“Taking Over the World!” – “The World Wide Web That Is. Twitter – Facebook – Youtube. Service Members in Afghanistan are now posting images and reports from the battlefield to the front lines of the Internet. “

Didn’t you know this already? First, we built the intertubes out of a secret military funded program, then we genetically engineered Bill Gates & Steve Jobs (don’t blame us for Larry Ellison) and in the last couple decades we’ve been farming our underground DNA vaults to develop evil geniuses like Facebook’s Zuckerberg, Youtube’s Hurley & Chen and Twitter’s Ev Williams & Biz Stone. So don’t blame us – you wasted away your money on a crappy GPS system (GLONASS) – I mean seriously, your system sounds like the fusion of Glow & Ass; “Hey mariners, where you at – don’t know – check out the “glow’n ass”. Seriously, don’t blame us when you waste your billions on assy technology. OK, so you’re probably a little peeved about that whole “Great Game” thing right. And sure, our putting stingers into Afghanistan probably left a bad taste in your mouth. Take a little lesson from the mean streets – as we say here in good old America “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.”

OK, so you caught us in our evil game – but we did in fact warn you. Remember the year 2000, “All Your Base Are Belong to us” – we released that video as our ‘warning shot’ across  the bow.  We gave you fair warning and our virtual Ambassador “Cats” spelled it out to you in this immortal declaration:

CATS: “How are you gentlemen. All your base are belong to us. You are on the way to destruction”

You (Russia): “What You Say!!

CATS: “You have no chance to survive make your time. HA HA HA HA . . . .”

OK, so now let’s snap back to reality and examine RussiaToday’s video

First, the video from Russia Today is a clever little piece of propaganda with one very interesting “video editing trick”. About 20 seconds into the video the host asks:

“Transparency or a propaganda tool?”

Right after asking the question, the video gremlins cut in a quick (but unrelated) statement from Ivan Eland ( a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty) where he says:

“I rather doubt this is a transparency issue – it’s more of a way to interest people in what the military is doing and maybe get some recruits since it’s on the media that younger people use”

They’ve tried to transpose Ivan’s initial statement “I rather doubt this is a transparency issue” as an answer to their question of transparency vs. propaganda. Sorry Big Bear but this don’t fly! Ivan goes on to explain that it’s a “a way to interest people in what the military is doing” – wow! Amazing! NATO & the US are getting people interested in public policy and national security… shame on them!

Then, they go on to criticize NATO’s Afghanistan Matters video contest and imply it’s some sort of propaganda. Really – really? I mean NATO is being extremely upfront and transparent here. They’re looking for current or former military members who want to make a video about why Afghanistan matters. They want the men and women who’ve been on the front lines to share their stories of sacrifice and explain why they’re there. Now in my humble opinion this is pretty leading edge: NATO is asking the average military member – perhaps a junior enlisted, young officer or NCO to sit down and make a video about why Afghanistan matters. If anything, we should be encouraging this. In fact I’d argue that more social media websites should get involved in efforts like these and support NATO or the military. I’d like to see Mashable, TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, UStream or any others get behind these transparent public policy efforts (any takers out there?)

We’re in an age where the public wants to know about our policy – and they deserve to hear it from the people that actually do this work on the ground, in the front lines. The American public wants to know why we’re in Iraq; why we’re in Afghanistan; why we’re fighting this war on drugs; why we send our military to assist in disaster relief. Now, shouldn’t we support governments which decide to open up and share these stories. I would honestly prefer to hear a lot more from the men and women on the ground – not just military – but State Department, USAID, DEA and everyone else who works daily under difficult and dangerous conditions to make the world better.

NATO is doing just that with the Afghanistan Matters video contest ; SOUTHCOM is doing it by distributing Flip video cameras in South America;  Adm Allen encourages social media and front-line videos from across the US Coast Guard; and this is only the beginning of a more transparent public policy and national security dialogue between the government and the public.

So we have to wonder, why is RussiaToday scared? Well first, keep in mind that RussiaToday is funded by the Russian Government (I guess they forgot to disclose that in the video…). So, there’s a political & strategic dimension to this video – a very big dimension. It’s not so much bad ‘news’ reporting as it is a reflection of Russian fear – fear that they’ve lost control in Central Asia; fear that they don’t control the intertubes; a deep, and historical fear common and ever-present in Russian history.

