The Lockheed Martin Tweetup...
The last production F-22 rolls out the door of the Lockheed Martin production facility in Marietta, Georgia.
I wish I could say that I'm a wizard with Twitter, but alas, I'm not. As a "middle-aged" man, many of the new communication methods are being learned "on the fly", as opposed to the way youngsters seem to soak up the latest tools osmotically. I'm not new to communicating, just new to the ever-developing electronic means of doing so. Thus the challenge of keeping up, without appearing out of step. To that end, I committed earlier this year to learning about Twitter. The 140 character limit forces an almost haiku-like standard to the messages that one can send out. There is much to learn regarding hash tags, new vocabulary, and how to keep it all relevant, without being overwhelming. With a bit of self-education though (and kind fellow tweeters), it is possible to take advantage of this very quick, very concise communication tool. Think of it as the modern day "telegram".
I'll not bore you with a lesson on Twitter, mainly because I'm still learning how to take advantage of this tool myself. However, because I'm now "tweeting", I learned of a very cool opportunity this week to witness the rollout of the last production F-22 Raptor fighter plane from the factory in Marietta, Georgia. You see, Lockheed Martin (LM) decided to host a "tweetup" during the rollout. For a large, well-established company, I thought this was an interesting idea, and perhaps even a bit courageous. Of the many hundreds of responses they received, 14 of us were selected to participate. With a production straight out of Hollywood, there were multi-colored lights projected on the jet in the otherwise darkened room, the media dutifully recorded the scene, dignitaries spoke, nostalgia for the end of the program surfaced, and flags were waved. Don't get me wrong, I love a parade (which it literally turned out to be...) as much as anyone. However, it became a bit of a chore to tweet, participate, and not trip over something, or someone. It wasn't impossible, just...tricky. The ladies in the group seemed to be much more adept at the task, as their nimble fingers literally flew around the miniature keyboards.
Using my iPhone, my large, stiff fingers, on the other hand, seemed to plod along and often hit as many incorrect keys as not. Again it wasn't impossible, just clunky. Probably because the design engineers at Apple are all twenty-something females with small, delicate, still flexible fingers. But I digress...
To underscore the importance of the Tweetup, LM's Managing Director came by the conference room we were ensconced in to say a few words, and to thank us for participating in what was for them an acknowledged experiment. Right after a box lunch, three of the test pilots for the program came by too, and freely answered questions about the capabilities of the aircraft. Did I mention that they thought they have (had) the best job in the world, flying the best fighter in the world? And this was after we had toured the factory floor, and had a bit of fun with the "laymans" F-22 simulator, as the real simulator is still classified.
In the end, many "tweets" went out that day from the 14 of us fortunate selectees, one of whom traveled from Kansas to participate. It was interesting to see the different perspectives each person offered, as four were private pilots, with most everyone else having an active interest in technology, and in aviation. The participants have already "followed" each other, so the face-to-face friendships that have started can continue in the "twittersphere". The importance of this new tool is increasingly being tested every day by business, government, and private groups, in an effort to keep up not only with each other, but with technology as it develops at an incredible rate. I invite you along for the ride...
