Government in the Digital Age

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Over the past five years, I’ve watched as the public sector has become more comfortable with, and in some cases has even embraced and pushed forward, the use of “social media technology” and “enterprise 2.0 software” to transform the way government work is done.  The promise of technological conveniences is truly enticing, especially to an increasing impatient, technology equipped workforce, who have grand visions for the future of government. A large part of the change is lead by “Digital Natives” – people who have grown up in a connected world and have different attitudes, approaches and habits than those in preceding generations. And, while there is no doubt that the way we work in government is changing at a speed that is increasingly uncomfortable for many digital skeptics, a number of questions remain unanswered about what the future of government truly looks like in this new world. For example, what are the implications of growing up in a society that always remembers and never forgets?  What are the ramifications for organizations navigating a world with more and more digital interactions and communications? What does this mean for government leaders who are trying to cope with the information overload, which is only amplified by each new wave of technology?

These are a few of the questions we will be discussing at the Nobel Public Services Summit in Stockholm this December.  In a session called “A Public Sector Where Digital Natives Thrive” we will be exploring how the public sector will evolve in the Digital Age and we will compare and contrast the roles of the Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, and Digital Skeptics in this new digital landscape.

We hope to create an interactive, technology-enabled session so that YOU can participate alongside (digitally speaking) with the public sector delegates to collaborate, debate, and vote on a number of discussion related questions. During the event we will use #PSS09 and #PSS09DN.  But, in preparation for the session, we are asking for your participation in helping us answer three questions related to the future of government in the digital age which are included below.  We’ve setup three easy ways for you to share your input – a simple web interface, a twitter poll, or texting capability.  Additionally, we hope that you will share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment here.

So, what do YOU think?

1.  Should privacy be sacrificed for transparency?

Vote one of 3 Ways:
a.   Online poll
b.   Twitter – tweet @poll 46463 for Yes, @poll 46464 for No
c.   Text to +447624806527 – 46463 for Yes, 46464 for No

2.  Should the integration of devices, workplaces and “boundary-less” organizations be a top priority for the public sector?

Vote one of 3 Ways:
a.   Online poll
b.   Twitter – tweet @poll 46462 for Yes, @poll 46465 for No
c.   Text to +447624806527 – 46462 for Yes, 46465 for No

3.  Should public sector workers be allowed to post content in real-time using social media technologies without management approval?

Vote one of 3 Ways:
a.  Online poll
b.  Twitter – tweet @poll 46466 for Yes, @poll 46467 for No
c.  Text to +447624806527 – 46466 for Yes, 46467 for No

SpaceUp – A Space Unconference

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I’m a big fan of the BarCamp format*, especially when applied to space.  So I have great news for you (which I’ll tell you more about in a bit).

If you are not familiar with BarCamps, they are an increasingly popular open-format collaborative working meeting format where those attending are encouraged to present to others on a topic of their choice. The barcamp format has been catching on in pockets around the space community. @edgufry and I had an opportunity to plan a BarCamp this fall which was hosted by the NASA Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) at Johnson Space Center in August.  It was such a success that we are now in the process of planning a second event for January 29th (creatively entitled “Barcamp: A Sequel“). The goal of the the SLSDBarCamp events is to increase enthusiasm and communication within SLSD, create a platform for SLSD members to share their work, bridge gaps, facilitate knowledge management, brainstorm for new ideas and utilize existing ones. Our hope was to bring together members of our local community together and introduce the idea of hosting BarCamps at NASA JSC. Unfortunately, since this format is very new to the NASA community, we haven’t been able to convince management to open the SLSDBarCamps up to *everyone* yet (aka non NASA badged people) - but we are trying. In the near future, we hope to host BarCamp events that are open to the public at NASA Johnson Space Center, and for now we encourage those attending our events to join outside barcamps after their in-house experience.

