Rock Creek Roundup (May 27 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy May 27, 2011 0 Comments

NASA is hosting a Tweetup for the final shuttle launch, the Army turns to social media for recruitment, the White House hires a social media guru, the Social Security Administration improves customer service with video conferencing, and the Small Business Administration creates a mobile app for entrepreneurs, all in this week’s version of the Rock Creek Roundup.

—Want to witness history in the making? NASA is giving away front–row seats to the final Space Shuttle Atlantis launch to 150 of its Twitter followers. On Friday, the agency announced it will be hosting a two-day Tweetup at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 8 and 9. NASA will randomly choose 150 of its @NASA followers, who will be invited to attend the launch, tour the center, meet NASA engineers, and connect with the NASA social media team. Event registration will open on June 1 at noon and last for only 24 hours.

—With potential recruits spending a considerable amount of time online, the Army is looking to social media to enlist new members. While the “Army Strong” campaign continues to advertise through videos, blogs, and TV spots, it has added a social media component with ties to Hollywood. Partnering with 20th Century Fox, the Army has added exclusive content from X-Men: First Class to its Facebook page as well as a commercial comparing the Army experience to that of being an X-Man. In addition, the Army is running commercials in National CineMedia theatres targeting movie-goers all over the country.

—With social media’s ability to cause an instant uproar, the White House decided to reinforce its rapid response efforts by hiring a social media expert. Jesse Lee took the position Monday as Director of Progressive Media and Online Response, a new post suggesting the White House will be handling online response in-house with a more aggressive engagement strategy. Lee kicked off his new job with a dramatic tweet with a picture of a red-eyed robot calling it the “White House Twitter Machine.”

—Hate standing in line? The Social Security Administration will soon offer videoconferencing abilities on its website to retirees looking for personal assistance. Currently, the agency offers videoconferencing for those at busy field offices to reach agents at less-busy offices, internal meetings, and hearings on retirees’ disability statuses. The new video capabilities will increase customer service and decrease the need to go to the field offices for help. Well on the road to agency accessibility, the SSA also recently launched its first mobile application that lists the top baby names in America based on Social Security number applications and years of archives.

—Entrepreneurs are busy people. To cater to these hard-working business owners, the Small Business Administration has launched a mobile application allowing users to access resources and advice on the go. With more people using smart phones to retrieve information, SBA developed the application to make their tools more accessible and help small business owners take their investment to the next level. The mobile application is free and offers personalized assistance, videos, tips, a startup cost calculator, and an SBA office locator.

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Meagen Ryan

Director of Strategy

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