For my engaged archaeology project, I made a facebook page that focused primarily on archaeology found in Michigan. My idea was that it would be easier to get people involved and interested in archaeology if it was about something they could relate to. For one month I posted articles I found on the internet about different archaeological discoveries in Michigan while slipping in some information like the history of the mound builders or different excavation methods. Many times the articles or videos I posted were informative on their own.
I believe I got a decent response to my efforts, and that I helped spread the word about how interesting archaeology can be. In the end, 30 people liked the page. Of these 30, I didn’t know 11 of them. This means that 36% of the people that took the time to like the page and get the updates were completely uncoerced. Facebook also calculated that my page and the information on it reached 317 people per week, a number that has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the page. My viewers were predominantly Americans but I had some from the UK, India, Brazil, Ecuador, Japan and several other countries. I also found that most viewers were in the 18-24 age group, which is to be expected, but I reached people from all ages of 13-55+.
All in all, I think my Archaeology in Michigan page was an, albeit small, success. It taught people about their state, and I learned a lot about archaeology as well.
Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/ArchaeologyInMichigan