But, we have great news for everyone! A new space barcamp event is being organized called “SpaceUp” – and this venue is open to YOU! As their website advertises, “you will be amazed at what comes out of SpaceUp. Based on similar unconferences in other industries, you might see businesses started, problems solved, projects kicked off, plans hatched, and amazing friendships born.” We encourage you to check them out! The first SpaceUp will be in San Diego this upcoming February or March.  Pre-register here.

SpaceUp

* Why I’m a big fan of the BarCamp format (and why it’s better than your normal meeting as originally posted here):

1. All the people in the room attend voluntarily
2. If anyone feels they cannot contribute further, they can apply the law of two feet** and get up and leave
3. People join meetings on the basis of their interest and ability to contribute
4. Whoever is talking is doing so to share, teach, and ask/learn, not to look smart
5. Even in a crowded room, the conversation is facilitated in such a way that all those who wish to participate actively can
6. No judgment
7. No rank pulling
8. Content is king
9. Questions are welcome
10. PowerPoint is accidental

** There is one general law that governs all barcamps, it’s called the “law of 2 feet” which essentially means if people don’t like what they are seeing, they can get up on their two feet and move to another session or engage in a discussion with someone else. Yes, that’s actually encouraged and is the beauty of barcamp!

Starfleet Academy?

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A post over on NASA Watch indirectly poses an interesting question: Should NASA have a Starfleet Academy?

I say yes – NASA would benefit from such a program, specifically a program that would train the agency’s next generation of leaders.  While the NASA Academy and the International Space University fit this type of need, they don’t specifically train young NASA civil servants.

For the most part, we tend to hire folks to fit a specific need, to replace someone who has retired, or for a specific role in a specific branch.  These folks are then effectively trained to be just like everyone else who has ever worked in that organization.

We need to find a new way to train our leaders, and it needs to start when they are hired.  I picture something like a NASA boot camp + a graduate school version of military academies.  It would attract college graduates from all across the country.  Each group would be trained together for several years, doing hands-on work on small, inexpensive, risky projects (perhaps at Wallops?).  More importantly, they would be trained as leaders, in team-building, critical thinking, communication, and all the other fields that are necessary to be effective in leadership positions.  In return, they’d promise to serve NASA for a particular number of years, and when they graduated from the program, they’d fill positions all across the agency.

How does that sound?

It’s better in person

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sts129

It’s been quite a long time since I had a chance to see a shuttle launch in person, despite numerous attempts otherwise.  The normal routine is to jump in the car last minute, drive 16 hours across 5 states, usually in the middle of the night, with 3 two-minute stops only for gas.  It’s hard to explain the logic behind this sleep and food deprived ritual and usually takes quite a bit of convincing in order to get others to join me.  But here’s why I do it: “a shuttle launch is just better in person.”

In today’s age of HD video, livecasting, and everything in between, it’s hard to imagine that you wouldn’t be able to capture all the glory of a launch in bits and bytes.  The fact of the matter is, you can’t.  Even as good as the Discovery Channel is, their footage just doesn’t compare.   Seeing a shuttle launch in person is truly an awe-inspiring experiences, one that will change your perspective.  It’s something you’ll never forget.  It’s something you just have to experience for yourself, in person.

What made today that much sweeter for me was to experience this launch with 100 of the most excited space fans I have ever met.  NASA hosted it’s first ever launch “tweetup,” bringing together people from around the world and giving them behind the scenes access to NASA.  Q/A sessions with astronauts and engineers, tours of Kennedy Space Center, and most importantly, an opportunity to watch the launch in person, from the same place that press watches from.  I had a unique advantage today to just sit back and observe the passion of those who were allowed an opportunity to participate in NASA’s mission, some for the first time ever.  It’s hard to capture their excitement for our space program, but I think a photo by Justin W. Moore (@bikegeek) sums it up better than anything I could write.  It’s a great reminder of why NASA does what it does.

