The Youth are Getting Restless

The idea of the restless youth usurping the status quo is hardly new.  For thousands of years, a younger generation waited for a chance to prove its worth while the older generation implemented ideas and made decisions.  This is not necessarily the case with new media. Older decision makers often believe themselves to be, and sometimes are, unable to fully grasp and understand how to use emerging communication technologies such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.  As a result, Subject Matter Experts in these fields are far younger than their peers advising on other issues.  Imagine President Kennedy calling in a 27-year-old Harvard PhD student to advise during the Cuban missile crisis. It would be virtually impossible for a neophyte to have an understanding of Cuba, the Soviet Union, and the political machinations behind how the U.S. government makes decisions.  But new media often works differently.  Substitute Cuba with New Media – that 27-year-old advisor IS the “Cuba” expert, because “Cuba” (New Media in this case) came into being in 2002, while the decision makers only knew it existed 2 years ago. The number of younger Subject Matter Experts overseeing various new media activities throughout the U.S. Government illustrates this point.  This phenomenon forces a heretofore unknown cooperation between organizational superior and subordinate “flattening” elements of even the most hierarchical organizations.

The Graying of the Luddites

For each “kid” who has implemented a communication platform using Facebook, Twitter or Second Life, there is still a decision maker who authorized the effort. It is useful to consider who these decision makers are and how their early life experiences with technology alters their perceptions and ability to adapt to technology. The graphic below illustrates how these technology users are different based on similar life experiences.  For simplicity’s sake we will consider 3 groups:  Generation Jones (the Post Baby Boomers like President Barrack Obama), Generation X, and the Millennium children. Keep in mind that no group is monolithic, and that early adopters and innovators abound in each. However, the behavior of the whole demographic is consistent enough to allow for some generalizations.

First, consider the Generation Jonesers, who are currently the senior decision makers in the Federal Government.  These decision makers once looked at this image on a screen with awe and wonder:

The “Joneses” had televisions with 4 channels: ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS.  They turned the “knob” on the television to change channels, before being  exposed to the idea of paying money for additional television channels, an idea many people said was doomed to fail when HBO first debuted in the 1970s.

The speed of technological innovation and evolution has left the Jonesers behind in many ways. Think of technology like a foreign language: foreign language acquisition is virtually impossible for adults, while native fluency is easily achieved by a 9 year old. Technological assimilation seems to run in the same way. The adult life of the pre-generation Xer was busy enough without the addition of New Media social obligations and distractions. The “language” of technological sophistication for this group ended with the first TV remotes, surfing the Internet and using email, and setting up the answering machine.  This lack of “fluency” means that “translators” in the form of younger advisors are needed. The use of a “translator” should not be interpreted as a negative trait. A diplomat may have some great ideas for a Russian counterpart to consider, even if the diplomat relies on a translator. In fact, the non-native can often see problems those immersed in the problem cannot.  Nevertheless, the Jonesers will always speak “technology” with a heavy accent, they will refer to things in a manner that makes younger, more astute users chuckle at the foreigner speaking “our” language.

The Bridge

Generation Xers are the transitional generation between the child who builds a multi-redundant communications suite with 15 friends for an online collaborative video game (that one was the sole job of a specialist at the Pentagon), and the 60 year old who finds Facebook horribly complicated.  Generation Xers understand the world of the Joneses and the world of the Millenium children. They played video games and often had computers growing up, but are the last generation who went outside to play because there was “nothing else to do.”  They mastered their parents’ remote controls and often had to get up and manually change the channel on the TV.
Generation Xers can mostly figure out satellite TV remotes and may not intuitively understand their cell phones, but after a quick bit of help from a Millenium child, can use the technology as intended.  The Gen. Xers became the gaming addicts obsessively playing video games like Doom or Quake.

The Gen. Xers, and those above and below them, should better understand and utilize this transitional generation for new media communication.  They are old enough to understand the organization, and they are young enough to grasp the technology for planning and policy purposes, though execution should be left to their subordinates, even when a delegation of authority is not commonly used.  In ten years , Gen. Xers will be the power brokers, and while not able to keep up with the dizzying evolution of technology, will at least “know what they don’t know.”

