Social media has become a household word, signifying our culture’s leap into the digital lifestyle. This certainly wasn’t the case three years ago when the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training first began experimenting with sites like YouTube, Flickr and Facebook.

At the time, the heritage preservation community was initially a little distrustful of these technologies. That began to change earlier this year, once folks realized that social media at its most effective is rooted in bringing together people of like interests and values to better one another and the societies in which they live, regardless of their location in the world. It’s as if this was created for our cause!

This post offers a little insight into what NCPTT is doing in social media and how our efforts might benefit you as well.

NCPTT recently hosted Lorelle VanFossen, one of the world’s most popular bloggers, for a workshop on the art of writing for the web. VanFossen taught NCPTT employees how to connect to the Center’s audience through timely and effective content as well as search engine optimization techniques.

The workshop is part of a larger social media strategy that NCPTT is implementing to better serve the needs of the preservation field.

NCPTT recently partnered with Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) to develop a media outlet dedicated to advancing heritage preservation using the World Wide Web.

The National Preservation Technology and Training Board convened on April 15-16 at NCPTT’s headquarters in Natchitoches, La.

Six NCPTT staff members presented at Northwestern State University of Louisiana’s (NSU) annual research day on March 20.