The benefit of NASA’s use of social media tools and technologies is that launch events like today’s can be archived online.  Anyone can follow the  (and participate in) the #nasatweetup conversation.  You can watch webcasts of the events, browse thousands of pictures on flickr, and share in the excitement.  But, with only 5 more shuttle launches left, we’re quickly closing this chapter in America’s human space-flight ambitions.  If you haven’t had a chance to experience one in person, I’d do anything possible to see one – even if it means driving 16 hours across 5 states, or flying in from New Zealand, or using your last vacation day even if your boss doesn’t quite understand.  That fact is, it’s just better in person.

STS-129 Tweetup

(download this picture)

Leading Amidst the Disruptive Innovation Storm

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I read a report this morning on BusinessWeek about Singularity University that really got me thinking about our path forward amidst a technological revolution filled with disruptive innovations.  How do you prepare for something you can’t see coming?  Even if a few people can see it coming, how do we ensure that these voices get heard?  How do we use this technological storm to our advantage, instead of to our demise?

In order for NASA to prosper moving forward, it will have to be adaptable, efficient and possibly even prophetic.  Now making this statement is very simple.  Everybody knows philosophically that an organization needs to be efficient and adaptable, but implementation is a much more daunting task.  This time instead of first asking “How do we make NASA adaptable, efficient and prophetic?”, we should ask

“What is needed to make NASA adaptable, efficient and prophetic?”

Below are a few things that I think NASA needs to start building.

1)  Trust from Employees (civil servants and contractors)
2)  Empowerment of Employees
3)  Multi-disciplined Employees
4)  Partnership w/ External Organizations

Trust from Employees

Trust is by far the most important thing that NASA can build between its employees.  With trust invisible walls get eliminated, and everything works faster.  An employee has to know that leadership has their best interest at heart or they will not offer cost saving suggestions, and will not speak up when they see issues that need consideration.  If the decisions that NASA makes cause good employees to fear for their livelihoods, trust will be broken.  When trust is broken, employees best move is always to take care of themselves and bureaucracies form as a result.  Plans can’t get executed without people; therefore, people matter. Without trust between its employees NASA will not be able to succeed moving forward.

Empowerment of Employees

NASA has some of the brightest and most dedicated individuals.  With such talent, it begs the question why are all decisions still being made at the top?  In a time of disruptive innovation, employees have to be empowered to try things that could make themselves and NASA better?

How does NASA empower its employees?

What if every employee got given $500 yearly to invest in cost-cutting initiatives?   What if the top 10 people that came up with the greatest cost savings, each got an award of $10k tax free?  Now this would empower employees to take initiative, and it would also create an incentive for the employees to be accountable.

What if on top of that, each employee was given $500 more to use with others in a group effort (3-10 people)?  Assuming a similar award incentive as before, this would help larger groups become more efficient while building a collaborative environment.

The final award has to be large enough to be beneficial to the individuals, but not too large that it causes fighting.

Multi-Disciplined Employees

In times of such great disruptive change, not only does NASA have to be adaptable so do the employees.  It won’t always be possible for NASA to employ everybody.  What NASA can do is ensure that every person under its employment has a diverse set of skills and that each employee is given growth opportunities that make them marketable.  Focusing on growing employees might seem inefficient at the onset, but at the end not only does the employee win so does NASA.  As the customer, NASA has a responsibility to ensure that not only civil-servants have sufficient training, but that their contractors also have sufficient training.  Passing the buck, only increases the long-term cost of operation.

Partnership w/ External Organizations

NASA can’t afford to do everything.  NASA simply does not have the resources to do everything on its own; therefore, NASA will have to be a great partner.  In order for NASA to be an effective partner, NASA has to be willing to give.  NASA can’t take the “partnership” idea as a way of just getting more money.  Nobody likes to partner with a moocher.   NASA has to be flexible and willing to listen, or partnerships won’t work.
In the Internet age, NASA will have to be able to “connect” with its partners via the internet easily and without hassle, or communication will be halted.