The Masters(?)

The Millennium Children section really cannot be written yet, as time will tell in many respects. Perhaps no one fully assimilates technology, and the Millennium Children will be bridge for a later generation. Who knows what form the next revolutionary media will take or if anyone reading this post now will intuitively understand it as well as their children.

We would appreciate your thoughts and comments on these ideas  – please post in the comments section.

1. Spreading awareness and raising money
2. Facilitating innovative solutions to disaster-related problems.

However, few people are looking at whether these uses of social media have actually been effective.

On the fundraising front, in a text-message appeal campaign, the American Red Cross raised over 20 million dollars.  Hundreds of thousands of people joined Facebook groups to show solidarity with the victims of the earthquake and to help raise money for the relief efforts.  Clearly, social media has successfully sped up the pace of relief efforts in the wake of the Haiti earthquake.

Several organizations have quickly come up with unique solutions using social media to aid relief organizations.  In the wake of the earthquake, several online missing persons databases were quickly created.  However, Google’s application, called Person Finder, aggregated these databases and is currently tracking some 32,000 records.

Ushahidi, an organization that was created to map post-election violence in Kenya, developed an open-source, customizable platform to geographically represent and aggregated data sent in from Haiti by email, Facebook, Twitter, and text message.  Ushahidi is also developing an application called SwiftRiver that aims to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the crowdsourced data.  Ironically, SwiftRiver’s solution, is to crowdsource the editing, creating teams of “citizen editors,” similar to how Wikipedia polices its online content.

Google’s and Usahidi’s approaches are certainly innovative, but how effective have then been?  Few organizations or media outlets have tried to answer this question, and examples of these tools’ and social media’s successes are fairly scattered.  Buried in an AP article, a former Google employee who now works for the U.S. State Department stated, “At least 20 people so far have been able to use this program [Google’s Person Finder] to tell their families in the U.S. that they’re OK.”  In addition, the Red Cross confirmed that a man trapped in rubble was rescued after his location was posted on Facebook by a neighbor.

Web 2.0’s unique capabilities also pose new challenges that need to be overcome, largely how to resolve the signal-to-noise dilemma.  Organizations are struggling to aggregate the large amounts of data coming in, much of which appears to be either incomplete or false.  Rumors can fly in the immediate aftermath of a conflict, impairing the ability of relief organizations to assess the situation, and it is unclear whether social media corrects or actually exacerbates this trend.  Crowdsourcing could be a partial solution, but as the volume of data increases, the process will only become more labor-intensive.

Though the media has avoided looking critically at the use of social media in disaster relief, it is fair to say that the adoption and integration of these new Web 2.0 capabilities is incomplete.  Nevertheless, organizations and the media must move beyond praising all the innovative possibilities offered by social media in disaster response and begin a comprehensive assessment of social media’s use in wake of the Haiti earthquake.  Integrating these lessons learned will help the international community better respond to future disasters.

Organizational Hierarchy: Formal or informal,  a tribe has a decision making apparatus  that creates rules members must adhere to in order to remain in good standing with their tribe.

Example: Members of the Ticuna tribe from the Brazilian Amazon must defer to two different leaders depending on the situation. The “Tó-ü” is a war leader or chief who commands the tribe when defending or attacking another tribe. The “Yuücü” is a shaman or sorcerer who controls knowledge about epidemics, natural disasters, etc. In the same way, a modern tribe like the London-based NGO Survival International operate according to a similar hierarchy. An executive governing body made up of trustees decide policy, adopt cases, field projects, and review income, expenditure, activities and plans. A director general is then hired by the executive body to implement those policies, raise and manage funds, and supervise the offices and employees. Whether on the ground or online, theses tribes both share the common interest of Amazon conservation and demonstrate a form of organizational hierarchy.

Cultural Identity: The commonly shared identity of a group. It constitutes an individual’s identity to the extent one is influenced by belonging to that group. Cultural Identity includes: place, gender, race, history, nationality, language, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, aesthetics and interests.

