Web 2.0 hits Space

Version 3 of SpaceAlumni.org just relaunched! After a small hiatus offline due to an internal restructure, they are back and bigger and more potent with social networking tools. Getting people together and creating community, via easier communication tools is the crux of Web 2.0.

The insular space community needs to start talking in a way that can be heard. Always the hearsay is "We need more public support, and get people excited about space." Well so how does that happen when internal NASA communications is a pile of decentralized hubs? If SpaceAlumni can get NASA folks to use these open source social networking tools, perhaps we'll see a friendlier face from the elusive space dinosaur.

Both social and network (not the hardware, but the humanware) is missing for NASA. It's pretty evident that they recognize this problem, when they hired a Communications Architect ( a few years ago) to restructure internal communications from the top down. Three weeks on the job, and he packed his bags due to no progress. Maybe SpaceAlumni can offer some online refresher courses on "Communications 101".