Conclusion

By creating multi-disciplined, empowered and trusting employees NASA will be able to leverage its internal resources to be adaptable, efficient and even prophetic (wisdom of the crowds).  By developing great, brotherly partnerships with external organizations, NASA will be able fulfill its mission with less of its own resources and account for disruptive change which NASA can’t see coming.

NASA will float or sink based on the ability and effort of its employees (civil servants AND contractors), and its external partners.  If NASA is to succeed it has to edify both its employees and its partners.

I leave you with the following video on innovation management, which relates to adaptability.

shame on us

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A friend pointed me to a blog called PostSecret this weekend.  Apparently people write a secret they’ve never told anyone else and send it to somebody in Germantown, MD.

This one had a NASA contribution…

nasa-secret

2009 Space Elevator Games

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While we may not be as much of a rock-star center as Kennedy or Johnson, Dryden Flight Research Center has its moments! Take last week’s 2009 Space Elevator Games, for example.

For those of you who are not familiar with the project, teams competing in the Space Elevator Games were tasked with creating a robot that would climb a 1 km tether (suspended from a helicopter) at a minimum speed of 2 m/s. The climber is limited to a 50 kg net weight and must carry as much payload as possible. Winners are determined by a formula based on the climber’s speed, payload, and net weight.

A total of $2 million was up for grabs (NASA provided). The team LaserMotive took home $900K. See the full results at http://www.spaceelevatorgames.org/.

Random Hacks of Kindness

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rhokWe are started, and Craig Fugate, the Administrator of FEMA, just gave his keynote. Sitting 3 miles away from NASA Ames Research Center at the Hacker Dojo, we are creating a community of developers for the emergency response community. This meeting is bringing technologists and developers together with subject matter experts to understand each other – learn what technology already exists, and which ones need to get created. After Administrator Fugate, we have a dozen 5-minute lightening talks, both from technologists and subject matter experts. On organizing the event, asked people to come up with problem statements – or featured hacks – and have seven of them defined on the wall (including one submitted by the Department of State). After lightening talks, we will open up into a hack-a-thon as well as have rooms available for barcamp-style discussions. We’re going all night, and teams submit their programs by 1pm tomorrow, present them to the community, and a panel of judges will give out awards to the best hacks created at the event.

In June 2009, the first ever Crisis Camp barcamp was held in Washington, DC. During one of the opening sessions an industry panel including representatives from Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! agreed that some matters supersede competitive concerns. As a result Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! agreed to cooperate in order to mobilize developer communities to create interoperable solutions/code that will have real impact in the field. It took the World Bank to make this partnership happen and it quickly grew to include us, NASA.

picture-1

Since its inception, NASA has demonstrated an unparalleled ability to tackle massively complex and ambitious goals to forward the human endeavor. As a result of its decades long development of technology in robotics, intelligent systems, satellites, human spaceflight and data analysis, visualization and modeling, NASA has a powerful and intelligent network of scientists and engineers.

NASA has 15 spacecraft currently orbiting the Earth monitoring the dynamic Earth environment. With approximately ~4TB of new Earth Science data available each day, NASA’s scientists and engineers are at the forefront of understanding our global system. This data, together with 40 years of archived data, is a global resource for the development and reconstruction community. NASA is supporting Random Hacks (RHoK) to create a developer community to enhance and enable development and reconstruction efforts to share information, have access to timely data, and to collaborate publicly to solve some of the toughest social and environmental challenges today.

Hacking for Humanity

This is the first of a series of Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) events. The aim is to build a global community of developers and subject matter experts to work on distater relief, and potentially grow to development and reconstruction issues.

