Issue 103: Gen Z's writing the script

Welcome to issue 103 of Digital Things, by Alec Ward. As promised, the title image of this month's issue is a picture from near the top of Cadair Idris. I say near because it was beautifully clear the whole way up and then, about 50 meters from the summit, a bloody cloud rolled over and we couldn't see a thing. I did make friends with a sheep at the peak, though, so not all was lost. Overall, 10/10 would hike again. We also found Eryri National Park's secret waterfall - but it's important for the locals that the location remains a secret, so I won't be sharing pictures. You can give it a Google if I've caught your interest, though, and it isn't too hard to find with the right gear.

Out of nature and back into digital - a lot has happened since last month's issue and it's all below.

Don’t forget to check out and subscribe to The Digital Snapshot (also free, also put together by me, more frequently with more in-depth insights).

• The Museums Computer Group's conference tickets are still on sale and we’d love to see you there.

• It was great to hear the National Library of Scotland get a mention on one of my favourite podcasts (After Dark), in their recent episode on Burke and Hare.

• Here's an interesting look at how Friday afternoon email etiquette can help to cut weekend workloads.

• The Royal Armouries have been producing some cracking social content of late. I've loved their 'Gen Z writes the script' series, which has been popping up all over the place, like Reddit and Twitter (X) and they've recently done their own excellent take on the 'get ready with me' trend.

• Meet Olivia Swarthout, the person behind 'Weird Medieval Guys' on Twitter (X).

• Adam Koszary (once editor of this very newsletter) has started his own newsletter series called 'Content of the Week', where he shares a couple of interesting examples of content that he's found from the sector alongside his thoughts. Great stuff.

• The Tank Museum was recently recruiting for a YouTube Strategist, with their marketing / engagement team growing thanks to their success in the Creator Economy. Very interesting move and I can't say that I've heard of many YouTube strategists in the sector. Unsurprising, though, as it'll be a great way for them to build on their YouTube success.

• Here's another insightful update from Trish Thomas (Head of Digital Innovation at London Museum). This one focuses on long tail SEO strategy.

• The Museum Data Service has launched and it will ‘revolutionise access to the UK’s cultural heritage’.

• The internet has now replaced TV as the UK's most popular news source, for the first time. Surprised that it's taken this long, to be honest.

• Cristiano Ronaldo (he does the football) has become the first person to reach one billion social media followers, totalled across his various platforms. How many of those people are duplicates and bots, who knows - but he seems happy about it at least.

• Google has now introduced video search through the Google Lens app. I.e. if you spotted a bird you couldn't identify on a walk and you could grab a video of it, using the Google Lens app you can use that video to search Google for the answer.

• Oonagh Murphy has published '10 ideas for purpose-driven digital leadership in museums'. It's incredibly useful and it's relevant for other sector leaders (or aspiring leaders) too.

• Elizabeth Llabres (Collections Manager at Bradford Museums & Galleries) put me on to the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, which is a non-profit collaboration who run interesting talks and webinars around different aspects of digital in the sector. This one on AI was particularly good.

• Entries for the 2025 Digital Culture Awards are open, closing on Wednesday 23 October. There's still time to submit something to the awards across a number of categories.

• ‘Keep Your Notes App Under Lock and Key’ - interesting think piece into why your collection of throwaway thoughts could become a record of your true self.

📺 Watching: I rewatched Cabin in the Woods last night, seeing as spooky season is pretty much upon us. Bloody love that film and it’s a really interesting take on the classic teen-horror movie tropes. We also watched Civil War, which we really enjoyed. It’s set in a not-so-distant future where America is in the midst of a civil war. The interesting take is that you follow a team of war journalists as they travel to the capital, documenting the horrors that they see on the way, in the hopes of securing an interview with the President in his final hours.

🎮 Playing: I’m still playing Baulder’s Gate 3, but a friend recommended that I check out Octopath Traveller, which is a JRPG with really cool 2D / 3D graphics. So I might be talking about that next time.

Did you like this issue of the Digital Things newsletter? YES | NO