It also highlights the fact that NATO and the US are on the right path – transparency. Because the answer to RussiaToday’s question “Transparency or Propaganda” is in fact “Transparency”. One of our greatest struggles over the last three decades has been the loss of public trust – the public will – to engage and support our nation’s (and NATO) efforts abroad. We’ve relegated our communication to talking heads; we’ve communicated our strategy & vision through a centralized main-stream media system that filtered out reality and replaced it with “talking points” and obfuscation that no one in the public really understood or had time to understand. And now, in the era of social media, NATO and the US Government are quickly finding a new voice (in fact thousands and millions of voices). Properly employed, this new strategy of communication via social media, via the men and women who actually carry out our policy, offers us an honest and open understanding of what we’re doing and why it matters. And in the words of Forest Gump, ” That’s all I have to say about that”

P.S. If you want to support NATO and submit a video to their Contest “Afghanistan Matters”, go HERE to submit your video. Happy hunting! And remember “All Your Base Belong to Us!”

MORE ALL YOUR BASE PICTURES

All Your Base Belong to Us

All Your Base Belong to Us

All Your Base Belong to Us

US Pacific Fleet

A couple weeks back I had the fortunate opportunity to talk with the folks at the US Pacific Fleet when Theresa Donnelly, their Public Affairs Community Relations Director, reached out to tell me about the command’s new Facebook page and Twitter feed. Theresa sparked my curiosity and I was soon begging them to open up the kimono and share their social media efforts and some hint of their strategy. I was quickly rewarded with the opportunity to hear from Captain Scott Gureck, Director of Public Affairs for US Pacific Fleet:

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

CAPT Scott Gureck: We have a team approach to engaging in Web 2.0 social media. Each individual in our office is encouraged to participate and take “ownership” and oversight of a different platform – podcast, blog, Twitter or Facebook. Recently, while Adm. Willard was traveling in India and Pakistan a reporter quoted his podcast back to him and asked a question. That shows the power of the new media, and we are engaged. We encourage and support our subordinate commands to also engage, and they are on board. On May 13, Naval Surface Forces started their Facebook and Twitter pages.

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 Scott Gureck: CPF’s strategy is to engage new media in a way that offers a compelling and interesting portrait of U.S. Pacific Fleet operations and the people performing those operations. Many people who are engaged with new media have little or no experience with military operations or exactly what we do. By having a podcast, blogs, Facebook Page and Twitter we are able to demonstrate what we are doing and reach a diverse audience. We see the new media as another dimension for communication; our strategy is to reach out to as wide an audience as possible and engage wherever we can, resources permitting.

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

CAPT Scott Gureck: We have been very fortunate in that Navy leadership has been very supportive of our use of social media tools, and Adm. Willard has even discussed his support of social media in a recent blog post and podcast. As time goes on, more and more people are using these tools and following the examples set forth by our Commander in Chief and Combatant Commanders. For example, early this year, Pacific Command established Twitter, Facebook, blog, Flickr and MySpace accounts; our Commander’s podcast was established in September 2007. Participation by senior leaders demonstrates that our military is committed to open communication and dialog.

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

CAPT Scott Gureck: One of the biggest differences between traditional media and social media is the ability to engage in two-way communication. This is very important because it stimulates dialogue and allows users to have an authentic, personable engagement with Pacific Fleet. By only putting out a press release, we might not know what the public thinks, but the comment functions used in most social media tools enable us to talk to the public in new and exciting ways.

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

CAPT Scott Gureck: Our next project is an aggregated group blog, getting ready to deploy this summer, with voices of Sailors, family members and Navy civilians from all over the Pacific Fleet area of responsibility. We will feature unique and diverse people who are already writing interesting blogs and spotlight them on our group blog page. It’s an exciting time to be working in public affairs and community outreach as we open lines of communication in this evolving world of social media.

Admiral Willard, Commander US Pacific Fleet

Recently nominated by President Obama to take over the US Pacific Command , Admiral Willard is the current Commander of Pacific Fleet. Willard, a strong advocate of social media, knowledge management and leading edge communication strategy, will undoubtedly bring his advocacy of Web 2.0 and social media to PACOM as well. Also known by his call sign “Rat”, Adm Willard maintains a commander’s blog and a collection of weekly podcasts called the “Rat-Pac Report”. He is also a former Top Gun – a real Top Gun – who appeared in the movie Top Gun as the MIG-28 pilot who receives “the bird” from Goose & Maverick.

While Admiral Willard has been criticized online for his lackluster and “boring” blog – one notable example being Galrahn at Information Dissemination , the Admiral has openly admitted that the blog and social media in general are a learning process for him and other senior leaders. I can accept that – in fact, I’m excited to see Adm Willard take on the top spot in the Pacific. While he may not be a “social media expert” he is both an advocate and a practitioner who will get better with time and more importantly, will advocate and support the use of social media across the Pacific Command. Quite telling on this front is Adm Willard’s post on March 26, 2009:

I think the Navy and we in leadership positions have an obligation to use the communication media that work. And, in this day and age I think the opportunity to employ a podcast or to engage in a blog are effective means of communication that are better accepted than some traditional means that we formerly believed strongly in.