Example: “Hagamos un Record Guinness™ El Grupo Más Grande en Facebook!” (Translation: Let’s Make a Guinness World Record: The Largest Group on Facebook), a Facebook group that indentifies around its advocacy for animal rights and aims to become the largest group on the social networking site.  Members of the group generally share the need to belong to a cause or causes as well as receive a sense of fulfillment by joining this particular cause.

Speech Community:  A discrete group of people who use language (verbal and non-verbal) in a unique and mutually-accepted way among themselves.  Members of speech communities will often develop their own pidgin, slang, or jargon to serve the needs of the group.

Example: Fans of the heavy metal band Man of War, most of whom are not native English speakers, form a speech community in how they react to the music: gestures, their own unique English-based pidgin, etc.

The global popularity and proliferation of social networks found on platforms such as Tribe.net, Facebook.com and MySpace.com represents how many developing countries have bypassed the adoption of Web 1.0 broadcast communication tools (such as traditional websites and email) in favor of Web 2.0 communication mechanisms like micro blogging and social networking. These mechanisms are better suited to serve the kinds of interconnectedness and constant communication found in tribal, patronage, and other networks predominant in the Middle East, Africa, South America and elsewhere.

To prove this concept, Strategic Social analysts will conduct ethnographic research on three geographically distinct tribes: a tribe from the Amazon region in South America, another from the Sahel region in Africa, and a third, “online tribe”, from Tribe.net. The goal of this research is to compare how disparate cultures with different degrees of technological sophistication adapt, prioritize and utilize social media.

The key to understanding the power of Web 2.0 communication tools is the application of an anthropological approach. Strategic Social firmly believes that social media represents just one more arena in which we can conduct field research.

For many, social media like Twitter and Facebook are mysterious—albeit influential—new technologies.  In an attempt to utilize these tools, they often mistake the medium itself as (and for) the message they aim to convey. StratSoc believes we need to reframe our understanding of the problem. It is the networks (from tribes on the ground to tribes online) that matters most. Technology itself can not create effective messages. There is no short cut. Meaningful communication can only come from a deep understanding of the audience you hope to reach.

Interestingly, all around the world people have adopted social media technologies at a faster rate and often at greater personal cost than Americans have. Strategic Social is going to test our hypothesis that this speed of adoption is due to their familiarity with and perceived necessity of tribal networks. Examples currently exist that hint this hypothesis might be true. Etisalat provides popular SMS and MMS services to subscribers across Afghanistan. When cell phones were finally allowed in Cuba they flew off the shelves despite the fact that a plan costs half of one year’s wage for an average Cuban. These incidences point to the significance of maintaining and assuring connectedness in a larger network found outside of “the West.”

As the study is conducted in the upcoming months, look for posts that will briefly explain key anthropological concepts and further discuss the study scope and methodology. We will take an “anthropology is for everyone” type of approach, seeking to simply and concisely explain concepts in brief posts. Academics and professionals who wish to have more detailed descriptions are welcome to contact Strategic Social for further information.

STRATSOC: How is your command using the social web today? Are there any notable successes to date?

CAPT Buclatin: Since last February, my Public Affairs team has leveraged a wide variety of off-the-shelf Social Media web sites and tools to conduct two-way conversations directly with our cyber audiences in Europe and back home in the U.S.  We’ve established presence on popular sites, like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, established our own “EUCOMversations” blog, and utilized the robust multimedia capabilities of SmugMug to host our photos and videos.

We have two events that I consider noteworthy.  The first was our live coverage of the 65th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.  We created a very professional “homemade” Web site with archived photos, videos and stories.  We also harnessed the real-time power of Twitter to “tweet” stories from the ground as they unfolded on June 6th and coupled the hundreds of D-Day tweets with the live video broadcast from the Pentagon Channel on our Web site.  FYI, the D-Day 65th made the top Twitter Trending Topics list that day, an indicator to us that our activities didn’t go unnoticed.

