‘social media’, it does offer the chance for listeners to interact further. The ‘Friend Feed’ and ‘Follow’ option for profiles adds a more social element. Even further, by making the playlist collaborative, anyone who has the link is able to add their choice of songs. This circulation fosters community and interaction, making the text (the playlist) a lot less static.
Listen here !