It’s not necessarily comfortable for senior Navy leaders to engage in cyber media methods that they’re not particularly accustomed to, but we can grow accustomed. I’ve been operating a blog now for a couple of months, and while I have a lot to learn to make it an effective engagement tool, I have already seen the benefits of it. The responses that I get back, critical or not, are of value to me as a Navy leader here in Pacific Fleet to understand the tenor out there in certain subject matters.

I’ve had my podcast quoted back to me in foreign audiences, and when that occurs that convinces me that these are media that the Navy would be well served to continue to explore and adapt to, whenever we see the opportunity. So this is a chance that we have to seize what is current, especially among our young Sailors, as a communication medium, and I’m all for it.

– Posted by Admiral Robert F. Willard at 6:35PM 26MAR2009

Captain Scott Gureck, Director of Public Affairs for US Pacific Fleet

Supporting Adm Willard is a seasoned communications leader and self-professed technology geek and Apple “fan boy”, Captain Scott Gureck . As Director of Public Affairs for Adm Willard and the Pacific Fleet, Scott has been a tremendous leader and champion of the fleet’s forward leaning communication strategies. With a history of leading communication change using the internet as far back as 1997, Captain Gureck is a rising star in the Navy’s communication domain. Interested in knowing the man behind the Public Affairs uniform? Here he is in his own words:

“I’m an action-oriented technology evangelist with a proven track record of consistently implementing innovative and entrepreneurial improvements to every organization served. Possessing a strong bias for doing, I strive to create purposeful, focused change to move the corporate vision forward while reaching our full economic and social potential. A “doer” who prefers to create opportunity that can then be turned into actionable deliverables”

“I’m Directly responsible for brand management and public image for the largest naval fleet in the world. Implemented several new media initiatives including a CEO blog and weekly podcast, a corporate Facebook page, and Twitter-based news alerts. Directly manages a half million dollar budget and a team of 18 while indirectly coordinating the efforts of another 150 people throughout the Pacific.”

Prior to his service at Pacific Fleet, CAPT Gureck was the Director of the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) , a position that gave him strong experience working community relations across a broad demographic of the United States. But more importantly, Scott has been an early innovator. At the Naval Media Center he developed a Navy-wide news web site while also serving as the Chief of Publishing. In the late nineties, Scott developed one of the military’s most advanced public-facing websites for the US European Command. We’re not sure where Scott’s headed to next, but we’re certain we’ll find him on the frontlines – advocating for social media and perhaps even bringing his beloved Macs into the enterprise…

For further insight into US Pacific Fleet you can follow them at @PacificFleet or become a fan of the Pacific Fleet Facebook Page

While the details of our dialogue are below, I should point out two key attributes that stood out to me: innovation and engagement. Throughout our conversation – and my research into SOUTHCOM – I was amazed by the willingness of this command to innovate: they are experimenting with a wide number of social media tools and pushing this innovation out to the front lines. At the same time they are engaging both internally and externally. Internally they have encouraged their members to participate in social media channels and they actively solicit their input and ideas to improve communication. Externally they have reached out to other commands, industry and the academic world to find new ideas, new partnerships, new voices and ultimately new nodes in the social web.

Is this the future of strategic communication?

With that said, let’s jump into the real meat of this post, the discussion with Sarah Nagelmann:

STRATSOC: You said one of your contributions to SOUTHCOM is that your office gets guidance and ideas started – you push these ideas to the appropriate offices within SOUTHCOM. Could you describe one or two initiatives you started or influenced that involves the use of Social Media or the Social Web?

Sarah: Example 1.  We had a conversation with our Commander, Admiral Stavridis, about the utility of a blog.  It was important to me that he agree to generate his own blog content – which he did. We then worked with him and others to create the platform and protocols that would keep ownership with the commander and allow for timely posts by both the Admiral and respondents. Once the system was in place, my office removed itself from the process.  We continue to be focused on how to gradually evolve the focus so that it becomes a two-way platform for
dialogue (vice a one-way transmission).  We have also supported blogs documenting some of our operations, such as the COMFORT deployment.

Example 2.  My recollection is that our office began to play with Facebook (& Twitter) and the idea of how we could use these social networking sites to bring together personal and professional networks. More precisely, I was interested in the idea of informing both my personal and professional networks on Southern Command’s mission and accomplishments through an informal, potentially viral medium.  The Commander, Admiral Stavridis, became interested and joined, and from there it went viral across SOUTHCOM.  This is not to say that every member of the command is participating in these networks, but a good percentage certainly are. Public Affairs began maintaining a “fan page.” Some of our exercises do, as well.

STRATSOC: I really liked your perspective on enabling the “internal audience” – helping SOUTHCOM leaders & military members at all levels to convey and engage foreign audiences. Is this happening within SOUTHCOM right now? We all see the CG’s blog, but I’m more interested in seeing if leaders & your average soldier at lower levels will be allowed, or even encouraged or directed, to start engaging on the Social Web. As an example, will SOUTHCOM encourage its members to create blogs, join social networks, use Twitter and/or create viral content in support of SOUTHCOM Strategic Communication efforts?

