Social media has become intimately linked with the culture of our world, and now beyond.  Spending Christmas in space, astronauts in the International Space Station shared some Christmas cheer, as well as the first extraterrestrial musical recording, with the earthlings below.  The festivities and the alien music were beamed down to Earth with the aid of social media tools.

Social media went extraterrestrial in 2012.  Starting with the journey of the Curiosity Mars mission – documented in great detail on Twitter – and culminating with a Christmas serenade to the Earth from space.  People around the world are feeling more involved and more in touch with the space program since the adoption of social media.  YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are giving us a closer glimpse into space than we have ever seen before.

Social media access to the space program is more than just a publicity stunt.  The mystery, wonder and science of space are more accessible to today’s children than they ever have been before.  Music recorded from the ISS and tweets with pictures of water-swept landscapes on Mars are touching our young people, and creating a new generation of passionate little astronauts impatiently awaiting their turn to reach for the stars.

NASA gets it.  Social media is not a passing fad or simply a marketing opportunity.  Social media isn’t the wave of the future.  Social media is the wave of the present.  At one point in history, talking on the phone and emailing were fine ways of communicating. But if you aren’t using social media in 2013, you wont be reaching people.  At least no where near as many as you could.