The National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City enlisted the help of security guard Tim Tiller during the attraction’s closure over the global coronavirus pandemic.
The National Cowboy Museum closed to the public on March 17. However, the museum’s head of security Tim Tiller has taken over its official Twitter account.
Tim introduced himself on Twitter, writing alongside a headshot: “Hello, my name is Tim and I am the head of security for The Cowboy.
Tim learns about hashtags during COVID-19
Hello, my name is Tim and I am the head of security for The Cowboy. 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 pic.twitter.com/bPiXD9DoAd
— Nat'l Cowboy Museum (@ncwhm) March 17, 2020
“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.”
This is the hat and eyepatch the Duke wore in the movie True Grit. They are part of our Exhibition about the 2 True Grit. Lots of interesting props and clothes. I’m told I can’t try it on. Hashtag John Wayne. Lucas, my grandson, told me to use hashtags. Thanks, Tim pic.twitter.com/yNO3RP4uA4
— Nat'l Cowboy Museum (@ncwhm) March 17, 2020
Tim later shared a snap of the hat and eye patch worn by John Wayne in True Grit (1969). “Hashtag John Wayne,” he wrote. “Lucas, my grandson, told me to use hashtags.”
“Twitter tips, please,” he wrote, before clarifying: “Sorry, thought I was Googling that.”
Tim also shared an image of the Dorothea Lange exhibition, adding that “she looks like someone I’d want to have a beer with”.
‘We get through these tough times together’
This is one of her photos of people lined up at a social security office in San Francisco trying to get unemployment benefits in 1937. It was a tough time then. And it looks like it’s going to be a tough time now. But we get through these times together, don’t we? Thanks, Tim pic.twitter.com/UUXUlCiS2H
— Nat'l Cowboy Museum (@ncwhm) March 18, 2020
He’s also motivating readers with his posts, with one reading: “This is one of her photos of people lined up at a social security office in San Francisco trying to get unemployment benefits in 1937.
“It was a tough time then. And it looks like it’s going to be a tough time now. But we get through these times together, don’t we?”
Meanwhile, Tim missed the point of ‘selfie stations’ and learnt that “asking questions on the social media is good for ‘engagement'”.
Thanks for all the tips, Friends. Realize I have been doing the hashtags wrong. I need to use that pound sign from the phone. I’m learning! Here’s his costume from True Grit from 1969 courtesy of John Wayne Enterprises. #HashtagJohnWayne Thanks, Tim pic.twitter.com/AZu7EidGu2
— Nat'l Cowboy Museum (@ncwhm) March 19, 2020
“Let’s get engaged! LOL! Thanks, Tim,” he wrote. “I’m very happily married to Tina though.”
In addition, Tim shared photos of himself with Kevin Costner and Sam Elliott. Tim said Costner was “very funny” but that there was “no dancing at the awards or wolves”.
Security guard meets Sam Elliott, Kevin Costner
Got to meet Kevin Costner at last year’s Western Heritage Awards. He was very funny. Unfortunately there’s no dancing at the awards or wolves. #HashtagTheCowboy Thanks, Tim pic.twitter.com/7Bud5EIrgD
— Nat'l Cowboy Museum (@ncwhm) March 23, 2020
Someone suggested I post a Tick Tock. It's from our Warhol and The West Exhibition.
Roy Rogers Alarm Clock c 1951 from The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc TC526.36 #HashtagTheCowboy Thanks, Tim pic.twitter.com/FTz9Gp5bZH— Nat'l Cowboy Museum (@ncwhm) March 21, 2020
And, when it comes to TikTok, Tim is just as confused as the rest of us, instead sharing an image of a Roy Rogers alarm clock from the early 1950s.
We’re still not completely convinced that Tim’s posts aren’t the brainchild of a millennial marketing genius, but in the meantime we’ll be #HashtagFollowing.
The National Cowboy Museum is offering a virtual tour of its exhibits.
