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Seeing, Scrolling, Engaging: A User-focused Study of Experience-based Valuation of Museum Content on Social Media.

De Biase, Lucrezia and Hernandez Nicholls, Francine (2025) SMMM40 20251
Department of Service Studies
Abstract
Following the outbreak of new media technologies, researchers in museum studies have acknowledged the increasing importance of digital content creation for museums. Today, Social Media provides museums with the opportunity to engage with their audiences beyond museum walls and pursue their organizational mission in innovative ways. Despite a growing interest in the organizational changes that make this possible, there is still a need for more research focused on user-centered perspectives to investigate their expectations, motivations, and underlying reasoning behind engagement as well as its impact on the online museum experience. Therefore, this thesis seeks to examine how Social Media users shape their online experiences while... (More)
Following the outbreak of new media technologies, researchers in museum studies have acknowledged the increasing importance of digital content creation for museums. Today, Social Media provides museums with the opportunity to engage with their audiences beyond museum walls and pursue their organizational mission in innovative ways. Despite a growing interest in the organizational changes that make this possible, there is still a need for more research focused on user-centered perspectives to investigate their expectations, motivations, and underlying reasoning behind engagement as well as its impact on the online museum experience. Therefore, this thesis seeks to examine how Social Media users shape their online experiences while constructing, negotiating, and expressing the perceived value of museum-related content. Among
museums at the forefront of this evolution, The British Museum stands out because of its efforts to build a strong presence across different Social Media platforms. Drawing on Valuation and Brand Experience Theories, we developed an integrated theoretical framework - the Experience-based Valuation Model - to analyze users’ museum Social Media experiences from different evaluative perspectives. We collected relevant empirical data through netnographic observation of The British Museum’s digital content and related public comments as well as semi-structured interviews with individuals who ranged from regular museum-goers to casual scrollers.

This allowed us to highlight that valuation processes rely on four registers of valuing: Sensory register, Affective register, Intellectual register, and Moral register. In most cases, the findings suggest that these registers are deeply intertwined and can work in synergy; in others, however, they clash and create devalorizing experiences. (Less)
Popular Abstract
Following the outbreak of new media technologies, researchers in museum studies have acknowledged the increasing importance of digital content creation for museums. Today, Social Media provides museums with the opportunity to engage with their audiences beyond museum walls and pursue their organizational mission in innovative ways. Despite a growing interest in the organizational changes that make this possible, there is still a need for more research focused on user-centered perspectives to investigate their expectations, motivations, and underlying reasoning behind engagement as well as its impact on the online museum experience. Therefore, this thesis seeks to examine how Social Media users shape their online experiences while... (More)
Following the outbreak of new media technologies, researchers in museum studies have acknowledged the increasing importance of digital content creation for museums. Today, Social Media provides museums with the opportunity to engage with their audiences beyond museum walls and pursue their organizational mission in innovative ways. Despite a growing interest in the organizational changes that make this possible, there is still a need for more research focused on user-centered perspectives to investigate their expectations, motivations, and underlying reasoning behind engagement as well as its impact on the online museum experience. Therefore, this thesis seeks to examine how Social Media users shape their online experiences while constructing, negotiating, and expressing the perceived value of museum-related content. Among
museums at the forefront of this evolution, The British Museum stands out because of its efforts to build a strong presence across different Social Media platforms. Drawing on Valuation and Brand Experience Theories, we developed an integrated theoretical framework - the Experience-based Valuation Model - to analyze users’ museum Social Media experiences from different evaluative perspectives. We collected relevant empirical data through netnographic observation of The British Museum’s digital content and related public comments as well as semi-structured interviews with individuals who ranged from regular museum-goers to casual scrollers.

This allowed us to highlight that valuation processes rely on four registers of valuing: Sensory register, Affective register, Intellectual register, and Moral register. In most cases, the findings suggest that these registers are deeply intertwined and can work in synergy; in others, however, they clash and create devalorizing experiences. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
De Biase, Lucrezia and Hernandez Nicholls, Francine
supervisor
organization
course
SMMM40 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Museum Social Media content, museum experience, valuation processes, valuation processes in digital spaces, Brand Experience, registers of valuing, valorizing and devalorizing practices.
language
English
id
9225680
date added to LUP
2026-04-24 11:09:19
date last changed
2026-04-24 11:09:19
@misc{9225680,
  abstract     = {{Following the outbreak of new media technologies, researchers in museum studies have acknowledged the increasing importance of digital content creation for museums. Today, Social Media provides museums with the opportunity to engage with their audiences beyond museum walls and pursue their organizational mission in innovative ways. Despite a growing interest in the organizational changes that make this possible, there is still a need for more research focused on user-centered perspectives to investigate their expectations, motivations, and underlying reasoning behind engagement as well as its impact on the online museum experience. Therefore, this thesis seeks to examine how Social Media users shape their online experiences while constructing, negotiating, and expressing the perceived value of museum-related content. Among
museums at the forefront of this evolution, The British Museum stands out because of its efforts to build a strong presence across different Social Media platforms. Drawing on Valuation and Brand Experience Theories, we developed an integrated theoretical framework - the Experience-based Valuation Model - to analyze users’ museum Social Media experiences from different evaluative perspectives. We collected relevant empirical data through netnographic observation of The British Museum’s digital content and related public comments as well as semi-structured interviews with individuals who ranged from regular museum-goers to casual scrollers.

This allowed us to highlight that valuation processes rely on four registers of valuing: Sensory register, Affective register, Intellectual register, and Moral register. In most cases, the findings suggest that these registers are deeply intertwined and can work in synergy; in others, however, they clash and create devalorizing experiences.}},
  author       = {{De Biase, Lucrezia and Hernandez Nicholls, Francine}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Seeing, Scrolling, Engaging: A User-focused Study of Experience-based Valuation of Museum Content on Social Media.}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}