The second significant event was our recent change of command when Adm. Stavridis took the helm of EUCOM as the first Navy officer to lead the headquarters.  His taking command is significant, because the Admiral is a pioneer in the use of Social Media at the four-star level (he manages his own Twitter and Facebook accounts) and upon taking command, established his own weekly “From the Bridge” blog.  The Admiral’s use of Social Media and our headquarters’ established presence and use of Web 2.0 is a perfect match—it doesn’t get any better than this!

STRATSOC: Do you have a social media strategy? If not, how do you decide what capabilities and concepts to employ on the social web?

CAPT Buclatin: When we rolled out our new www.EUCOM.mil public Web site and presence on various networking sites six month ago, I have to admit, we literally dove into Social Media head first without a strategy, but had a clear vision of connecting with our audiences and establishing two-way conversation with them on the Web.  Until recently, the members of our small Social Media think tank (consisting of a couple of Social Media natives, a Web developer, an IT person and myself) determined the best sites to engage and tools to employ.  It’s a bit of a band-aid approach to a Social Media strategy, but has worked well for us so far.  We are now developing a strategy which we hope to roll-out within the next several weeks.

STRATSOC: Have you experienced any challenges engaging in social media?

CAPT Buclatin: Yes.  I’d have to say that the biggest challenges we’ve faced are:  access to Social Media on government computer systems and establishing metrics to measure our effectiveness in this new medium.  Both issues continue to be a “work in progress” for us, as we try to continue to move our Social Media ball down the field.

STRATSOC: What could other commands learn from your use of social media?

CAPT Buclatin: Actually, the question should be, “What commands have we learned from?”  I must give credit to U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs who truly was the first combatant command to implement a wide array of Social Media tools, then under Adm. Stavridis’ leadership, and U.S. Air Force Public Affairs who was the first service to implement Social Media as a core competency.  Today, all of the major commands are learning from each other through collaboration, one of the key principles of Social Media.

STRATSOC: Are there any big plans or unique concepts you plan to employ in the future?

CAPT Buclatin: Yes and yes; however, I don’t know what they are yet.  We’ve institutionalized a culture of “disruptive innovation” where we will constantly innovate, experiment and implement our presence on the Web, as better processes and tools are introduced to the market place.  All I can say is that our use of Social Media will always be in a state of flux—we will always be on the move working to make improvements every day.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the EUCOM team, I urge you to check out their social media friendly Web site here at EUCOM.mil. CAPT Buclatin can be followed on Twitter  @US_EUCOM as can Adm. Stavridis (@stavridisj).

We firmly stand by this assertion, however, I’d like to further clarify this and say that countering complex threats, enhancing interagency cooperation and engaging both the American people and those around the world will not be solved by embracing social networking tools alone. A 20% increase in followers on Twitter or adding a thousand friends on FaceBook does not necessarily mean enhanced prospects for mission success. Rather, it will be what we define as an Enterprise based approach to running our nation’s defense, diplomatic and intelligence agencies. Thus, Picks (FaceBook) and Shovels (Twitter) are not a strategy.

Web 2.0 has for the most part left those in the Department of Defense, State Department and the Intelligence agencies far behind the curve due to concerns around Information Assurance and Operational security (OPSEC). This is putting our National Security community at serious risk not only from an operational/down range perspective i.e. Our enemy is adapting its Tactics Techniques and Procedures on the fly and utilizing the social web to communicate and organize; but also from a more holistic, Enterprise point of view. The Social Web, or National Security 2.0 as we define it for the defense, intelligence and diplomatic organizations, holds tremendous promise in helping enhance inter agency collaboration and position the community to make more efficient Command and Back Office decisions.

National Security 2.0, which we define as the convergence of Real-Time Communication, Collaboration and Command Visibility (RTC3), enables more effective leadership decision making, thus enhancing mission effectiveness. These three areas Communication, Collaboration and Command Visibility are unique to National Security 2.0:

Real-Time Communication: Web 2.0 is characterized by the instantaneous acquisition of information, continuous feedback loops and, as Tim O’Reily says, it is about harnessing collective intelligence.  National Security 2.0 is about the integration of strategic networking tools, Enterprise applications and social media into a common view.

