Blog Posts tagged with "Social Media"

That's intense.

Nice job Taylor. I particularly like the Q&A with Admiral Stavridis--very good questions with insightful answers.

Your girl is so cute. Loved the video of your daughter . . . and, well, the dog shoes is just crazazy. You realize all the other dogs that watch that video are now going to laugh at your dog at their next poker game. Poor pooch. ;-D Oh yeah, the other stuff is good. ;-D ADM Stavridis is really a "grand communicator". I'll be interested to see what he does when his Navy adventure ends some day, and how he will continue to capitalize on his command of this new medium. Keep up the good work.

Wonderful news ! Congrats Admiral ! Thank you Taylor !

OK, I don't know what's better, your sweetie singing the heck out of Boom Boom Pow - giving Fergie a run for her money, BTW, or you saying "Oh Snap" to Tembo trying on those hysterical shoes...love it! I should have put the snow video up here of Chris getting caught in the tiny snow tunnel! You're gonna rock this social media job, Taylor! Keep doing what you're doing and getting our high-speed social media Admiral out there! Our job is easy with a forward-leaning leader like him. Miss you guys too and thanks for the kind words. ;) I'm sure I'll enjoy school but it won't be half as fun as social medializing with EUCOM! As they say down here in the South, bye ya'll! Maj. Kristi Beckman

I am backing the Navy though I have never seen them kick a ball!!

That's kind of... abrupt.

After representation whatsoever of your blogposts I moldiness say i pioneer this particularised one to generally be top nick. I mortal a weblog also and necessary to repost a few shear of your articles on my own diary tract. Should it be alright if I use this as daylong I private reference your web diary or create a incoming linkage to your article I procured the snipping from? If not I make and could not do it without having your tolerance . I hump collection starred this article to cheep and zynga calculate motivated for publication. Anyway revalue it either way!

It's never too soon to say: GO ARMY BEAT NAVY!

Magnificent site. Plenty of useful info here. I?m sending it to a few buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thanks for your sweat!

Sorry for the delay on responding to this -the short answer is, "no." We wouldn't expect everyone in an organization to clear buildings - or fly aircraft - or fight fires. So why would we expect everyone to do something as important as strategic communications? Its especially important not to make this forced because it's so painfully apparent when you have people going online who are uncomfortable with it. Go onto the CGSC blogs and look at some of the posts from the Army Majors going through ILE. You can readily tell the ones who ahve a passion for online engagement versus the ones who are doing it because it's a course requirement.

This is an interesting initiative. Are you collaborating through CHIRP? Lots of good discussion on SNS.

Only if you have a "Message" or A Thing too Tell,that not an another "million" ;) Pages. A Blog must have a SOUL. A Spirit so Visitors come Back . And good Morning from the Remstal Valley East of you ;) ::: Have you seen the purple bunny the killer bunny of estern I hear peps talking about there is some in the gerlingen area ;) TAKE CARE WATCH OUT ;)

I don't think it is a bad idea to encourage those who "want" to blog or tweet about there day to day experience, I know a lot of people that would love to know more about our men & women in uniform, what is better than to hear it directly from them. I worked with quite a few corporate CEO's that uses the same argument like Gary B "This could very well encourage a lot of confusion, skepticism, and lose credibility with those receiving the message."! I think they do understand the power of this new tool,but are too scared to have it used by others (then them) to communicate with the public. I always ask them to support there argument with a research, report or any doc, but there is none. I am all for the effort that the U.S military is doing to reach out for people like us by allowing anyone who "wants" to use social media to use it. Kristi, keep up the good work. cheers, Ahmed