Sarah: Yes. As I referenced above, command staff have access to Facebook from their work computers.  This is certainly new territory and controversial.  Admiral Stavridis is on Twitter, as am I, and I know of about half a dozen others affiliated with the command.  In my opinion, we can support and even encourage, but certainly not “direct” folks to blog and tweet and communicate in these new mediums.  Here’s why: these forums blur our “public” and “private” lives in new ways.  I am interacting in these spaces in both my capacity as private citizen and as government employee. For most folks, though, one “persona” — either public or private — is dominant.  As such, people have to choose to participate, or not, in these mediums, and can’t be directed to do so.

STRATSOC: I also loved the idea of using sports to engage audiences in the SOUTHCOM AOR. While, the Friendship Tours exist in the physical domain, do you plan to use Social Media or the Social Web to amplify the effects of this program? As an example, have you thought about developing a more interactive website for these Tours where people can sign up, share ideas, post videos and connect with each other both before and after these tours? You might also use livestreaming (i.e. Ustream) or microblogging (Twitter) from the tour events and having this content posting to your Friendship Tour website. This is just an example of ideas, but I’m very interested in what you’re actually doing now to leverage the web as well as what you’d like to do with respect to the Friendship Tours online.

Sarah: Super ideas.  I think we are slowly moving in this direction.  Our current progress is pretty well represented on www.southcom.mil.  We’ve also used Facebook and Flickr to post content in support of the sports activities.  We’re still developing the talent, interest, and momentum that will lead us towards a more aggressive approach to supporting operations through the web / social media. We’ve got a few folks blogging from the COMFORT, for example.  Ustream is something we haven’t explored yet.  I’ll look into it.

STRATSOC: You mentioned “viral videos” as an interest item for your online strategy. Many companies have found online video incredibly successful in reaching out and engaging with their customers and stakeholders. How does SOUTHCOM use online video now and how do you plan to use it in the future? Would you consider allowing SOUTHCOM leaders or military members to produce their own videos and share them on Youtube or social networking sites? Do you have any plans to encourage foreign audiences to produce online videos that tie into your Strategic Communications goals?

Sarah: We’re just beginning to explore this area and have a couple of projects in the works.  For example, we’ve placed low-cost flip-top videos in some of our Military Groups in Embassies and asked them to create short videos illustrating how their work supports security in the Americas. They received very little by way of direction other than to keep it short, keep it clean, and have fun.  I’ll let you know what we get back. My hope is that we’ll be able to post the videos on our website for everyone to view, and that we’ll see a fair amount of diversity and creativity amongst the creations.  I don’t think you can “plan” viral product, but we can certainly try to do a better job of telling our story through creative, diverse methods.

STRATSOC: You said you’re a big fan of public / private partnerships. How do you plan to use Social Media or the Social Web to advance these partnerships? Are there any current examples of SOUTHCOM doing this now that you can speak to?

Sarah: Absolutely. Personally, I’ve started a whole host of conversations with private sector actors such as yourself.  Lots of the initial contacts were made through social media networks (facebook, twitter, etc.) where we’re introduced through shared acquaintances or end up in shared web-based conversations / forums.  From there, we develop more direct relationships that result in best practice identification, brainstorming, collaboration and/or mentoring.

STRATSOC: I’m paraphrasing here, but I think you said “the commander should own the message and control the communication campaign” – if I’ve stated that incorrectly, please correct me. I’m more interested in the idea of how a Command owns the message and manages it. OK, so given the view that the commander should control the message, how do you do that on the Social Web where your audience has the ability to influence, work against or work in support of your message? Given the democratization of information, might it be time to change this perspective? Many leading companies are starting to realize that they can’t own or control the message on the Social Web. Instead, they are starting to realize that the “message” is a collaborative effort involving the company’s leadership, internal audience, and external audience. What are your thoughts on this? Do you see SOUTHCOM changing its perspective on how to control and manage a message on the Social Web?

Sarah: I think I would re-characterize the statement as follows:  The commander must own the message, but the entire command must be encouraged and enabled to support and respond to it. So I’m very interested in centralized communication planning and decentralized execution.  What does that mean?  I think it’s my responsibility — in concert with the commander — to ensure that we have a simple, compelling message.  We then need to ensure the message is clearly transmitted to the staff, along with the philosophy that every member of the command is “a communicator.” They, then, can own the message and carry it forward in their own words and through their everyday actions.  In other words, the entire command can become message multipliers.  For example, if our primary messages at Southern Command are based around the ideas of “partnership” and “commitment to the region,” every member of the staff needs to be able to communicate / demonstrate those core values — those themes — in what they say and what they do.

