I just finished watching the panel discussion on social media at the 2010 Outdoor Retailer Winter Show (See: http://www.vimeo.com/8924432 Search #guerillapanel) Several people I follow on Twitter ( @theclimbergirl @highsteph @wude72 @pembaserves) sat on a panel and discussed what got them started in social media, their experiences, and what makes "virtual" interactions successful.

I'm super inspired. They did a great job, and I can't help but brainstorm ways I can use this personally and at work. For those of you who don't know, I also tweet at @NASA_SDO_Edu - a mildly successful account meant to target teachers and provide classroom support. Part of the problem getting this off the ground is that school policy and teacher resistance makes it difficult to get a foot in the door. The communities exist for this type of communication, but they are small. One comment I liked from the panel was "Don't make your own communities, find the ones that exist and engage them with your message." - something I'd gotten all wrong when trying to make first contact with teacher tweeps. Another comment I loved was about being "authentic" online - be provocative: the word means "bringing out a voice." Be yourself - hard to do when you represent a government agency :-/ Being "NASA" has it's perks though, and we are using twitter to bring together a community around launch... (http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/sdoisgo/)

I plan on changing my strategy in the weeks before launch, so we will see how it goes. So rather than lengthen this post with my plan, I'd like to ask you a few questions... How have you found community online - either with Twitter, blogging, message boards etc? What opportunities have you been given as a result? (i.e. Katie and my trip to the Adirondacks, or going to a NASATweetup) What "brands" do you speak with, and why do you keep talking to them? And lastly, are you in more than one "virtual" community? I am, and I wouldn't think about changing that.

Thanks in advance :)