Today's announcement  Cureton tabbed as next NASA chief information officer -- Government Computer News signals good news for the agency as Linda Cureton will bring to this position her savvy leadership, sense of humor, participative style, and ability to frame complex issues into everyday analogies that many can identify with. NASA will get a bonus in that Cureton brings another talent to her new position –social networking skills. Cureton is an avid blogger and Facebook user, and as CIO at NASA Goddard she helped create its own version of Facebook:  Spacebook.  Recognizing that the "rocket scientists" at Goddard possess some of the sharpest intellects, have deep information to share, and are curious learners, Cureton led the development and deployment of social media technology.

Her objectives? To improve communication by making it easier to share, publish and find information, integrate content, and encourage collaboration, which results in a very practical use of social networking - to take advantage of the information and resources that NASA Goddard already has.  Employee participation in NASA Goddard's Spacebook is voluntary, but the value of the network should help drive participation across the agency.  It will be interesting to see if  that makes for a successful launch across the ten often independent centers that comprise NASA.  The next frontier?  Measuring mission (social networking) value.