STRATSOC: Are there any SOUTHCOM experiences – “lessons learned” – from the command’s use of the Social Web for Strategic Communication that other commands can learn from? If so, could you please provide some detail?

Sarah: That’s a great question, but I don’t think we’re “expert” or “mature” enough yet in our own emerging understanding and practices to profess any “lessons learned.”  What I will suggest, though, is that we’ve generated some momentum through (a) risk acceptance, (b) experimentation, (c) a diverse group of participants, including JUNIOR personnel who already live and breathe in this space, and (d) a willingness to talk to anyone with an interest and ideas in this area.

For those of us interested in military and government use of the Social Web (or “Web 2.0″) we find a lot of discussion centered around technology as well as the strategy, organization and process changes needed to operate and win in the online domain. Yet, the key lesson at SOUTHCOM is more about culture and leadership. Through risk acceptance, decentralized experimentation, open and honest dialogue and encouragement and support of their members at all levels, SOUTHCOM has enabled the community to innovate and advance their communications and operations on the Social Web. Equally important and intertwined with this culture, the leaders at SOUTHCOM have set a personal example – engaging through blogs, Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere. If leaders want their members to embrace the social web they need to set the example and let everyone know that it’s OK to communicate and engage online.

If you’d like to hear more from Sarah Nagelmann, you can find her June 24, 2009 in McLean, Virginia at IDGA’s “Social Media for DoD & Government” conference. Her topic Spreading The Word In A New Era Of Communication Sharing” will address the importance of communication at SOUTHCOM, the utility of cultivating open innovation, and the use of new media and web 2.0.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into SOUTHCOM’s efforts online, check out the following:

United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)

SOUTHCOM Website | Continuing Promise 09 Blog | SOUTHCOM Commander’s Blog “In the Americas”

SOUTHCOM Photos on Flickr| SOUTHCOM Videos on Youtube |SOUTHCOM on Twitter | SOUTHCOM Facebook Page

Adm Jim Stavridis, Commander of SOUTHCOM: Adm Jim Stavridis on Twitter and Linkedin

Sarah Nagelmann, Director, Strategic Communication at SOUTHCOM: Sarah Nagelmann on Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook

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:

The Chinese have at their disposal a population of millions of social media drones. And, in the grand tradition of the Great Wall, China established a virtual wall to contain, monitor and control the netizens of China. Dubbed the Great Firewall, the system provides China with a centralized capability to monitor and control internet activity throughout China. While some feel that this Chinese Social Media Army will be unable to influence opinion effectively, stating that internet users and companies such as Digg, Youtube and others will revise their algorithms, the future is not so clear. China has effectively used technology, law, and cultural harmonization to create a society of internet users who not only engage in tactical social media campaigns, but actively monitor and report on each other.

In it’s Annual Report to Congress on China – “China Military Power of the People’s Republic of China[.pdf]“ – the Department of Defense provides significant detail on China’s evolving military strategy to include it’s increasing interest in non-kinetic means of warfare. A key excerpt is below:

In 2003, the CCP Central Committee and the CMC approved the concept of “Three Warfares” (san zhong zhanfa – 三种战法), a PLA information warfare concept aimed at influencing the psychological dimensions of military activity:

• Psychological Warfare seeks to undermine an enemy’s ability to conduct combat operations through psychological operations aimed at deterring, shocking, and demoralizing enemy military personnel and supporting civilian populations.
• Media Warfare is aimed at influencing domestic and international public opinion to build public and international support for China’s military actions and to dissuade an adversary from pursuing policies perceived to be adverse to China’s interests.
• Legal Warfare uses international and domestic laws to gain international support and manage possible political repercussions of China’s military actions.

American Truce Team with Chinese Communists

Without a doubt, the Chinese are now in a position to engage in strategic communication across the social media landscape. Their strategy, capabilities, interests and people are all aligned. The question now becomes “What do we do?” How do military and national security practitioners prepare?

That my friends is a question for another post. However, I’m excited to hear your thoughts and opinions. What tactics, techniques and procedures do we need to develop to deal with adversarial social media teams?

Gen Caldwell briefing on the death of Zarqawi

The Pitch, a Kansas City News source, recently covered Gen Caldwell’s efforts in “At Fort Leavenworth, officers are marching on a new target: the blogosphere”. While positive, the article concludes on a slightly sour note as it wonders if Caldwell’s social media push will disappear when he leaves.

General Caldwell will certainly move on and we expect he’ll bring his vision and commitment to social media with him. That’s a good thing – we can only hope to see this man spread his vision to new commands. But I certainly doubt that his commitment to the Social Web will soon disappear after any change in command. Caldwell left his mark in Iraq, pushing for increasingly sophisticated strategic communications, transparency and media engagement, and I’m certain his legacy will live on at CAC.

