Category: web 2.0

Spacebook: one small step for blogging…

Today, the communications team at Missouri S&T launched spacebook, possibly the first-ever blog by an astronaut from space.

As Neil Armstrong might put it, we’ve taken one small step for blogging, one giant leap for blogging-kind.

Our graduate, Sandra Magnus, is the flight engineer for an upcoming space shuttle launch that will take her to the International Space Station, where she will stay for three or four months. While there, she will email updates to our department, and we will then post her updates on the blog on her behalf. While we’re waiting for the shuttle to launch, a series of Sandra’s answers to kids’ questions about space will be posted on the site.

Here’s the scoop from the official news release about the site:

S&T grad to blog from space

NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus, a Missouri University of Science and Technology graduate, is scheduled to launch into orbit aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on Nov. 14. The space shuttle will drop Magnus off at the International Space Station for a four-month stay, during which time she will be contributing to a Missouri S&T blog aimed at getting more kids interested in science.

Last July, kids attending Aerospace Camp at Missouri S&T wrote down questions for Magnus. She has provided answers to some of those questions in advance of her trip, and she’ll also be checking in from the space station. The questions and answers, along with other commentary from Magnus and interactive NASA links, will be available at http://spacebook.mst.edu/.

Sample questions include:

  • How long does it take to get out of the Earth’s atmosphere?
  • What is it like to sleep in zero gravity?
  • How do you go to the bathroom in space?
  • Is the space station anchored at all?

“The idea of the blog is to get more people interested in science and engineering,” says Missouri S&T Chancellor John F. Carney III. “We are grateful to Sandra for helping us reach out to kids while she’s orbiting the Earth. We think it’s very important to get more young people excited about math, science and engineering.”

Elementary school teachers and the general public are invited to follow along and submit new questions for Magnus at http://spacebook.mst.edu/ . Updates will be posted almost daily for the next four months.

Magnus is a native of Belleville, Ill. She received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Missouri S&T in 1986 and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Missouri S&T in 1990. She earned a doctorate from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1996.

Magnus joined NASA in 1996. She spent 11 days in space in 2002. During that trip to the International Space Station, she operated Space Shuttle Atlantis’ robotic arm.

The primary mission for Magnus and other crew members during this voyage is to install equipment needed to support a six-person crew aboard the space station. Currently, the station only has a crew of three people. Next summer, that number will double.

Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to blast off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 7:55 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14.

Friday Five: from the social media scene

Some recent and not-so-recent gleanings about social media and my on-the-fly thoughts about it all:

  1. How to change the world using social media. Copyblogger tells us that the power of social media really boils down to the concept of social proof, also known as the her mentality. “[U]sers often decide to give a message a chance based on initial indicators that have nothing to do with the actual quality of the content.” That isn’t the case with my linking to this post, but let’s face it, Copyblogger’s strong reputation often puts that blog front and center in the minds of many who are looking for good information about writing and editing copy, blogging, etc. At least it seems to work for me.
  2. The social media manager: coming soon to a campus near you? In an old post from last spring that unfortunately remains relevant, Matt Herzberger laments higher education’s resistance toward social media as a legitimate form of marketing and suggests that it’s time universities create a CMO in charge of social media. I can’t say I necessarily agree with elevating social media to that status but I do agree that social media advocates should have a voice in university leadership.
  3. Outside of higher ed, though, social media jobs are hot.
  4. Speaking of leadership and social media, The Blog Council, a “community of senior executives in charge of social media at the largest corporations in the world,” might be a model for higher education to follow. That group is dealing with many of the same issues that confront higher education — only in higher education, we confront them earlier due to the tech-savvy nature of our youthful customers. (Tip from @GeekMommy: You can aggregate all Blog Council stuff through http://blogcouncil.alltop.com/.)
  5. The new AOL gets social. This CNET review of AOL‘s redesign discusses the company’s newly social-mediaized interface.