CosmoQuest: Using Social Media to Tie Community Together

CosmoQuest is a virtual research facility where members of the public can take part in planetary science research while also learning about astronomy and astrophysics. The citizen science takes place entirely within the... [ view full abstract ]

CosmoQuest is a virtual research facility where members of the public can take part in planetary science research while also learning about astronomy and astrophysics. The citizen science takes place entirely within the website using image marking tools and data from several NASA spacecraft. The CosmoQuest team uses a variety of new and social media tools to attract new users and engage with current users, most notably Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and YouTube. In particular, the Hangouts on Air tool with Google Plus and YouTube allows for weekly live broadcasts by team members and interaction with the audience through live questions and comments. Each social platform has a slightly different style of communication and method of responding to users, fans, and followers. Helpful reminders through social media are one way of keeping in contact with or reminding existing project users.

Blogging is a slightly different form of communication through the web as it focuses on long-form story-telling or informational guides that complements a citizen science project. Repositories of information can also be shared through tutorial videos made available on YouTube or other hosting platforms. Email newsletters, though hardly “new,” remain an effective way of reaching a large audience with timely updates and reminders.

We will share tips and techniques for social media as used by CosmoQuest and explore web traffic results from social media. We will also discuss ways of integrating multiple methods of social and new media into a citizen science program as a way of fulfilling many of its needs.