The employment of dialogic principles in the websites and social media platforms of museums in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study conducted a content analysis to investigate the extent of museums’ online communication by utilizing their communication tools, such as websites and social media platforms, to fulfill their various activities and purposes. This study first applied dialogic principles to Chinese museums and examined national first-grade museums’ websites and social media platforms (e.g., Weibo and WeChat) to better understand online communication under China’s circumstances. The results showed that most museums did well in terms of convenience and information usefulness, but the item related to interactions was not ideal. More than four out of five museums had social media accounts, indicating that museums had transferred online communication from websites to social media platforms. In addition, the museum type or the number of visitors did not influence the employment of dialogic communication in museums. In the future, both museums and the public should strengthen dialogic communication to build a better dialogic environment for museums’ sustainable development.