Most importantly, Caldwell’s legacy will live on in the minds and actions of the men and women who attended CAC courses and learned to appreciate and embrace the role of social media. Each of these hundreds of military leaders have and will continue to fan out across the military, spreading the use of social media and in turn encouraging  their peers, subordinates and senior leaders to do the same.

While General Caldwell has inspired and educated many future leaders and warriors, I’d like to highlight two key lessons from his career with respect to social media and the military.

Lesson 1: Transparency

Transparency, or as Caldwell would say in his four Be’s “Be Honest, Be Open, Be Relevant, and Be Ready” is a key foundation for engagement on the social web. During his time as spokesperson and Deputy Director of Strategic Effects in Iraq, Caldwell took several actions to ensure transparency. He had intelligence officers assigned to his command to quickly declassify information and make it available to reporters, bloggers and ultimately the global audience. Declassification is still a critical issue and smart military commanders must plan ahead of time to get influential information declassified and distributed in a coordinated manner. Caldwell also embraced reporters, often allowing them to travel with him under escort. Caldwell’s views and practice of strategic communication should serve as a model for all military leaders. Once arriving at CAC, Gen Caldwell published a policy memo on “Interactive Internet Activities” [.pdf] stating that military use of social media is an “essential  part of our responsibilities to provide information to the public” and then set in place the training and tools necessary to create a generation of military bloggers and social media enthusiasts. Well done general!

Lesson 2: Simple Blog Rules

At the Combined Arms Center, General Caldwell approved a set of simple blog rules (not guidelines) that provided clear direction to military bloggers. If your agency or command doesn’t have a set of rules, you may just want to borrow the set below:

1. Comments should be based on personal experiences unless documented by verifiable information
2. DO NOT divulge or discuss classified or sensitive information
3. DO NOT discuss planned or ongoing military operations or tactics, techniques and procedures that have not been officially and publically released already.
4. Entries should not contain profane or belittling commentary; constructive, intellectual criticism and debate is encouraged.
5. Entries are not to be used for commercial gain or promote or endorse financial or other interests.
6. Entries and discussions should not be political in a nature, contain political bias or be construed to advocate a political party.
7. All remarks made by military personnel MUST be fully attributable in accordance with CAC CG’s Polic Memo on Blogging

jeffbentley: reading: The Challenges of Perception Management in National Strategy and Military Operations [.pdf] http://tinyurl.com/d2gcvc

USAF Matteo Martemucci

The document “Regaining the High Ground: The Challenges of Perception Management in National Strategy and Military Operations” was written by Matteo G. Martemucci (Maj, USAF) while attending the Joint Forces Staff College in 2007. (Matteo is now Director of Operations at the 547th Intelligence Squadron)

The abstract of Maj Martemucci’s paper is below:

The informational element of power may be the most elusive for the U.S. Government to wield, but its importance is proportional to its difficulty. With the rise in global terrorist networks and a precipitous decline in world opinion of America’s foreign policy, Perception Management is more critical now than at any time in America’s history. This paper attempts to answer the question of why, in this time of conflict, it is so difficult for the U.S. Government to effectively leverage the informational element of power. It explores three friction-inducing elements that afflict the U.S. Government, including the military. The U.S. Government’s politics & personalities, bureaucracy, and aversion to the use of mass media, even in time of war, have precluded an integrated Perception Management campaign.
A historical review of Perception Management strategies since World War I reveals that this difficulty is based largely on individual personalities, an ever-growing bureaucracy, and an historical American concern about the perceived manipulation of the media by its government. To solve this problem, the President must clearly define lines of authority regarding the Government’s Perception Management strategy. He must also give that authority to a strong leader capable of coordinating the disparate efforts of numerous Government agencies. Finally, the U.S. Government must take a more proactive approach to media engagement as part of an integrated strategic Perception Management campaign.

Thinking about these three historical friction points made me wonder how social media will fare and how it will influence perception management.

Individual Personalities

Without revisiting the “personalities” in place during the writing of this paper in 2007, let’s instead look to the present and future. First, President Obama has handled himself skillfully in the strategic communication and social media front. Beyond the fact that his campaign leveraged the social web for an amazing victory, Obama’s interview with al-Arabiya Network in Dubai showed a policy of dialogue rather than dictation – certainly a format more appropriate for social media. Regardless of political inclination, we all have to agree that our nation’s highest leader has certainly set the tone for social media.

A group of Iraqi men watch Obama on TV

Under Secretary Clinton’s leadership the US State Department has engaged in innovative and effective social media campaigns reflecting a clear commitment to the power of social media. We can rightly expect that our nation’s Public Diplomacy efforts will continue to embrace social media.