Real-Time Collaboration: For national security practitioners, being able to understand and synthesize large amount of data is essential to accomplishing the mission. National Security 2.0 allows for Real-Time access to Enterprise tools, feeds from work groups and micro-communities.

Command Visibility: Harnessing Real-Time Communication and Collaboration enables our leaders to make better informed and more effective decisions, which in turn enhances mission effectiveness. The reality of leveraging the social web to enhance mission effectiveness must be an Enterprise wide effort.

National Security 2.0 must be about enhancing our ability to more effectively utilize resources and share and disseminate mission critical information (collaboration) and communicate in Real-Time to stakeholders, allies and enemies alike.

Communicating in a National Security 2.0 world also means rethinking antiquated legislation and policy regulations that do not jive in an era of technology enabled mass collaboration. The Smith Mundt Act for example, which prohibits the dissemination of information by the US abroad from being consumed by the American public is illustrative of the kind of policies and legislation that will have to change. In a world where a micro-blog can be seen all over the planet in milliseconds, the concept of legislating away the capabilities of the internet is ludicrous. Laws such as Smith Mundt are antiquated and are basically impossible to enforce.

If our National Security infrastructure is going to tackle the threats and seize the opportunities that exist, then it must begin to leverage the power of the social web in a more strategic and holistic manner and begin to put social networking tools in their rightful place in the kit bag. National Security 2.0 requires full enterprise integration of social tools, enterprise IT and open source data. Please join the conversation so we can bring our Nation’s security into the 21^st Century.

Protestors in Moldova

While we can debate the role of each service, the basic facts are true – the Social Web was and is being used to report, organize and influence protests against the Communists in Moldova.

Vitalie Eşanu provided some interesting lessons from the front lines, stating that they used McDonald’s free wifi as cellphones were being blocked. He also commented on the organization of the protests stating:

Initial organization, was spread over twitter and Facebook, and expected only few persons. Later we agree to create #pman to spread about this event over the world, and use Facebook for photos, and Youtube for videos

Twitter is still being used actively to report on events in Moldova and you can follow the twitter stream using the hashtag #pman. Watching this stream you can read the real-time reports of protesters as well as insights and advice being provided on how to respond.

Now, while many will argue the exact utility and role of services like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Flickr in these protests, I am concerned with the more basic issue of access. In many cases the protesters were unable to communicate or organize via the social web or phones because services were turned off or blocked. This is not a new phenomenon – governments have shut down and restricted printing presses, radios, television, cellular and internet services in the past. Given today’s technology we should start thinking about how we can provide rapidly deployable internet and cellular service when the time comes for the US to support movements such as these. I’m not arguing that Moldova is a place we should intervene, but I am saying we should analyze this event and think to the near future.

John Kelly and Bruce Etling of Harvard University researched the Iranian blogosphere and their report, Mapping Iran’s Online Public [.pdf], reveals some interesting findings regarding the online presence of Iranian Bloggers. Using some complex science, these gentlemen produced an insightful look into the online world of Iranian discourse. Unlike typical stereotypes, Iranian bloggers are not just a wild bunch of dissatisfied youth working against the regime. According to Kelly and Etling, the Iranian social media landscape is much more complex – in their own words:

We used computational social network mapping in combination with human and automated content analysis to analyze the Iranian blogosphere. In contrast to the conventional wisdom that Iranian bloggers are mainly young democrats critical of the regime, we found a wide range of opinions representing religious conservative points of view as well as secular and reform-minded ones, and topics ranging from politics and human rights to poetry, religion, and pop culture. Our research indicates that the Persian blogosphere is indeed a large discussion space of approximately 60,000 routinely updated blogs featuring a rich and varied mix of bloggers. Social network analysis reveals the Iranian blogosphere to be dominated by four major network formations, or poles, with identifiable sub-clusters of bloggers within those poles. We label the poles as 1) Secular/Reformist, 2) Conservative/Religious, 3) Persian Poetry and Literature, and 4) Mixed Networks.

