Merriam-Webster recently announced the 2014 word of the year: culture. The criteria required to earn such a title? Sheer number of internet searches. Apparently, “culture” made a lot of folks curious this year.
Joshua Rothman at The New Yorker outlined some of the possible reasons behind this existential quest for culture. His theory? "More people looked up culture this year because it’s become an unsettling word.”
Rothman speculates our yearning for definition derives from the fracturing of our current society. (Honestly, Rothman’s description leaves me with the visual of America as a 21st century Humpty Dumpty – we’re all the King’s men, clinging to the pieces and jamming them together with superglue.)
Perhaps it’s my optimistic side, but I’m inclined to disagree with such a pessimistic analysis. You see, maybe the internet searchers of 2014 just wanted a place to belong, a place to be recognized and remembered – a community. By searching for culture in general, they were just looking for a culture they could connect to.
When People Search
Have you heard of the #MuseumSelfie? Once a year, Museum professionals cringe at the scourge of visitors running rampant through galleries, taking photos of themselves next to priceless artifacts. Sound silly? Let’s look at the statistics from Tweet Archivist:
Over one hundred million impressions in 24 hours. Twenty thousand tweets. Sounds to me like thousands of people were using the hashtag to take part in a larger movement that engages these cultural institutions. What would happen if museums embraced the #MuseumSelfie and built a community out of it?
Perhaps society’s interest in culture isn’t a passive disgust with how things are, but a nation-wide extension of arms toward something bigger than ourselves. To Rothman’s credit, he did end his analysis on a high note saying, “Confusion over its evolving meaning is a good reason to look up “culture” in the dictionary, but so is an interest in understanding the world and making it better.”
What’s next?
It’s 2015 and people are looking at their current surroundings to make connections. If you are an organization it means your supporters want to belong – really belong. They don’t just want an email once a month, they want to be part of your community. They want to know the other people who are part of your community, so give them a chance!
There is a lot more to be said on this topic, but I’m going to boil it down to a single fact:
Fact 1: According to a study by Walden University 82% of adults reported participation in positive action towards social change in the last six months of 2014.
The current adult population not only cares, but it is actively working to give their time, energy, and resources to support causes they care about.
Try and get them engaged. Pay attention to the silly hashtags. Talk to them like people and treat them like a friend. Introduce them to each other and give them real actions (not just donations) to contribute. Let them be a part of your culture and they won’t let you down.