I am a fairly regular blogger and a big proponent of balancing my offline communication with my online engagements. As a member of the Armed Forces, it is absolutely critical to know and understand the communication environment in order to develop an effective communication strategy. During the past 10 months as Student at the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, my seminar designed a strategic communication concept that any organization can utilize for learning about the communication environment and find ways to develop effective an communication strategy for success. My role a the 'Social Media Guru' focused on the idea of balancing online/offline identities, building trust, branding, and developing effective communication techniques and strategies in today's collaborative, online, communication environment. To help my learning, I created my own consulting business online. It all started with blogging. It was a way for me to share my interests in home theater, helping others make decisions on personal electronic purchases and providing tech information to a variety of audiences. In just six months, I've been able to develop a Facebook fan base of nearly 1000 followers, average 15-20 daily views of my video blogs, and garnered interest from all over the globe. I am truly amazed at how effective my approach has been in such a short period of time. However, it has taken a lot of work in preparing my blogs and designing content that is not only entertaining but also educational. My goals are simple: build and maintain trust with my followers, balance an online image that is consistent with my offline image, and most of all....be someone who is willing to reach out and develop effective, professional relationships. If you are interested in seeing the fruits of my labor, you can visit my site at heathaplexvision.com. Additionally, here is a link to the Design Concept for Strategic Communication I helped developed this past year at SAM

Gary, This is where I think we'll have to agree to disagree. It's not about choosing that one person to communicate. I could do this all day long, but I KNOW folks would get bored hearing from me. I want to encourage our troops to come forward and tell their story, their unit's story. We all do the same thing here at European Command. There won't be different messages that will confuse people, rather different ways to tell the story. Each of us has a part in building partnerships throughout Europe and Eurasia. Each of us chose the military as our way of life. Each of us works hard everyday to defend our freedom and our homeland forward. For European Command, it's about transparency and reaching out farther than we've ever been able to before. We're aware of operational security and yes, social media adds a level of risk. But the good far outweighs the risk which is why the Department of Defense made the critical move to open up the social media sites throughout the DOD. Communication and information is essential in this day and age and if we, the DOD, aren't communicating in this realm, then we are messing up. Simply put, this is just one more tool that we, and now the troops, can use to tell our story and to get great feedback like yours. Thank you! Kristi

Ray, Thanks for the comment on this one. We want to encourage those who "want" to blog. It will definitely not be a requirement. However, there are many out there who have a passion for writing/reporting as you can see from CNN iReport. European Command has more than 100 thousand in our command and we would love to hear from so many of them. Hopefully there aren't people out there who have to blog because it's a "course requirement." It should be about extending the writer's pen out there to so many who never have the chance. Take care! Kristi

Having everyone on the front lines tell their story could come back to bite you, and the military, in the arse. First off, what do you mean by "everyone on the front lines of Afghanistan?" I understand, from Marine friends of mine over there, none of them have access to social media or non-embedded media for that matter. Air Force front lines (rear echelon) is likely much different than U.S. Marine or Army front lines. I'm sure you can handle the OpSec part of this though, so I'll end with that. Blogging is nothing more than an extension of traditional marketing efforts in any industry or type of organization. Communication is the key word here and in deciding who and when to blog should first start off with the intended results that one wishes to obtain. Once you've determined what the mission is, then figure out who the best person would be to communicate with the rest of the world. Like anywhere else, your ranks are filled with varying levels of experience, education, and communication skills. If everyone gets a shot at telling the world about the U.S. European Command then you must anticipate that the message being broadcast is going to be just as varying and unique and the person broadcasting it. This could very well encourage a lot of confusion, skepticism, and lose credibility with those receiving the message. I'm a corporate sales and marketing professional in Silicon Valley, and would caution you to encourage feedback, communication, and an exchange of ideas from your officer and enlisted ranks but leave the outbound communications to a designated professional or a committee. We in the corporate world and general public would rather hear the official, correct, word than a bunch of scuttlebutt from varying, and unreliable, resources. Semper Fi

Kris, Thanks so much for the comment! I'll do better next time. Not that easy to put your face out there. You know all about that though! Take care! Kristi

oh sure BE LIVE an millions watch it not easy BUT I LOVE this Kristi TV News Channel ;o) same if you must say some words in a townhall with a lot of peps ;))) greetings the SCARY german .... LOL ... guido

Their Web site is www.ntm-a.com. Take care!

what is this for a nerve background sound the hall Effect??? ;) but cool video anyway ;) greetings from the remstal valley east of stuttgart southwest germany