Within the Department of Defense, key military leaders including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, General David Petraeus, and his adviser David Kilcullen have focused American military strategy towards counterinsurgency and favor the use of “soft power”. Across the military we see key military leaders stepping up to the plate and embracing the social web. In an earlier post we highlighted the “Leadership By Example” mentality of US Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen who has boldly spread the use of social media across his command. Similarly, Admiral Stavridis, commander of SOUTHCOM and his counter-part at AFRICOM, General Ward, have been using the internet to engage audiences. In fact, all across the military we are starting to see military commands embrace social media.

While “personalities” may have been a hindrance in past perception management policy and strategies, I expect the new administration as well as leaders within the Department of State and Department of Defense will usher in a new era of coordinated campaigns as well as a firm embrace of social media.

Bureaucracy

Yes, we got boatloads of bureaucracy and it’s not changing fast enough or soon enough. While I expect social media to revolutionize how we engage with foreign audiences, I expect bureaucratic challenges to be our biggest barrier. We will have to change our acquisition system, policies, operations, security procedures, manpower, training and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Politicians, agency heads and leaders across the government will have to make decisions, and we expect that will require years of staff work.

The Register has a great article about Andrew McLaughlin (Barack Obama Transition Team) and his attempt at “bringing Web 2.0 to Washington.” While Andrew’s experience is typical, the government is plodding along. The GSA recently signed deals with key social web companies such as Youtube, Flickr, Vimeo and Blip.tv. allowing them to use these services. But, look at the small print – it took nine months to put these agreements in place. Imagine how long an entire social media / social web strategy will take.

Deconstructing government bureaucracy in the near to mid term is unlikely, but there are movements working hard to change that reality. Government 2.0 Club is a great example and CNET was there to cover the ‘national organization created to allow government, academia, and industry to collaborate on Web 2.0 solutions for government.’ We attended along with hundreds of other Gov 2.0 idealists and had a chance to talk to foks such as Jack Holt who is leading social media change at the Defense Media Activity as well as Bill May of the US State Department who described State’s use of twitter, blogs, social networks, online video and other social media tactics.I also had a chance to talk with Laurel Ruma of O’Reilly Media and have great expectations for their Government 2.0 Summit in September of 2009.

The bottom line here is that bureaucracy is unlikely to change quickly, but it will change.

Social Media to the Frontlines

Perceived Manipulation of the Media by its Government

What a change two years can bring. When Major Martemucci wrote his original report I expect his frame of mind centered on the notion of mainstream media – namely how the US Government engaged and pushed its message to the leviathons of mass media. But in the two years since his paper was published, the media landscape has been upset by the emergence of social media. While broadcast news and papers aren’t dead, their influence has waned with the emergence of bloggers, citizen journalism, microblogging, and livestreaming. Now and into the future, these new sources of social media will increasingly frame perceptions of US policy and operations abroad.

Leaders and staff within the White House, US State Department and Department of Defense recognize this emerging trend and have increased their efforts to engage across the social web. While bureaucracy may slow the pace of change, new leaders and a new media landscape have set the stage for social media to play a leading role in perception management.

Human Dynamics on the Frontline

The Defense Science Board recently released Understanding Human Dynamics, a report spawned by the need to understand the human dimension of war given the nature of the “war on terrorism” and American intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan. While the entire report is a fascinating look at where the military is going in its approach to understanding the human dimension, we are most interested in a key paragraph of the report entitled “Information Engagement Requirements Will Significantly Expand” – the full text is below:

In an era where populations are linked by instant communications, information will also shape the operational environment. Information engagement can communicate critical knowledge, build trust, promote support for U.S. operations, and influence the perceptions and behaviors of many audiences. It places a high premium on understanding the local political, social, and economic situation within an area of operation. It also requires access to detailed information and trends regarding relevant audiences and their respective cultures, interests and objectives. A sophisticated understanding of traditional media (print, radio, and video broadcasting), social media (e.g. wiki, blogs), collaborative media, as well as influence networks will be necessary for audience understanding, tracking and influence. Ongoing data collection will be needed to identify emerging issues and opportunities that will serve as essential underpinnings of U.S. government strategic communication and public diplomacy efforts.

Looking at this paragraph, we see that key components of the Social Web (“social media”,”collaborative media” and online “influence networks”) will be essential to military strategy and operations now and into the future. Given that the this study recognizes the importance of the Social Web, what does that mean exactly?

First, we can rightly assume that the writers of this report threw in “social media” largely as a buzzword – the reference to “wikis and blogs” demonstrates a rudimentary understanding of social media and was either pulled from a large, dusty military primer on “web 2.0″ or a quick googling of the term. Wikis are unlikely to become a key “social media” input to the military human dynamic equation as I doubt we’ll find many critical wikis emerge in the hot spots of disaster relief, peacekeeping operations or all-out-war. As for blogs, we agree on their importance; we’ve seen them emerge on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and we can rightly predict a massive uptake not only in blogging, but micro-blogging from future areas of conflict as well.