The Boulders of Copernicus

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"This image represents a portion of the central uplift within the crater Copernicus. The image, LOV-152-H1, was taken by Lunar Orbiter V on 16 August 1967 at an altitude of 103 km. The spacecraft was looking straight down at the crater as it snapped this picture series. The resolution of this image is 2.2 meters/pixel. You can see the increase in contrast and resolution that LOIRP has attained when you compare the high resolution USGS image and the one obtained by LOIRP on 10 December 2009." High res images

Charlie Bolden at WIA/AIAA

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Bolden's Talk to WIA and AIAA, Chuck Divine

"Today, December 9, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden addressed a joint luncheon organized by Women in Aerospace and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Lori Garver gave a friendly introduction to Bolden noting that he was two star Marine General and a four time astronaut. A friend of Bolden's named Rocky told Lori "You have won the lottery." Charlie then stepped to the podium. He began by stating that it was an honor to be here. He added that Lori was a key member of his team. The numbers of women in aerospace today is a tribute to the work of WIA in the past two decades. He also acknowledged the presence of AIAA President Dave Thompson."

Live Webcast From The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project

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Keith's note: On Thursday, 10 December 2009, we'll be doing a live webcast from the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) at "McMoon's" i.e. Building 596 at the NASA Ames Research Park.

Keith's update: The webcast has been archived below.

Dennis Wingo and I will give you a tour of our project including a walk through of the abandoned McDonald's that has been our base of operations since 2008. We'll also show you how we rack tapes, play them back, capture the data on a computer, and then stitch the image framelets together. You'll be able to look over our shoulders and see the imagery as it appears on one of our old TV monitors. We've picked an especially interesting tape to show you. We'll then post the raw image online later in the day. Eventually this image will be posted online at LPI and submitted to the NSSDC.

This project has been funded and supported by a bunch of imaginative folks at ESMD, IPP, NLSI, ARC, SkyCorp, SpaceRef Interactive, and Odyssey Moon with assistance from a range of people ranging from retired Lunar Orbiter project personnel and Lockheed Martin employees to local high school and college students. Soon, we expect to have two tape drives fully operational and to be able to produce images on a daily basis.

Oh yes, in case you are wondering, I donate my time (and money) to this project. What fun. Its like bringing a time machine back to life in a high tech junkyard. We are looking to begin some pervasive EPO in coordination with NLSI and the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in the very near future.

Big Aerospace Warns of Job Cut Impact

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AIAA President Warns Congress That Cuts to Human Spaceflight Programs Will Harm Aerospace Workforce, U.S. Economy, and National Security. AIAA

"AIAA President Dave Thompson today testified before the House Committee on Science and Technology on "Decisions on the Future Direction and Funding for NASA: What Will They Mean for the U.S. Aerospace Workforce and Industrial Base?" Thompson and his fellow panelists were asked to address the effects of NASA's future direction and funding on the country's aerospace industry and the nation as a whole."

Aerospace Workforce Imperiled by Funding Cuts, AIA

"U.S. preeminence in aerospace is threatened by aging demographics and uncertainty over the future of the U.S. space program and adequate funding to support it, AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey said Thursday in testimony before the House Committee on Science and Technology."

How to Contact Your Elected Officials, Boeing via Capitol Connect

"Contact your elected officials and let them know that NASA and its space exploration programs are on the right trajectory. As the President and Congress weigh the options for our nation's future space exploration policy, it's important our elected officials know that you support the Constellation and Ares rocket programs."

Boulder Trails On The Moon

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Keith's note: This image was taken on 21 November 1996 by Lunar Orbiter II at an altitude of 44 miles. The image is taken from frame 92, Framelet 445, and has resolution is 0.98 meters/pixel. As such the large boulder that has left a trail is around 6-7 meters in diameter. The image on the left shows the highest resolution image available online at LPI. On the right is the raw unproceesed image we retrieved this afternoon. While the large boulder's trail is seen in both images, the details of that trail and the rest of the boulder field are much sharper in our newly retrieved image. More information and hi res images

Vote for John Grunsfeld – National Geographic Adventurer of the YeAR

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Astronaut John Grunsfeld, National Geographic Adventure

"Around NASA, he's known as "the Hubble Repairman." And last May, on his third visit to the orbiting space telescope, John Grunsfeld pulled off the repair to end all repairs. Working at zero gravity some 350 miles above the surface of the Earth, the astronaut restored sight to a half-blind Hubble--called the greatest scientific instrument ever invented--and ensured that it will continue to send back the stunning images and mind-boggling data that have transformed our understanding of the universe."

