Beyond the Button

I often hear from people that Twitter (and my use thereof) is simply pure vanity in a new 140 character format. But internet and technology blogger, Andy Carvin has some interesting thoughts about how the tool could be used in natural disasters. We recently blogged over on Science Buzz, how cell phone and internet technology is helping to report the crackdowns in Myanmar.

I've also thought for a while that Twitter could be a fun way to give the public a picture of what an huge institution like the Science Museum is all about on a daily basis. We could create a group twitter account that any staff member could log into. Then they could post what they were doing at that moment with their work day: "Talking with a visitor about chemistry", "Planning a trip to Montana for a dinosaur excavation", "searching for information on hydrophobic coatings for medical devices", "talking to the state legislature about science education". Over time it could paint an interesting picture of the work our diverse organization is undertaking.

Guide by CellWe recently met with one of the representatives from Guide by Cell, a company offering to simplify the museum worlds use of cell phone technology. I have done extensive experimentation with Voice XML (VXML) and have been amazed at how beguilingly complex it is to connect all the dots. What initially seemed like a new ready for play web technology quickly revealed itself as an emerging technology solution that is far from fully baked for the casual developer.

We will hopefully be experimenting more with these technologies in the future but I was impressed how comprehensive Guide by Cell's solutions seem to be.