The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla., is closed due to the spread of the coronavirus. But that hasn’t stopped it from gaining more than 270,000 Twitter followers in the last month.
That’s thanks to Tim, the museum’s director of security and operations services, who has taken over the museum’s official Twitter feed since March 17. The museum is not releasing his last name.
“Hello, my name is Tim and I am the head of security for The Cowboy,” he tweeted on day one. “I have been asked to take on the additional duty of social media management while the museum is closed. I’m new to this but excited. My team will also continue to protect and monitor the museum. Thanks, Tim Send”
That authentic voice, complete with technology fumbles, has gone viral. The museum had 9,789 followers on March 16 and now has 285,900 and growing.
“Knowing that security would be left in the building no matter what, we had the idea of showing the Museum to the world from the perspective of Tim,” said Gina Anderson, a museum spokeswoman. “What we’ve found is an authentic voice for the Museum; what we didn’t anticipate was how much that voice would resonate with people during this difficult time.”
Tim’s tweets include attempts at hashtags — which led to the reference now used on most tweets, #HashtagTheCowboy — and selfies.
He also peppers his tweets with references to his family and “dad jokes” that demonstrate enthusiasm for the museum’s exhibits and art.