Kristi, So proud to see you rockin the vlog!! I would suggest though to upload the video first to YouTube or Vimeo or Viddler then embed it into wordpress. That way you have better quality and a depository for all your Vlogs for all to see. Great job though, and keep it up! Video is where it's at. Kris

Thanks, Guido. Not a Kristi news channel though! It's a channel for U.S. European Command. Just trying to get our message out farther and through new and interesting ways. If you have any other ideas, let us know and thanks!! Kristi

but i like the name kristi channel more ;))) i know it s a "job" channel ideas i have millions ! but not sure work this on "goverment" pages, i not deep inside the US law about pages like here mean what is possible and what is forbitten,while touch secury and stuff like that U KNOW nice day greetings from the sunny remstal valley EAST of you ;o)

Great initiative Maj. Beckman! I'll definitely keep checking back. One question; you mentioned a social media web site WRT Afghanistan that I was unable to find. I thought I heard you say www.nem-a.com. Please let me know if this is incorrect or how I can get to the web site. Thanks.

Kristi - you are amazing ... keep up the great work!!

I work for U.S. European Command, located in Stuttgart, Germany. We are not the European Union. Here is a link for their Web site to learn more about them. http://europa.eu/ A great deal of what we do at U.S. European Command is in support of NATO or North Atlantic Treaty Organization www.nato.int. I am here in Kabul right now in support of NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan. Hope this helps!

Sir, That was quite a bit more than I experienced, definitely! Thank you for your service to our great country. It is because of you and so many others that we have the freedom we have today. I salute you!

I suggest anyone who is willing to give their life for something they believe in - including the Taliban - is not a coward. We may find their methods reprehensible, but cowards they are not. I suspect they truly believe in their "jihad" as well as the value of "martyrdom", including when the "martyrdom" extends to innocent men, women and children. I surmise they see the loss of civilians as collateral of the fighting in promoting their way of life, much in the same light as we see the unfortunate loss of innocent life to promote our vision of Afghanistan - a sad consequence of war. What we now term as "terrorists", in another time were "freedom fighters of Afghanistan" (President Reagan's words) railing against the Soviet oppressors. The antecedents of the current fighters fought as our proxy in the Cold War. If I am left with one impression, it is that for the scrabble of dust, dirt and rock that we will leave behind someday, these warriors you are facing are willing to risk it all to achieve their aims. We should be thankful they are not as well funded or resourced as our side is, and that they don't have the advantage of technology that our side has - or this would be a significantly different battle. If they had a fraction of our sides resources I doubt they would resort to suicidal attacks. At the risk of speaking for David, I suspect he is just trying to connect the motives of today's attack in Kabul with the recent loss of civilians. I am not sure his comment was attempting to justify the recent attack you experienced or to indicate that he does not understand that there will be losses on all sides. Respectfully, C.P.

Thank you for your additional insight, Maj Hillman. Yes, I failed to make that distinction and it must be a factor in any discussion. In terms of understanding the Taliban with a capital 'T' I don't think the challenge is to change their beliefs anymore than we can change the belief or value system of any people. That said, we cannot forsake an attempt to influence the Taliban with a capital 'T'. We cannot give up on that mental exercise and investigation. Otherwise, we resign our forces to killing, maiming or injuring the Taliban with a capital 'T' to eliminate that threat. My comment was intended to encourage us to try to think as they do. If we try to think as they do, then perhaps we can discover their pressure points and gain insight into what incentives they may respond to. An improved understanding of the Taliban with a capital 'T' can assist in making the Taliban less effective. This intellectual exercise is also about messaging, and that messaging goes well beyond the borders of Afghanistan. If we want men to stay at home rather than travel hundreds or thousands of miles to join the Taliban then we have to make it less attractive for those men. Something is motivating young and old to join a force that we perceive to be destabilizing and counter-productive to an enduring Afghan state. The question is why? What is the incentive to make such a choice? Until that is truly understood then we will just kill or injure Taliban with a capital 'T' replacements. The same insight you have into the small 'T' Taliban came from similar investigations. There is more to this than we know at present. Respectfully, C.P.

