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Our guest blogger this time is Ralph Mercer who has served for 32 ys in the military and is a passionate advocate for using social media in a military as a non-kinetic tool. Ralph continues to champion the use of social media as a community building and influence tool within the military and helps find ways to use 21st Century media tools in an operationally safe and effective way. You can follow Ralph on twitter [at]ralphmercer.

The traditionally hierarchical organizations and militaries specifically are not early adopters of technologies that disrupt their chain of command and information security. They tend to view these technologies with caution and reservation and social media is no exception. Little by little the opportunities and advantages that social media brings to the table is winning over some of the early adopters within the global military scene. Social media brings a wide range of opportunities to the military as a community building tool for the internal military family and domestic audiences as well as a powerful information management tool for the external global audience.

The potential of social media to become an internal community building tool for the military is exciting. Social Media can provide private and secure network to interconnect families of deployed service members developing an extended social network by providing a means to share of experiences and emotional support. These networks can also link all military communities allowing families to help families regardless of physical location. This connection can help new family’s research schools, medical facilities, housing and social services before postings reducing apprehension and family stress. Other applications of social media can connect hospitalized soldiers with their family, friends and peers boosting moral and helping them to stay connected to their regiment or squadron. Social media can foster a dialogue between patients and doctors, PTS specialists, support services and give the member a sense of control over their destiny and help speed the path to recovery. Personnel on return to work programs and members with mobility restrictions can now be brought together through social media into a truly global community. The flexibly and low technical requirements of social media allow it to be used regardless of geographic location, allowing service members to network with their peers and share experiences, ideas and support during their post deployment leave.

The ability to reach large domestic audiences and connect the military members with them on a social level will raise awareness and understanding of the military and explain the current missions. The potential of social media to shape domestic public opinion is enormous; it allows soldiers, airmen and sailors to connect directly with public without the traditional media filter. User generated content has a big impact on the young people militaries want to recruit and their perception of the content will play a large part in their decision to make the military the career of choice. We need to encourage military members who want to write and make videos about their careers help them connect with the general population via social media. We can no longer be afraid of what they our personnel might say. Social media is the format for their self expression and they understand what attracts the digital generations attention.

We can help them by being up front and clear about expectations we have of them and their use of social media. If we establish a few basic rules on what is acceptable when posting about the military and its operations, we then turn those who use social media into strategic assets. We need to have faith in our service men and women, we trust them to fix our planes, to make life and death decisions on the battle field and behave according to the code of service discipline every day. If we show our trust in them they will become our digital ambassadors. The rules need not be extensive or detailed, remind them to write and talk only about personal experiences and their job in the military. Expect them to be honest and polite, respect operational security and behave the same in the virtual world as we would expect from them while wearing the uniform in the real world.

Social media can also be a powerful strategic effects tool, capable of shaping global and local opinions. The hall mark of conflicts in the 21st century will be that they will not be won on the physical level but on the moral and mental level, where information and public opinion is the weapon of choice. This type of warfare will require militaries to employ social media as a non-kinetic weapon with the same skill and precision as tradition kinetic weapons. To win present and future conflicts will require a whole of government approach and militaries must have strategic vision and adaptive communications plan. This will require info-operations to declassifying relevant information quickly, be the first to post it in an honest and transparent manner to the local and global media outlets, helping shaping the bow wave of public opinion. In most cases the adversary need only pick up a cell phone take a picture and call their version of the story into a local radio station or post their version online for the global media outlet. In minutes their version is out in cyber space shaping domestic public and global reaction.

While there are legitimate security and operational concerns about the use of social media, we should not be scared off from using this powerful and exciting tool. If we hold our members to the same standards of behaviour as we would when they use any other form of media and show trust they will rise to meet the challenge. There are risks, and there will be mistakes but we need to deal with them on a one on one basis. You don’t need to discover all this on our own we can follow the example of some of the innovators of social media within the militaries of the world like Col Mike Caldwell

To set up social networks for our servicemen and their families we don’t need to invest large amounts of money and physical resources, there are many 3rd party providers of social media applications that can host secure and private environments at a very low cost. The true freedom of social media promises is that any one with a net book or cell phone can participate anywhere there is a wifi or cellular signal. The generation we are now recruiting into the military and the one on the horizon we hope to recruit from use social media as their native communication network and if we do not give them a secure and safe place to talk they will find their own outlet.

Technology Update

At IA Inc we are day to day exploring useful utilities to support IA ops and developing concepts to provide force multiplication.

Using the iPhone its possible to remotely manage your radio stations studio output from wherever you might be.

iPhone and SPL

The iPhone and the SPL interface

It Works! We are using it already.

