Rock Creek Roundup (November 11 Edition)

Posted by: Amy Hooker, Director of Online Marketing Nov 11, 2011 0 Comments

NASA is the first federal agency to join Google+, the Army wants to connect military families and personnel through social media, Mashable offers eight ways to say “Thanks” to our troops, and the Department of the Interior looks to crowdsourcing for its new geospatial platform, all in this week’s version of the Rock Creek Roundup!

—Only fitting its trailblazing social media tendencies, NASA seems to be the first federal agency to have joined Google+. The NASA Google+ page went live on Monday, the day that Google opened up the service to corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies. Two days later, the page had garnered 15,280 followers. As of Friday, NASA has 21,505 followers with four in its circle. NASA’s page is similar to a blog with posts about discoveries, video, and photos.

—The Army is bringing together resources to help military personnel, veterans, and families stay connected through social media. The new Facebook page and application is part of an initiative to better serve and appreciate those who served and still do serve our country. Additionally, the Army will partner with Blue Star Families to create a social media guide and CNN.com to provide inspirational stories.

—In honor of Veterans Day, Mashable put together a list of eight online ways to thank our troops. As social media becomes more ubiquitous in everyday life and daily communication, it also provides a means of outreach and support. Using the hashtag #HappyVeteransDay isn’t a bad way to start! Some other ways include the Veterans History Project, an online collection of war veterans’ accounts; the U.S. Military Facebook page mentioned above; and the History Channel’s Thank a Vet campaign. As the History Channel reminds us, it’s never too late to say ‘thank you.’

—On Thursday, the Department of the Interior launched a new online tool that pulls together government-produced maps that users can add to and edit. Using crowdsourcing, Interior has created a geospatial platform that will be a place for trustworthy place-based information. The platform will allow for a diverse set of data to be added to the maps providing users with information on topics ranging from pollution to where to get fresh produce. Being that it will be created by a federal agency, data from the previous user will be stored for the next, reducing duplication and inefficiency.

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Amy Hooker

Director of Online Marketing

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