In previous blog posts, I've mentioned the importance of public outreach. I've also tried for a crude definition of what "the space community" actually is. Here is the next piece of this intriguing puzzle.
If we think of the space community as a series of concentric circles, as I said earlier, then groups (or individuals) probably see themselves at some approximate "radius" from the center. (I doubt that most of us perceive ourselves as being at the very center of everything. That would be a stretch even for NASA itself.)
We could think of these as orbits. It's a crude but apt analogy.
Naturally any group has to consider the needs and wants of their immediate neighbors, their stakeholders or "constituency," if you will. But any group that does public outreach must also look in the "opposite direction."
This is what I call the Janus principle. Janus, as you may recall, was the Roman god from whom we get the name January for the first month in the Gregorian calendar. You may know more mythology than I do, but all I recall about Janus is that he had two faces looking in opposite directions.
This metaphor appeals to me. A space group has to look inward to communicate with its own members and supporters and all their activities. But in doing outreach, that group must communicate with the so-called "outsiders," the general public.
This is perfectly natural, and there is nothing wrong with it. On the inside, there are things like a well-known vocabulary, a shared history, familiarity with the subject matter, and even "inside jokes."
I don't really like the term "outsiders," of course (partly because I have felt like one in many different times and situations in life). Let's say "the public" instead. Talking with the general public, we naturally have to make fewer assumptions. We may not have the shared world view or the shared knowledge. We definitely have to use a different vocabulary (without talking down, of course). And we may have to shift gears over and over in the course of working on the group's projects and programs.
Now this is the catch: No matter where you are, those who live at the same radius or a nearer one are the insiders. All orbits outside your own are the outsiders. This is perhaps the very definition of parochialism.
This is in a way perfectly understandable and even excusable. But let me express what is possibly my most controversial opinion here. Very often when space groups try to do outreach, they don't "think big" to the extent that they should (ironic for space enthusiasts). They develop a kind of tunnel vision, so that they don't look far enough outside their own neighborhood. They think they are doing outreach when they are really doing what I call inreach.
Let's talk about the National Space Society. But please know that I am not trying to pick on them. I have been a member for years, and was even a member of the L5 Society which was later subsumed into the NSS.
The NSS may be a "famous" group in many ways. Certainly they are one of the very largest space groups in the world. The Mars Society think they are famous because the NSS has heard of them.
When we do outreach, we are targeting people outside "our community." But there are no sharp boundaries there.
There is a very American expression "preaching to the choir." Some people have thought it means talking to a "captive audience" or something similar. The traditional meaning, however, is more like "earnestly trying to persuade the people who are already persuaded and highly committed."
Do we do that? In many cases, I think it's true. I have seen contests and competitions sponsored by various groups (e.g., for high school students), and I thought to myself: No one would enter this contest who wasn't already passionate about the subject matter. In fact, they might not even hear about it.
There are certainly many notable exceptions. I'm not here to dissect every little project or program of every organization; but I do think it is worth asking such questions as: How do people find out about this program or project? Is it meaningful to people who aren't already passionate about space? How do people even know that our organization exists?
We have to be like Janus, looking in both directions at once. We communicate different messages in different ways for different reasons. But I question whether the inward-looking face is more attentive. Maybe we have a kind of myopia, looking outward only "a few orbits" when there are many more out there.
In short, I ask you to consider: Do we do enough outreach? Or is most of it "inreach"?