When Astronaut Massiminio Twitters From Outer Space, Does He Get More Than 140 Characters?

If you Tweet from space, do you still only get 140 characters? Does floating above the earth earn you an extra character or two? That’s what I was checking out this morning as I looked to see what NASA astronaut Mike Massimino was saying on Twitter.

Surevy says–"No!" Even if you’re out in space, working to repair the Hubble telescope that is traveling around the earth once every 90 minutes at a speed of  17,500 mph, you still only get 140 characters.

In fact Massimino says that’s what makes it great. "The whole Twitter experience has been great fun," he told reporters. "As astronauts, we look for ways to share the experience of what we do. The opportunity to use Twitter has been great because, by definition, it has to be short messages … and I can fit it in when I have free time."

The astronaut wasn’t using Twitter until two weeks ago when NASA’s public relations team suggested Massimino start Twittering about his training. He now has more than 282,000 followers at http://twitter.com/Astro_Mike

Now, tell me this-if NASA thinks Twittering is important enough to incorporate into a busy and dangerous space mission, don’t you think it might be worth a little of YOUR time?

NASA is merely acknowledging what many corporations, celebrities and big name marketers have come to know-Twitter is a great tool for connecting with people all around the globe. It’s a relationship-building tool. A place to meet and greet and start getting your name and message out.

###

Bonnie Boots publishes The Internet Wizards Magazine for people, especially small business owners, that want to be more cretaive, make their own products and market on the internet. To join her, type your email into the subscribe form in the upper right corner. You’ll be glad you did!

Related articles by Zemanta

• First Twitter Message From Space Sent (space.com)
• One Giant Leap for Twitterkind; Mike Massimino Tweets from Space (mashable.com)

Tweet This Post