The Iranian Blogosphere (Click for Larger Image)

This taxonomy of Iran’s social media landscape is useful to those of us interested in engaging Iran online. If we want to understand, influence and support change in Iran, this online community offers tremendous access to the thought leaders and organizers of change. We should support the “Secular / Reformist” demographic with the tools, information, and infrastructure needed to support their online activities both in and out of Iran. While our President seeks an effective dialogue with Iran, we must not ignore Iran’s treatment of these bloggers. The US State Department and other agencies should hold Iran accountable for their behavior. We don’t need to do this in an aggressive manner – accountability can come from honest, transparent documentation of Iran’s treatment of its citizens. With our nation’s resources and the help of Iranians and others online, we could easily document the abuses of Mahmoud’s regime and expose their actions to the world.

For a vivid and cost-effective example of accountability, consider the work of a handful of Vancouver Film students. While researching for her script Conflict of Interest, Kate Tremills wrote an Iranian Blogs script which she pitched to the Vancouver Design School – these students then produced the video “Iran: A Nation of Bloggers” included below. Inspired by the book “We are Iran: The Persian Blogs”, Kate has produced a video which offers great promise to those hoping to change Iran.

Iran understands the threat from social media. In addition to imprisonment, the regime is now considering the death penalty for “offensive bloggers” as seen in the Al Jazeera news segment below. The US should recognize the power of the Iranian blogosphere and step up our efforts to understand, support and engage this community.

If we do decide to hold Iran accountable on the social web, we should be aware that Iran will likely respond with online attacks against these efforts. Since February of 2009, the U.S.-based Persian-language social media site, Balatarin.com, was attacked by hackers linked to Iran. These hackers went after personal information and credit card numbers in an attempt to intimidate and identify Iranians opposed to the regime. This breach of security can be devastating, particularly if we are looking to organize and support Iranian’s who want to hold the regime accountable.

In a final warning, Omid Habibinia, an Iranian media researcher and journalist living in exile in Switzerland, provides some dire warnings about Iranian intelligence using the social web to track and identify dissent. I too have noticed this activity on Facebook, with odd “friend requests” coming from friendly Iranians. As always, be careful who you friend, follow and poke – the social web can be a dangerous place if you’re not careful.

Ahmadinejad's Personal Memos

Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has his own blog at Personal Memo’s where global citizens come to praise him. The most interesting section is the comments column; I’ve included a few of these “honest” gems for your amusement:

	George Cheng Shu	shu…@gmail.com
I think many people on the world do not really know Iran, especially for Irans long history and great culture. I will say, I hope Iran will use its nuclear for peace. Im happy to visit Mr. presidents blog. Its a good way to know Iran whitout the world powers sight.
	paul sharfin	pfc…@yahoo.com
Mr. President I think the problem is not enough people read between the lines as to what you are saying. My hope is that the world and Iran come to an understanding that centers on PEACE
	Colby Brown	tri…@att.net
God bless Iran, Bush and Isreal are unfair to Iran. I am sorry for the way you were treated at our university. All americans are not the same as Bush. Peace god bless Iran and the rest of the world!

Sadly for Mahmoud, his blog isn’t doing so well these days. While his site was attacked by Israeli activists in the past, the current dive into irrelevance is largely his fault. The site is uninspiring and the comments – well they speak for themselves. After doing a quick search on Alexa, I found that the great leader of Iran has struggled to compete with the daily reach of the Back Street Boys, Ann Coulter and even Barney.

Mahmoud loses to Ann Coulter, Back Street Boys and Barney

On a positive note, Mahmoud has his own Facebook Page with 29,971 Supporters; funny enough, Mahmoud’s ‘favorite pages’ are Presidente Hugo Chavez and the “Guy Who Threw his Shoes at Bush”. Seriously Mahmoud, you think a world leader like you might have better favorites. Fortunately Mahmoud also has some fun polls you can participate it. Two of my faves are below:

Adm. Allen Leads the Social Web from the Front

Taking a shot out of the Apple advertising series, Adm Allen demonstrates the effect of the Social Web on US Coast Guard communications. In a well written and succinct article of Coast Guard Magazine (Issue 4, 2008 Community), PA2 Dan Bender outlines the reasoning behind the Coast Guard’s embrace of the Social Web. Every command should take a look at the US Coast Guard Social Web Primer – below is an excerpt:

“The Coast Guard already has official pages on MySpace, FaceBook, Flickr and YouTube. There’s also an extensive U.S. Coast Guard entry on Wikipedia that covers everything from history and missions to how we know Popeye was a Coastie. So when it comes to social media, the Coast Guard has already made the commitment to be there. This begs the question, why?