But in addition to the DSB’s “wikis and blogs”, the military should also be prepared for other forms of content and communication to play a key role in future missions and conflicts. Some of these are discussed below, but this is by no means a comprehensive list.

Mobile is King!

Hi-tech cellphones emerge on the battlefield

Mobile devices will surely be at the forefront of any future environment and the military needs to focus on mobile technology, content and usage immediately. EPROM (Entrepreneurial Programming and Research on Mobiles) out of MIT is a great resource both for data and ideas. With billions of mobile phones used worldwide and with over 60% of these consumers living in developing countries, it’s a safe bet to assume that the mobile phone is our “go to” device for social media engagement and understanding in most conflict countries. For a deeper look into human behavior and mobile devices you should check out the work at “Reality Mining” and find time to chat with Sandy Pentland of MIT. He’s speaking at the O’Reilly Where 2.0 Conference in San Jose May 20th, 2009 and has an amazing new book “Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World”.

So let’s assume mobile is going to be huge – bigger than it is now (3 Billion +) – what does that mean for the military. First, according to some analysts the demand for mobile content and applications will only get bigger. Audiences will seek out and consume content – not just text messages – but pictures, video, audio, and more. We need to ensure our communication strategies plan for friendly and adversarial distribution of content across mobile platforms. We also have to assume that civilians, from NGOs to farmers, will produce and distribute their own content from these mobile devices. Camera, video and even scanning and sensor devices will only get better on these phones.

Live Streaming – Citizen Journalism

Speaking about video on phones, we have to consider another emerging trend – live streaming. Made popular by Justin.tv and now an emerging trend creeping into the developing world, mobile devices allow anyone to stream video in real time from their mobile device to the world or to closed networks. Companies such as Ustream.tv and Qik allow anyone with a common phone to record the world around them and channel it to thousands or millions of others immediately. For a look at 14 companies with similar services check out “14 Ways to Broadcast Yourself…Live” from Venture Beat.

Mashups – Compelling Content For Influence

Another expected rising star for military operators are “mashups” – essentially data and services pulled from multiples sites and source on the Internet to create a new and better site. Al Jazeera created an influential crowdsourced mapping mashup in January 2009 focused on Gaza and this Mashup of the War on Gaza influenced perceptions by quickly pulling together and presenting data on Israeli activity. Similarly, Sokwanele created an engaging mashup of violence in Zimbabwe following the March 2008 elections and subsequent violence. Even more relavent, Bill Greer at Off The Map presents a Mashup of IED attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan pre- and post-Surge.

So why are mashups so important in a military context? Most notably, mashups are highly visual and depending upon their format and detail, have the ability to influence everyone from social elites to the average joe witnessing death blossoms blooming across a web page mashup of US intervention in some distant country. Normally dry data and disconnected media is tied together and often kept alive in a visually compelling format. In addition, mashups pose a threat ( as much as they do an opportunity) to perception. In the hands of the right adversary, a mashup’s data and presentation can be skewed or completely misrepresented to match the creator’s desires. At the same time there is a real opportunity here; mashups offer the military the opportunity to create living media that vividly and accurately portray US and Allied support to reconstruction, disaster and humanitarian assistance and even successful counterinsurgency and conventional campaigns. We need to start thinking about mashups both in offensive and defensive terms.

Ongoing Data Collection – By Whom?

In the examples above – and trust me, there are many more – it’s obvious that the Social Web is going to make the information environment incredibly complex and any attempt to understand “Human Dynamics” is bound to be frustrated with a top-down approach. We’re going to see millions of users with millions of mobile devices interacting in a many-to-many environment as they create, share and distribute content with or without our permission. So what’s a military commander to do?

First, we can’t solely pursue the DSB recommendation to conduct “ongoing data collection” – that’s a fool’s challenge. We could spend an infinite amount of time using finite resources to collect against a dynamic environment and get nowhere. If you want to win in this environment we need to rethink how we collect, analyze and distribute our content, and a centralized approach isn’t going to cut it. We need to enable the human network in these future environments to work for us. We need to think about how we can provide the infrastructure (such as devices and bandwidth), platforms (online social networks, cloud storage), tools (mashup editors, content tagging and rating) and content (accurate data,DVIDS, geo-tagged photos) that provide an ideal environments for US forces to operate in and win.

If we can successfully develop a strategic capability to deploy an “almost always on” infrastructure for the public, paired with free platforms and tools along with an operational commitment to expose our data and content to the public we will then build an information environment ideal for winning. We will have the Human Dynamic on our side, and that’s where I’d focus my efforts.

And if we could, perhaps the Defense Science Board could put together a Task Force on the Social Web and National Security?