Excellent post. Another excellent use of social media. Thank you. Keep up the good work. Although seemingly incomprehensible from our framework, those "maniacs" believe they are doing the best they can for their nation, tribe, people, religion, etc. They are willing to lay down their lives to achieve their aims. Until we step out of our reference points and truly understanding their perspectives and motivation we will never really get ahead of these attacks, and we will be perpetually left to respond to heart pounding insanity. Best wishes, and good luck.

Seems like this might be revenge for the heaps of civilians NATO has bombed in the last few days.

C.P. Smith I do believe you are right, but there is one thing I’d like to tell you about. There are 2 types of Taliban; the ones with a little ‘t’ and the ones with the capital ‘T’. Though they are doing the same things there is a huge difference between the two. You are referring to Taliban with the capital ‘T’. They are truly dedicated and willing to give their lives for what they believe in. We will not be able to change their beliefs no matter what we do. Our goal is to reach the taliban with the small ‘t’. They are the ones who are not the true believers. They do what they do because it is a job and it gives them money to feed, clothe and shelter their family. If we (the military in concert with the Ministry of the Interrior and Ministry of Defense) can get them to lay down their arms and fight for the Afghan National Secuity Forces we will succeed.

David, All the taliban is trying to do is put the spotlight on themselves. They are trying to bring attention to themselves and they are extremely cowardly individuals. NATO troops are doing everything possible, to the utmost extent, to limit civilian casualties. This is a top priority but unfortunately we are up against terrorists and they have no laws, no rules, no problem putting innocent civilians in harms way. There was an excellent story written recently by The Christian Science Monitor that I think you should read. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2010/0222/Afghanistan-war-challenge-civilian-deaths-from-NATO-airstrike It's a very telling story of the challenges we face everyday in Afghanistan. Gen. McCrystal's number one priority, that takes a back seat to killing insurgents, is protecting civilians. Bottom line is that we are at war. There will be civilian casualites and U.S. and coalition troops will lose their lives. If you don't understand that, then I don't know what to tell you. But we are willing to put our lives on the line for the good of Afghanistan and its people.

I remember another war, and another time when at 400 hours on February-3-1968 I was awoken ,the same way. In the space of two cities blocks, 21 rockets hit our base. All of this in two o three minutes . Running for your weapons, putting on someone else boots. Screaming in the dark. Sheer terror. Lucky for us nobody got more than a stubbed toe. Major Beckman like someone said once, "I feel your pain". I'm thankful for your service

Thanks for your thoughts, C.P. You put it a bit more nicely than David did and I am sure that he meant just what he wrote. Losing innocent civilians isn't easy for any of us. Neither is losing our troops. We strive everyday to protect innocent civilians and help the Afghan military and government grow strong so they in turn can protect their people and we can one day pull out of here with full hearts knowing that what we did indeed made a difference.

So who do you work for? European Union (EUCOM) or Nato? or United States? Or better yet should I ask if there's a difference anymore or are said entities one in the same?

Regarding my previous posting about Invincible Defense Technology this article just published today by United Press International may also be of interest: Major General Kulwant Singh (Indian Army, Retired) and Dr. David Leffler (3 March 2010). Global power available for any military. United Press International - Asia. Available at: http://www.upiasia.com/Security/2010/03/03/global_power_available_for_any_military/2936

Sir, I was reading a story about how NASA has lost its way, over at MSNBC. In it, I think it was Burt Rutan who had the quote of saying Rockwell was given the contract to build the Apollo spacecraft in '62. Where as, we all know the first landing on the moon wasn't until '69. The point he made with that was we comitted ourselves to an objective before any of the unknown-unknowns, became known. Objective--policy--budget--R&D--aquisition. That is what I got out of his quote. It applies to our nacent efforts in cyberspace as well, it should just about apply to everything we do. V/r YNSN link: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/02/26/2213866.aspx