The answer is communication.

A third of the country reads blogs. More than a fourth of the country has a profile on
MySpace or FaceBook. With numbers like that it’s safe to say that social media is a good
way to reach out to the public.”

And communicate they do – Adm Allen has encouraged service members to blog, tweet, upload videos, share content and communicate their service to the nation across the Social Web.

Adm Allen has led the Coast Guard into the Social Web foray through personal example. In September of 2008 he published an informal yet effective video on Youtube laying out his “Social Media Initiative” – a bold move and perfect example of leadership from the front. He is adeptly commanding – encouraging and supporting all ranks to embrace the Social Web.

US Coast Guard staff have followed his lead, both at the tactical level with service members submitting original content from the front lines, as well as the operational level. The Coast Guard CIO recently published the US Coast Guard’s Strategic Plan for C4&IT (FY 20009 – 2013) which lays out a “Web 2.0 Strategy” that adeptly embraces the key concept of transparency, sharing and collaboration:

2.7.1 Web 2.0 Strategy
Develop a strategy that defines how the Coast Guard can use Web 2.0 technologies (e.g. social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and podcasts) to improve the Coast Guard’s missions and operations; provide transparency to the public and interact with constituents; and enhance information sharing and collaboration within the Coast Guard and with partners (such as the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Border Patrol). (Primary POC: CG-63/OSC)

Major Milestones

• FY09 Q1: Determine elements and timeline of Web 2.0 to implement in CG Portal version 1 (See item 2.3.3 for CG Portal milestones.)
• FY09 Q2: Develop strategic plan to support the Commandant’s intent for Web 2.0 in coordination with Public Affairs

Key Performance Indicators
• Web 2.0 technologies identified and integrated with CG Portal

You can find Adm Allen online at the Commandant’s Corner (2.0) and read his regular posts at iCommandant The Web Journal of Admiral Thad Allen.You can even find him online via the Adm Thad Allen Facebook Page.

On Twitter, the Coast Guard has witnessed dozens of official and unofficial twitter accounts emerge. A full list is available at Who Uses Twitter in the Coast Guard, but the more notable users are USCG: an unofficial Twitter account for the United States Coast Guard;  CGBlog: The official twitter account for CGBlog.org; and U.S. Coast Guard: Official Twitter account for the United States Coast Guard. Adm Allen’s “tech celebrity status” has even spawned a FakeThadAllen account. With a mix of official and unofficial tweets out there, the Coast Guard reaches a large and diverse audience.

The US Coast Guard Facebook Page is well done with consistent updates and integration with their Youtube and Flickr streams. With 2,822 followers to date, they have attracted a small, but more importantly, passionate group of fans who promote their message. You can also find the US Coast Guard on Flickr at the US Coast Guard Flickr Page an for videos visit the US Coast Guard Youtube Channel which shows breaking videos of dramatic rescues, law enforcement action and more.

In Admiral Allen’s leadership by example we’ve witnessed an explosion of Coast Guard engagement across the Social Web. And this is a lesson for all military and national security organizations. Leaders at the top of the enterprise must embrace the Social Web through personal example. Setting an agenda and directing the organization to embrace the web is not enough. Adm Allen has stepped up to the front line with podcasts, a personal blog, a facebook account and more. He has reduced professional risk across the enterprise, demonstrating through personal example what he expects. If you view his Youtube message on Social Media you’ll find a message that is somewhat rough – the message is great – but the delivery and format is personal and uncut. And it’s perfect – Adm Allen’s example is encouraging all ranks to get out there and embrace the Social Web – acknowledging that their videos, content and message should be authentic. I expect we’ll see even greater social web innovation emerge from the US Coast Guard under his personal leadership.