@OisinTheDeer: engagement and dialogue through a museum-based Twitter account

The microblogging platform Twitter has enjoyed widespread uptake by museums for its ease of use and proven efficacy as a dialogic social medium. Warwickshire Museum’s account @OisinTheDeer is founded upon a popular exhibit: the skeleton of an extinct Irish Elk. This is one of a growing number of accounts based on museum mascots, giving their parent museums a ‘voice’ to facilitate informal dialogic communication with diverse audiences. @OisinTheDeer has proved to be an effective broadcasting tool, further embedding the Warwickshire Museum within the broader arena of museums, heritage organisations, and local communities.