I recently had a truly amazing experience. Over the last couple months, I was involved as a Twitter correspondent for the launch of NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO). This is the first mission in the “Living with a star” program.
Just to be clear for my readers, I have never worked for NASA as an employee or contractor. That makes this experience even more amazing for me. Another aspect is that I have joined the somewhat rarified ranks of Space Tweeps, which is just so cool.
NASA has created the savviest Social Media promotion I have seen to date. What makes it so very effective is that it works in delivering a compelling experience that can only be described as making dreams come true. The event was described as a 2 day volunteer assignment, tweeting (sending messages through Twitter.com, no longer than 140 characters) about a satellite launch, NASA got me heart and soul for over a month...so far.
My adventure began when I read that NASA was accepting applications for a “tweetup” (a social gathering for Twitter users) at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and for the subsequent launch at Kennedy Space Center for the Solar Dynamics Observatory. My wife and I both submitted our applications. All travel and hotel expenses would be my own responsibility.
On Friday, January 8 of this year, my wife and I received notice from a NASA email address that we were on the waiting list for the launch. We were thrilled. Short of winning lottery numbers, this was the most exciting news we could hear after an emotionally draining year which included the death of my grandfather. Our weekend was filled with daydreams of rockets and other what-ifs. Any doubt, that this is a geek home, should now be erased.
On Monday January 11, confirmation was received that I was moved from the waiting list to active participant. Realizing that my wife was not selected, I offered to decline the selection, but she insisted that I go without her. Of course, we were both tweeting about the selection experience the entire time. The ranks of our followers were growing as we became acquainted with Space Tweeps (people who tweet about space science and NASA). As our story unfolded, more and more people were drawn into it. We told friends, who in turn registered on Twitter or followed our tweets through other social media like FaceBook.
I found myself the confidant of several men who obviously still harbored regret for not becoming the astronauts they imagined they would be when they were younger. And all this time, as my own following was growing, my audience of friends and associates far removed from the politics of our nation's space program, were getting an education through my starry eyes.
Online, my social circle was growing with the most amazing people. Not just armchair explorers with broadband, but astronomers, shuttle technicians and astrophysicists were sharing their lives with me. When my mother saw the list of participants, she asked “How did you get in with a crowd like this?” At times I wondered the same thing.
For weeks I was tweeting about the upcoming event. As the list of participants was released we chatted amongst ourselves on the social media networks and on the Space Tweep Society website. From the tweets I've been reading, we were all consumed with anticipation of our big day and the launch of SDO. At one point I counted the followers who had re-tweeted (passed along my own tweet) or mentioned my name. In one particularly fruitful hour, my name was passed to an audience of about 10,000 people.
If you manage your own social media campaigns, look at the last couple paragraphs. By joining in this NASA sponsored program, my own audience was enhanced and I was spreading the word for NASA and myself to a larger and receptive audience...and the event hadn't even started yet! On the cost side, the only media money spent was for the manpower to manage the event.
The schedule on this tweetup had our launch following a shuttle launch. When the shuttle was delayed for weather (and it was nasty) our event was pushed back by another day, in which we were all tweeting. Of course several attendees arrived early so they could see both launches. The messages of anticipation and awe were streaming into the “Twitterverse” in a constant stream.
The quietest day for tweets was when the SDO space tweeps toured Kennedy Space Center (KSC). We were given our assignments. We were given an amazing tour including a stop in front of the VAB (where shuttle orbiters are mated to fuel tanks and boosters). We saw the KSC launch pads and across the water we saw “our” rocket at Cape Canaveral. We attended a mission briefing and we barely had time to get to the appointed destination for dinner.
All the Twitter correspondents were wonderful people. Meeting this group of people with shared interests in science and our national space policy transcended community. I hope as time goes on, that I will continue to call these people friends. I can not find the words to describe how wonderful these people were, how fast the friendships and how we all got along regardless of age or ability. We took our assigned tasks seriously, but enjoyed a great sense of playfulness as well.
Finally we had our launch day. We were only 40% go for launch because of heavy wind. Our seats (who stayed in a seat??) were great, right across the water from the launch pad. We arrived with about 40 minutes on the countdown clock. There was a scheduled hold at the 4 minute mark.
I was watching two hash tags (searchable phrases) and answering questions. We had learned so much about the mission and the launch. If we had a tough question, a real staff person was on hand to help us.
Target launches were set. We could hear the polling at Mission Control. “Go.” “Go.” “Go.” Then a dissenting voice about the weather. Finally the last target time within our launch window arrived. All the controllers answered “Go.” The countdown was to commence in minutes. There was a cheer and the clock started and stopped, reading 00:03:59. With that our window closed and we returned to our meeting place. Everyone was free to leave.
I didn't do a head count, but very few of our ranks were missing on the third day of our two day assignment. For me at least, it was no longer about the excitement of visiting KSC and seeing the cool stuff behind the scenes. I had become part of the team, prepared to answer questions. The company was great too. We sang on the bus on the way to see “our” launch. On the bus behind me, was a man with who had worked on the Hubble Space Telescope. As I spoke to a contractor who made a much more meaningful contribution to SDO, I felt that I was a small part of this amazing event that we were all gathered to witness.
We came out of the 4 minute hold, on the clock 00:03:59 rolled past and kept rolling and we cheered. The Atlas rocket took our payload skyward and the shared experience brought some of our team to tears (I have pictures). As I left the KSC Visitor Complex, I felt transformed. I was not one of the many tourists whiling away the time to the next “Astronaut Encounter.” I was still wearing my VIP tag. I was saying my goodbyes to familiar faces. I felt as if I had come to belong to that special place.
As I write, I am still answering questions on Twitter. I am still tweeting about SDO. I am still staying in touch with my new friends.
That is the experience NASA wanted us to have, and it worked. I am figuring out how to apply this experience to my own social media use. How do we apply it for our clients? I'm still figuring that out.
I know this. The model that NASA created with these tweetups (and another is about to start at Johnson Space Center this week) can and should be copied by other agencies, like the National Parks Service. I can imagine that other agencies and governments could do the same. It would be a great idea for Cities and for non-profit groups, combining social action with social media. Through the influence of hosting these Tweetups, NASA is reaching hundreds of thousands of people on a personal level that big media duplicate.
Someone at NASA has created an amazing vehicle for their message. I hope to continue to learn from this experience and to find inventive ways to apply the lessons. NASA and SDO gave me a chance to express a childlike curiosity to learn about the space program, rockets and very cool science. Hopefully I get to do it again.
To follow this group on Twitter.com search for #SDOisGo and #NASATweetup.
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