In the last post, we looked at the ways in which changes in preservation laws, the recent economic downtown, and revolutions in technology are in turn affecting historic preservation and revitalization in Ohio. As noted, this includes ways in which the “preservation consumer” – the local individual, organization, corporation or government -- can obtain relevant information, and relevant information is often the key to preservation-friendly decisions.

If one accepts that statewide and local preservation organizations want these consumers to obtain the latest and best resources -- which seems like a safe assumption – then we at Preservation Ohio feel that we have an obligation to try and bring that information together. Each week we are directly contacted by people across the state… in recent weeks including an economic development professional in the Canton area, a preservation consultant working in south-central Ohio, a downtown developer in Dayton, a homeowner in Cleveland, and others…and we have every desire to see them succeed. This does not mean that we are trying to ourselves become “the” clearinghouse for resources, but rather we want to be in a position to know how to get reliable and timely information to share with those who contact us.

Two aspects of this new paradigm are disappointing, however – one about preservation organizations in general, and the other about the situation here in Ohio.

There is debate about what will be the long-term future of social networking, but there is little question that online sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. are already profoundly changing the ways that non-profits do their work. When it comes to the area of communication and public relations, sheer numbers are forcing that change. While we know of no source for statistics on how many Ohioans are on each of these sites, the numbers are staggering, and we all have the opportunity to inexpensively get the preservation message out to a greater number of individuals than ever before and to build new partnerships with organizations in allied fields. These sites allow organizations to enter into a more personal and interactive dialogue, thereby building long-term, positive relationships.

All of this has seemed rather obvious to us – but the preservation community nationally seems to be lagging in this regard. In 2009, the National Main Street Conference trumpeted “Becoming Main Street 2.0,’ for instance, and many statewide and local downtown organizations started to look at social networking. Many of those sites and accounts, however, have had little to no activity since that time, including many in Ohio. Of all of the statewide Main Street programs, Michigan’s truly stands out as realizing the potential and promise of technology in sharing information, networking and building constituencies in support of their message.

Statewide preservation organizations are much the same. Preservation Ohio currently hosts the only online list of all statewides on Twitter, but there are only 15 of those – and 14 states represented. And not all are active -- one of those statewides has actually not tweeted since April of 2009! There are some 29 statewides on Facebook, many of whom are more actively using the site.

On the national level, the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave a crash course in Twitter just before last year’s conference in Nashville, however most of those trained staffers ceased tweeting shortly afterwards. There are several local preservation and downtown organizations involved in online social networking, but certainly not as many as could be.

The other disappointing backdrop to this discussion is that Ohio’s statewide preservation community is still woefully lacking in communication – making it doubly difficult to know where good information resides. The last in-person meeting of staffed statewide and local preservation organizations in Ohio occurred some six years ago, and each organization has new programming, areas of emphasis, talent pools, and volunteer bases about which the others are unaware. To meet this challenge, Preservation Ohio recently introduced The Ohio Preservation Network, a place where preservation advocates across Ohio can share information freely and effectively. It is hoped that the network can take full advantage of technology to bring Ohioans together to share best practices, practical advice and enthusiasm – a sort of 24-hour a day, continuing statewide preservation conference.

We are also on the lookout for other ways to harness these changes for the benefit of Ohioans. From virtual tours, to audio and video experiences, to the world of mobile marketing – we’re now on the lookout for anything which can advance statewide preservation and revitalization.

Photo Credit: redvers/Creative Commons License