Presenters: Susan Cairns, PhD candidate, University of Newcastle; Ed Rodley, Exhibit Developer, Museum of Science, Boston; Eric Siegel, Director and Chief Content Officer, New York Hall of Science; Mike Murawski, Director of Education and Public Programs, Portland Art Museum The demise of blogging is a recurrent theme in discussions around digital media. However, in the museum sector, it appears that reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated with blogs continuing to serve as a prominent locus for vibrant and active discourse. This session will bring together a diverse group of active bloggers to dissect the how, why, and who of museum blogging. It will examine bloggers' motivations and ask about the potential benefits and pitfalls of blogging from both a personal and institutional perspective. What does it mean to learn in public and be an active and consistently open communicator? Where does blogging fit into an institutional, professional, and personal identity? How do you manage multiple online identities? How do you deal with the inevitable public criticism and negative reactions to your work? What impact has blogging made on your career and life more generally? Presented Thursday, November 8, 2012 at the Museum Computer Network conference in Seattle, WA. mcn.edu