NASA Tweetup

NASA has hosted many events for its social media enthusiasts called NASA Socials (formerly NASA Tweetups) beginning in 2009. These events are targeted at the social media followers of NASA through platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram, YouTube and more. They provide guests with VIP access to NASA facilities and speakers with the goal of leveraging participants' social networks to further the outreach requirements of NASA as laid out in the National Aeronautics and Space Act. NASA re-branded these events as "Socials" in March 2012 as it expanded participation to services beyond just Twitter.

As of 2015, all NASA field centers and NASA Headquarters have hosted NASA Tweetup/Social events. There were 5 NASA Tweetups in 2009, 10 in 2010, 16 in 2011, 21 in 2012, 22 in 2013, and 23 in 2014. In August 2011, over 2,000 participants had been part of official NASA Tweetups. By July 2014, that number had swelled to over 6,000 total participants in over 5 years of NASA Social programs.

Many NASA Social events are at least partially broadcast on NASA TV and UStream. NASA Socials are held at NASA centers, NASA Headquarters, observatories, engine test sites, museums such as the Newseum and National Air and Space Museum, and during larger events such as SXSW and World Space Week. The length of socials range from a few hours to a couple days to much longer in the case of some events, such as the STS-133 launch tweetup.

The first NASA Tweetup was held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in January 2009. During this event, guests were given exclusive tours and access to JPL scientists and engineers.|

In an attempt to measure the impact of tweetups, NASA tracked 10,665 tweets originating from 150 participants in the August 2011 Juno Tweetup as well as the subsequent retweets and found 29.9 million potential impressions.

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