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Brian and team, who work for a digital marketing agency run this Digital Crosstalk blog.
Occasionally we might blog about companies and people we work with but for the most part we'll simply be blogging about stories and events which we find interesting.

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22nd
JUN

Head into Space with Virgin Galactic and Spaceport America

Posted by Brian | Filed under air

Image via Wikipedia

A new era in travel is almost upon us – the chance to travel into outer space. So often believed to be nothing more of a pipedream, the chance to make the trip has taken a giant step towards reality with the official beginning of the construction of Spaceport America , New Mexico.

The project, which costs $200 million, is being funded by New Mexico state and it hopes the project will boost both tourism and employment.

The spaceport is expected to begin sending tourists into outer space as early as next year aboard space flights operated by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. There’s no shortage of willing travellers either, as Branson has said that the list of people registered for space flight sits at 45,000, spread across 120 countries. However, it doesn’t come cheap – the Spaceport America website quotes a cost of $200,000 for the opportunity.

The Virgin Galactic ‘spaceships’ will be launched from a 10,000 foot-long runway and reach an altitude of 50,000 feet before breaking free from specially designed carrier aircraft and accelerating under rocket power to reach a maximum altitude of 62 miles above the earth. Each flight will last around two hours and travellers will experience some 5 minutes of weightlessness.

Virgin hopes to be able to undertake one flight per week with up to six paying customers on board each trip. Travellers will also undergo three days’ training before launch, unlike the International Space Station two-week jaunts, which requires months of training and comes with a price tag in the region of $30 million.

But if you have a couple of hours spare, as well as the fare, you can book your flight aboard a Virgin Galactic space flight. Even if you don’t have the $200,000 required, you can lay down a deposit for a mere $20,000.

Tags: space, virgin

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7th
NOV

Virgin fires 13 staff over Facebook comments

Posted by Brian | Filed under air, blogging

Next time you post a cheeky comment on Facebook or tag a friend in an unflattering photo think of the 13 staff members from Virgin who were sacked for their Facebook expose.

This is the story that 13 Virgin airlines crew were dismissed from the company for work-related comments that were made on the social networking site. The comments ranged from derogatory statements, such as calling the customers ‘chavs’, to reasonable causes for concern, such as the airline’s cleanliness and maintenance records of the 747 planes.

Some of the complaints, such as passengers putting their boarding cards in their mouths moments before handing them to the crew, were very reasonable; unfortunately for the 13, Virgin was more concerned about some of the other comments which said the passengers were smelly and rude.

This Facebook scandal is one of many to hit out headlines over the past few weeks. Recently one Aussie was fired from work for pulling a sickie and bragging about it on his Facebook profile. Although not the only one to get caught out for such a stupidity, Kyle was a lot luckier than the Emma Forrester who was murdered by her husband after changing her status to single.

As Facebook grows and becomes more mainstream, it’s important to realise it’s not a private chatroom between friends but a very visible online community and if you’re going to pull a sickie don’t brag about it on Facebook!

Tags: digital, virgin