People of Space: Hosting Cheat Sheet

So you’re gonna host People of Space for a week on Twitter!  Here’s a little ‘cheat sheet’ on how to do it!

Depending on your timezone, you’ll probably be taking over Sunday morning.  This gives you all of Sunday to set up, get your bearings and feel out the account!  This account is sort of like the @Ireland and @Sweden accounts as it’s hosted by a new person every week!  If you’re not familiar with them, have a look and see how the hosts theme and interact with their followers!

In saying that, it’s best to first introduce yourself to your followers.  Show off your personality and tell us a story about why you like space or how you got involved in space!  Was there one person who got you interested in space, did you always like it as a kid or was it something you experienced?

It’s also ok to share your daily routine.  Are you trying to #TrainLikeAnAstronaut?  If so, what’s it like?  Even every day normal stuff works too!   We had one host show us show photos of London while she was on her way to work!  But, I would like to stress, it’s best to spend more time on space topics but it is fun to share a bit about yourself, too!  As long as you’re being courteous, there’s no limit with what you can talk about!

Our best @People_Of_Space hosts shared their own personal stories.  My personal favourite host weeks would have to be @_HerbBaker, @HeatherDSmith88 and @QuarkSpin!  All of them were quite personal and interactive with the account sharing photos and telling stories.  Heather was quite unique with her week as it was Black History Month in the United States, so she did a load of research and shared a lot of historic facts!  All the hosts also answered a lot of questions from followers!  I think if you’re stuck for ideas, ask these guys for advice because they just nailed it!

Interact with your followers and don’t be afraid to ask them questions!  You can run polls, retweet other tweets and you can even Persiscope live video, too!  It’s all set up for your so that’s ready to go!

I do recommend that you tweet at least once an hour, if not more… and you can use tools like HooteSuite and Tweetdeck if that helps – but don’t feel obligated! And if you’re at an event, live tweet it!  Tell us what you’re seeing, doing, who you’re meeting and how you feel!   Have fun with the account –  @People_Of_Space exists so we can see the world though your eyes!  It’s also worth mentioning that you should familiar yourself with the code of conduct as it’s a pretty big deal taking over this account.