To find out how we can help you in all your IA broadcast activities please contact us.

The Influence Activity community is in my opinion still an area populated by Luddites and rabid OPSEC supporters who write articles against social media to hide their own inadequacies as front edge practioners.

I mean moving with the times and getting results does expose weaknesses. Right?

This article by social media expert Christian Payne sets out the stall very well I think.

Comments appreciated as ever.

So what does Christian have to say on the issues….. “The easiest way for me to explain why this shift from old analogue methods of communication to online ones is so important is to compare online video with TV. The buzzword for a while now has been Social Media, Social Media does exactly what it says on the tin, it allows people to have conversations on a new level of engagement, be it from an entertainment or marketing perspective. TV could not be further away from this world. The most interactive thing TV can offer us is the red button. Nowadays people expect a conversation with their content …….” READ THE ENTIRE POST HERE

Admiral Mark Fitzgerald

image courtesy of JFC Naples

KFOR, Kosovo, 12th August 2009 –Commander Joint Force Command Naples Admiral Mark Fitzgerald gave a radio interview to Radio K4 during his visit to KFOR. Admiral Fitzgerald was interviewed by Information Operations Consultant David Bailey who found out more about KFOR’s downsizing and the latest developments within the Kosovo Security Force (KSF).

Taliban insurgents fighting Afghan and international troops based in Afghanistan have established their propaganda mouthpiece in the southern Ghazni province, locals said. The FM transmitter {reportedly around 88 MHz], according to locals, airs programmes from 7:00pm until 9:00pm (1430-1630 UTC] local time and often broadcasts Taliban anti-government propaganda in Pashtu.

“This radio called itself “Da Shariat Ghag Radio” or Radio voice of Sharia (Islamic Laws) have been airing programs on Taliban anti-government activities over the past three days,” a resident of Qarabagh district Noor Mohammad said.A local official who declined to be identified also confirmed the report, saying Taliban militants have established their propaganda radio in the province.

Da Shariat Ghag Radio was the official mouthpiece of Taliban regime before its collapse in late 2001. Taliban purported spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told media from an undisclosed location via telephone that militants have established four radio stations in the country.

Following on from a previous post this is reproduced from Mashable…

In contrast to a ban on US Marines from using Twitter (Twitter) and Facebook (Facebook) on the military network, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has told troops they’re free to use social media tools and should apply “common sense” when deciding what to share online.

What’s more, the MOD has said it will sponsor soldiers who want to use blogs and Twitter to share stories of military life with the outside world.

The unclassified memo is available online, and reads, in part:

1. Service and MOD civilian personnel are encouraged to talk about what they do, but within certain limits to protect security, reputation and privacy. An increasingly important channel for this engagement, and to keep in touch with family and friends is social media (such as social networking sites, blogs and other internet self-publishing). Personnel may make full use of these but must:

Follow the same high standards of conduct and behaviour online as would be expected elsewhere;
Always maintain personal, information and operational security and be careful about the information they share online;
Get authorisation from their chain of command when appropriate (see para 2 below);

2. Service and MOD civilian personnel do not need to seek clearance when talking online about factual, unclassified, uncontroversial non-operational matters, but should seek authorisation from their chain of command before publishing any wider information relating to their work which:

Relates to operations or deployments;
Offers opinions on wider Defence and Armed Forces activity, or on third parties without their permission; or
Attempts to speak, or could be interpreted as speaking, on behalf of your Service or the MOD; or,
Relates to controversial, sensitive or political matters.

Online Presences “Encouraged”

armedforcesfacebookPerhaps the most surprising section, however, is the MOD’s support of social media tools in communicating with the world. The section reads: “Service and MOD civilian personnel are encouraged to operate sponsored online presences to help communicate their work, including as part of their official duties, as long as these are authorised in advance”.

In fact, the wording of the document is wildly opposite to the US Marines’ order issued this week, which essentially ruled out the use of all social media tools on the DOD network. The MOD memo instead focuses on the need to “harness new and emerging technologies, new unofficial online channels, and new unofficial online content in order to communicate and disseminate defence and Service messages and build defence and Service reputation”.

It’s a policy that’s likely to earn praise from bloggers, and could foster a positive brand image for the British military. What’s more, starting online conversations about military life might also help with recruitment to the armed forces.

The MOD maintains an official Twitter account and their Armed Forces Day Facebook page has accrued over 178,000 fans. For the icing on the cake, the MOD even Tweeted about their new guidelines with the hashtag #whentwitterwasdown:

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