Twitter and the Whale

Shikha, I blame you for my being torn on Twitter.

There's the recently posted link to a video about Twitter and how, ultimately, the Twitterati seem to be pretty self-indulgent and potentially short on real friends. Then there's the alerting me to the Twitterings by the Natural History Museum's giant whale, rife with comments that blend lightly camouflaged marketing with wacky one-off's about...well, being a whale. (My favorite: "Someone said today that me and my kind clean the ocean the way kidneys clean the bloodstream. Yuck! That's my mouth!)

I'm a little surprised that one social media interface can make me swing in such disparate ways. I can't stand the idea of D-list acquaintances wanting to update me constantly on their shopping habits, lunch hours at work and to what extent they are enjoying the weather. If we're friends, can't you just call me to update me with your daily inanities? What else are friends for?

And yet, these whale twitters are almost endlessly entertaining, and they make me incredibly appreciative of the Museum's efforts to engage me -- a potential visitor -- in a quirky but meaningful way. Sure, I laugh at the thought of the whale letting out a late-night whalesong to scare the security guard, but I'm also interested to see the whale's take on the Museum's special programs, concerts, and holiday events. I'd love to see more organizations rooted in the arts and other creative industries take a chance with these sorts of marketing initiatives; ultimately, it does a better job of reflecting not just the brand, but the spirit, of the organization to the public.

I'm also familiar with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Meet Me at the Met" campaign on Flickr, but if anyone knows of any other similar initiatives going on, please comment!