Lunar Orbiter: Comparing Old and New Images

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Keith's note: These images are taken from Lunar Orbiter II image LOII_092H1 Framelet 522. On the left is the highest resolution scanned version available online at LPI (or USGS). On the right is our partially processed version that we retrieved this morning. In addition to providing a much sharper image, note that our new image also allows contrast to be controlled such that features can seen in the areas that are darkened in the older image. More information and high res images.

LaRC internal Poll Update

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NASA LaRC Poll: Helping People Feel Attractive and Lovable (#21), earlier post

Reader's note: I believe your posting in regard to this topic and the comments it has generated have missed the mark given that the original reason for this survey as conveyed in the e-mails announcing it has not been included. The real question that should be asked is what in the world does any of this have to do with the "Langley Message?"

Official NASA memo and instructions below:

From: Skora, Mary M. (LARC-H1)
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 5:37 PM
To: Larc-DL-All
Subject: Let Your Voice Be Heard -- Only 3 more days to complete survey

To: Langley Civil Servants and Contractors

The Langley Story survey will be available for only a few more days. This is your chance to influence the Langley message.

For this external communications program to be most successful and to make sure the story belongs to each of us we need your input. The survey is available online and takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

1. Go to:

https://surveys.kenexa.com/infinity/Survey/SurveyLogin.asp?s=1455

Click on the link or copy and paste the address into your browser.

2. On the opening screen, type your user name and password:
User name: KCINASA
Password: *******

3. Follow the instructions for completing and submitting the KCI survey.

NOTE: Make sure you have disabled any pop-up blocker.

In Firefox, a yellow warning banner appears at the top that tells you that the browser is preventing a pop-up and to the right gives you the option of allowing it.

In Safari, you don't get any warning. You have to allow pop-ups by deselecting "Block Pop-Up Windows" under the "Safari" menu.

Internet Explorer is working for most employees.

Let your voice be heard. Your participation is critical for this initiative to be meaningful and effective. Please take a moment to complete the survey.

If you have questions about the survey or about this communication initiative, contact Marny Skora at ext. 46121 or by email at marny.skora@nasa.gov.

Coalition for Space Exploration Does a (Much Needed) Reboot

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Aerojet's Glenn Mahone and Jacobs Technology's Jeannie Kranz to guide the Coalition for Space Exploration Public Affairs Team in 2010

"Two veteran aerospace communicators will lead the Coalition for Space Exploration's Public Affairs Team in 2010. Aerojet's Glenn Mahone and Jacobs Technology's Jeannie Kranz were recently named the organization's new chair and deputy chair, respectively. Each will serve a one-year term, effective January through December 2010."

New Ways to Use Constellation Stuff

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Feasibility of Using Constellation Architecture or Robotic Missions for Servicing Existing and Future Spacecraft

"In conjunction with this RFI, NASA will conduct an open workshop tentatively scheduled for February 16-18, 2010 to bring potential users and providers of on-orbit servicing capabilities together with the NASA study team. The study team will present the notional mission definition process and the first draft of the notional mission suite. RFI responders will have an opportunity to present ideas, technologies and capabilities as well as forecast existing and planned spacecraft/observatories that would benefit from on-orbit serviceability. The study team will then finalize the notional missions based on the RFI responses and the presentations and discussions at this workshop."

SpaceBook Featured by White House

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Spacebook (NASA), Open Government Initiative, White house

"Additional Details: Spacebook was launched in June 2009 and now has over 850 users across NASA."

Keith's note: For an agency that has tens of thousands of employees inside the firewall, you (at least) need a zero on this number in order to call it a success - especially when you consider what these employees (and their kids) use out in the real world. Then again, it is a good start. I can clearly recall what it took back in the 80's for my supervisors at NASA to start using email - personally (instead of having their secretaries check it once a week).