Joe Vaughan
@joevaughan.net
writer, museum person, trying https://joevaughan.net
Does anyone work in museum interpretation? How's it been affected by social media and short-form content basically rewiring our brains? Are labels still in? Do we need to radically rethink things? I'm thinking of writing something.
I was interviewed by the @museumsassociation.org about whether museums should still use social media. My answer: resoundingly yes :) www.museumsassociation.org/museums-jour...
Digital detox: Is social media still worth it for museums? - Museums Association
The online landscape suddenly looks very different amid a backlash against tech giants. Geraldine Kendall Adams asks how museums are adapting to the post-X era
museumsassociation.org
should we update the bluesky account name to this y/n
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 2d agoThe Museum of English Rural Lestat
so if Interview with the Vampire is canonically set in our universe, you're telling us there's a chance that Lestat de Lioncourt *did* visit The Museum of English Rural Life
really glad to be finally talking about the critical issues facing rural heritage studies: the vague permanent retrofuturism of holograms
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 5d agoAbsolute Units returns! This week we bring our rural history heads to a bunch of related topics. Like: - Bad Bunny - Stardew Valley - Star Wars - Martin Ødegaard - John Maynard Keynes - The Bloomsbury Group - Holograms Listen wherever you get your podcasts! merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Absolute Units returns! This week we bring our rural history heads to a bunch of related topics. Like: - Bad Bunny - Stardew Valley - Star Wars - Martin Ødegaard - John Maynard Keynes - The Bloomsbury Group - Holograms Listen wherever you get your podcasts! merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Absolute Units podcast - The Museum of English Rural Life
Come for the big sheep. Stay for the history of rural England and its people.
merl.reading.ac.uk
something that i think has always distinguished @themerl.bsky.social is that despite our socials' content getting very silly, we've always taken the medium very seriously
the pod- is cast
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · last mo.Absolute Units has returned! This time, we chat with Professor Tom Oliver and Marzia Briel (both @uniofreading.bsky.social) about how we can rethink and rebuild humanity's relationship with the natural world. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Able to make it to Reading? We have a handful of tickets left for our Romany and Traveller Heritage Day this Saturday. Join us to celebrate these communities' rich histories and cultures, with activities like blacksmithing, flower making, dance, and more. merl.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/rom...
Romany & Traveller Heritage Day
Celebrate Romany and Traveller heritage through activities like blacksmithing, flower-making, horseshoe painting, dance, live music, and more.
merl.reading.ac.uk
Brilliant explainer on the ill-fated and barmy Groundnut Scheme from @badsocialism.bsky.social. Nice to see a few bits of @themerl.bsky.social content finding a place in this woeful tale.
John C@badsocialism.bsky.social · 2mo agoSharon said I should do a Groundnut scheme thread So, in the spirit of Mr. @garius.bsky.social of this parish, I shall embark on a short history of THE TANGANYIKA GROUNDNUT SCHEME, or the time the Attlee government tried to turn the worst land in east Africa in the world's largest peanut farm.
after the failed attempt of the last episode we have been able to successfully grow another beautiful .wav file, and in these trying and fallow times i think that's beautiful
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 2mo agohello we are so back with another episode of our podcast Absolute Units! this time, we wrap up two of our major recent projects, reflect on what we've learned, try hard not to break the recording, and talk a lil bit about the World Cup as well merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
It's not every day you bury a time capsule at work. But that's exactly what happened here last week! Learn more about a new project exploring the next hundred years of farming, as part of our celebrations of the @uniofreading.bsky.social's centenary. www.reading.ac.uk/news/2026/Un...
these have all been very fun, and this Late is also free!
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 2mo agoTickets are now available for our Summer Late (17 June, 6pm-9pm), and they're free thanks to a @uniofreading.bsky.social centenary grant! Come and discover our galleries in a whole new light, with drinks, crafts, talks, tours and more. merl.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/sum...
we're back!
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 3mo agoAbsolute Units returns - again! In the episode we meant to release last Thursday (lol), we pick up once more with @guyshrubsole.bsky.social to continue exploring the land ownership and access in rural England. This time, with a specific focus on hunting. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
this will be so good! join us to produce and facilitate creative responses to the Modernist Archives Publishing Project and holdings linked to the Bloomsbury Group <3
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 3mo agoWe’re appointing a writer-in-residence! Join us to respond to our holdings related to the Bloomsbury Group (including the archives of Leonard and Virginia Woolf’s Hogarth Press) ahead of a major exhibition in 2027. Applications close 19 May. Best of luck! collections.reading.ac.uk/news-and-vie...
a treat to chat again with @guyshrubsole.bsky.social! there are also some good outtakes from this episode where @olliedouglas.bsky.social and I spent 10 min eating fruit, which I'm sure we can use some day
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 3mo agoAbsolute Units is back! We're joined once more by @guyshrubsole.bsky.social, zooming in on issues of rural access and land use by focusing on the modern history of grouse shooting, and its impacts on green spaces and wildlife alike. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Would you like some whimsy? We're sharing introductions to each of the rats in our Rat Trail by artist/maker Fong Scott. Watch now on our YouTube playlist! www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
hello! I have been very offline for a while because of various bits of holiday. what the heck happened to @romanpalace.bsky.social :(
i believe in aliens but more importantly i hope they believe in themselves
How does an eel think about its life? What are the steps? And when should it start to eat its own bones? This map tells you! “But SEH,” you say. “I don’t want to come here every time I need to see this!” Good news, friends! You can buy it here as a poster and put it on your wall! etsy.me/3Nvk5jK
had an amazing time yesterday at the Museum Association's Digital Tech day. really nice meeting and chatting to so many folks from across the sector <3
they said it couldn't be done. but they forgot one thing: The Museum of English Rural Life
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 4mo agoBreaking news: we've just signed a once-in-a-lifetime loan agreement to bring rural England's most iconic artwork home for the first time in 1,000 years. Introducing our 2027 major exhibition - Bayewe Tapestry: the Fight to Wool England.
happy birthday to our podcast xxxxx
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 4mo agoAbsolute Units turns 1! Thanks to everyone who has listened in, supported us, and joined us in the booth in these past 12 months. Here's our special anniversary episode, answering many of the questions you very good people sent us yesterday. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Absolute Units returns! For our latest episode, we welcome @avlawson.bsky.social, the author, environmentalist, and activist. We chat about Adrian's career, his time with Extinction Rebellion, and his role in turning an abandoned meadow into a flourishing marsh. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Absolute Units podcast - The Museum of English Rural Life
Come for the big sheep. Stay for the history of rural England and its people.
merl.reading.ac.uk