 Columbia, Columbia, this is Houston, ALS, over. Houston, Columbia, tie gate, over. Roger, the EVA is progressing beautifully. They're setting up the flag now. I guess you're about the only person around that doesn't have TV coverage of the scene. That's all right, I don't mind a bit. Part of the NASA charter dictates that the agencies share its activities and results, so the missions and the data, with the widest audience possible. And it doesn't specify how you need to do it, just that it needs to be done. And so with the changing media landscape, a lot of people don't get news from nightly news or newspapers anymore. They get it online. The world of South by Southwest is typically reserved for fresh-faced startups and Silicon Valley stalwarts. But this year, one of the biggest presences was NASA. In addition to talks, panels, and astronaut meet-and-greets, the agency even brought along a 12,000-pound model telescope. Coming to South by is part of NASA's larger effort to have a, quote, hipper, more accessible image. And that effort has had varying degrees of success. My management said, you're going to have to start tweeting, just like you do news release or talk to media. This is part of your job. And I rolled my eyes and I said, OK, whatever you say, boss. And I did it. And actually, it all changed for me personally. During the Hubble Space Telescope mission, there was a spacewalk occurring, and there was a lull in the spacewalk. And I decided to see what the conversation happening was. And when I went and saw that feed, and people were asking questions, and they were on the edge of their seat, it made me realize people love space. They're following this stuff. And before, there was always someone between me and the public. It was the news media. It was the internet. But all of a sudden, I was able to connect directly with the public, have a conversation with them. The agency has more than 480 highly active social media accounts across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and more, all blasting out daily information about NASA's many projects. It gives us a voice, these little things. These little things before that were happening at NASA that were great, that are potentially changing our lives here in aeronautics, in space, in technology. They were happening before, but they were happening in a vacuum. Nobody knew about them. A lot of the stuff you see on social media coming out from NASA comes from the experts. I flew in space twice. I would fly to the window of the space station, see this incredible sight, get a camera, take a picture of it, and then I could send it out through the different social media platforms instantly. So this is what it looked like. This is what the sunset looked like at Corsica yesterday, or today, and be able to do that, have a real-time interaction. It really was a way to bring people along on the space missions, not just as spectators, but as fellow crewmates. If we treat it like traditional media, like press releases or just making press statements that are one-directional, we're missing the point. And the viral success of the cheeky Mars Curiosity rover Twitter account has encouraged the agency to mix humor in alongside facts and science. Currently, Mars Curiosity has about 1.3 million followers on Twitter. We've done several AMAs with different team members. One of them is the number four AMA of all time. Most people really love it and respond to it very, very well. If we drop a song lyric or a movie quote, they'll be like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. That formula earned Curiosity more than 1.3 million followers and invigorated the agency's social media strategy. But it's unclear exactly what NASA is trying to accomplish and whether it will benefit the agency long term. Given the agency's perennial budget troubles and its documented lack of focus, is it time for NASA to get serious about social? Our job is to tell NASA's story to the widest audience possible. And if someone's going to get that message through a parody video and they're going to learn something, we don't do things that are just silly for the sake of being silly. We do it to get that information out. And if there's real content being communicated, whether it's social media, whether it's a cute YouTube video, whether it's a funny photo, if we're sharing information of what the agency is doing to help better us here on Earth, I think that has value and I think people get that.
 Columbia, Columbia, this is Houston, ALS, over.
 Houston, Columbia, tie gate, over.
 Roger, the EVA is progressing beautifully.
 They're setting up the flag now.
 I guess you're about the only person around that doesn't have TV coverage of the scene.
 That's all right, I don't mind a bit.
 Part of the NASA charter dictates that the agencies share its activities and results,
 so the missions and the data, with the widest audience possible.
 And it doesn't specify how you need to do it, just that it needs to be done.
 And so with the changing media landscape, a lot of people don't get news from nightly news or newspapers anymore.
 They get it online.
 The world of South by Southwest is typically reserved for fresh-faced startups and Silicon Valley stalwarts.
 But this year, one of the biggest presences was NASA.
 In addition to talks, panels, and astronaut meet-and-greets, the agency even brought along a 12,000-pound model telescope.
 Coming to South by is part of NASA's larger effort to have a, quote,
 hipper, more accessible image.
 And that effort has had varying degrees of success.
 My management said, you're going to have to start tweeting, just like you do news release or talk to media.
 This is part of your job.
 And I rolled my eyes and I said, OK, whatever you say, boss.
 And I did it.
 And actually, it all changed for me personally.
 During the Hubble Space Telescope mission, there was a spacewalk occurring, and there was a lull in the spacewalk.
 And I decided to see what the conversation happening was.
 And when I went and saw that feed, and people were asking questions, and they were on the edge of their seat,
 it made me realize people love space.
 They're following this stuff.
 And before, there was always someone between me and the public.
 It was the news media.
 It was the internet.
 But all of a sudden, I was able to connect directly with the public, have a conversation with them.
 The agency has more than 480 highly active social media accounts across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and more,
 all blasting out daily information about NASA's many projects.
 It gives us a voice, these little things.
 These little things before that were happening at NASA that were great, that are potentially changing our lives here in aeronautics, in space, in technology.
 They were happening before, but they were happening in a vacuum. Nobody knew about them.
 A lot of the stuff you see on social media coming out from NASA comes from the experts.
 I flew in space twice.
 I would fly to the window of the space station, see this incredible sight, get a camera, take a picture of it,
 and then I could send it out through the different social media platforms instantly.
 So this is what it looked like.
 This is what the sunset looked like at Corsica yesterday, or today, and be able to do that, have a real-time interaction.
 It really was a way to bring people along on the space missions, not just as spectators, but as fellow crewmates.
 If we treat it like traditional media, like press releases or just making press statements that are one-directional, we're missing the point.
 And the viral success of the cheeky Mars Curiosity rover Twitter account has encouraged the agency to mix humor in alongside facts and science.
 Currently, Mars Curiosity has about 1.3 million followers on Twitter.
 We've done several AMAs with different team members. One of them is the number four AMA of all time.
 Most people really love it and respond to it very, very well.
 If we drop a song lyric or a movie quote, they'll be like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
 That formula earned Curiosity more than 1.3 million followers and invigorated the agency's social media strategy.
 But it's unclear exactly what NASA is trying to accomplish and whether it will benefit the agency long term.
 Given the agency's perennial budget troubles and its documented lack of focus, is it time for NASA to get serious about social?
 Our job is to tell NASA's story to the widest audience possible.
 And if someone's going to get that message through a parody video and they're going to learn something, we don't do things that are just silly for the sake of being silly.
 We do it to get that information out. And if there's real content being communicated, whether it's social media, whether it's a cute YouTube video, whether it's a funny photo,
 if we're sharing information of what the agency is doing to help better us here on Earth, I think that has value and I think people get that.