Sir, I just read thru and enjoyed your speech. I have a three-year-old whose screen-busted, worn out first generation iPhone, "fon", is her favorite toy. Fon, helicopter, airplane, train, unicorn. Rescued from being sold on eBay "as-is" when I wondered, "are there kids' apps?", her fon is now loaded with age-appropriate learning apps with names like "Monkey Pre-school Lunchbox" and "Matches" -- a far cry from my prized and cherished Speak-and-Spell. I think she's angling to snatch my MacBook next. Sir, your thesis is borne out in a case in the Italian courts: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/serious-threat-to-web-in-italy.html Excerpted from the article: "In late 2006, students at a school in Turin, Italy filmed and then uploaded a video to Google Video that showed them bullying an autistic schoolmate... [Google employees] took it down within hours of being notified by the Italian police. [However,] a public prosecutor in Milan indicted four Google employees for failure to comply with the Italian privacy code. A judge in Milan today convicted 3 of the 4 defendants. In essence this ruling means that employees of hosting platforms like Google Video are criminally responsible for content that users upload. "European Union law was drafted specifically to give hosting providers a safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified of its existence. If that principle is swept aside and sites like Blogger, YouTube and indeed every social network and any community bulletin board, are held responsible for vetting every single piece of content that is uploaded to them... then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear." Sir, as those within your echelon of influence consider General Cartwright's remarks or Secretary Lind's insights, as you seek the right balance between openness and security, society and defense in the cyber

Admiral, I think your analogy is sound. The Electronic commons are very much like the blue one you and I have sailed. To continue with this analogy, I would say that the tools we have to patrol this common are little more than triremes and it will take a significant effort to get us even to the point of having a 'galley' let alone a Ship of the Line. One significant development I think needs to occur is development of proper ROEs in terms of cyberwarfare. A bad actor takes down the electrical grid in New England. What is our response? Is it a law enforcement issue, or a military issue? What if part of our NIPR system is compromised? Does that alone constitute a military issue due to the networking being military? Should a cyber campaign waged by a nation warrant a kinetic response? It is hard to answer those questions because the tools we have to operate with (at least the tools I am aware of) are weak. TENTH Fleet just put out their shopping list and what are they asking for? Algorithms, tools. Ironically, our ISR capabilities inside the medium we move information with is very poor. What does this bring me to? Redundancy. Back ups to back ups in terms of our infrastructure. Integrity. Code that does not crash. Code that is not COTS. Plan B. A way to communicate that is in parallel to the internet not piggybacking on it. Also there is an ancillary component to this. Our communications hardware. Our Satellites, are how old? And are targeted. I wish I had more answers Admiral. But, tacking into the wind in a trireme is difficult at best. We need First Rates and we need the policy to shape their design. V/r YNSN

Admiral, WIRED.com has an interesting article regarding cyber war. The author states that there is no cyber war, and that the initiative to better secure the internet is one created only by hype on the part of the military-industrial complex. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/03/cyber-war-hype/ I do not agree with everything the author has to say, but in reading his article there is now a different spin to my thinking when it comes to cyber security. Michael McConnell states is quoted in the article as saying that the internet needs to be reengineered to provide for exactly what I stated we needed better tools for in my earlier post, cyber-ISR. Mr. Mconnell while I brilliant man, is wrong. To secure the internet we cannot fundamentally change the nature of the internet. To do so would be no different than changing the central tenants of the Constitution to better secure our Nation. The strongest defenses of a position always compliment the environment it's in. I am sure the same will hold true in cyber sea. I also think this article highlights the PR aspect of securing the internet. Many are not aware of how extra-state actors like Hammas, or Hezbollah utilized cyber attacks in their efforts. Nor are many aware of how Russia utilized cyber attacks in their war with Georgia. The most glaringly naive comment from the article is where the author states that in regards to the Chinese based attack on Google's servers "...that’s not warfare. That’s espionage.". In making sure we make the right moves it will be an uphill battle to prove to the public at large that we are not invading their privacy, that our efforts are not to eavesdrop on their internet browsing, or read their emails. Our efforts are to secure the critical infrastructure that now relies on connectivity provided by the internet, and the critical infrastructure of the internet itself. Lastly, the sense of individual freedom that one has on the internet. Where you just about

Admiral, I'll cast a vote for openness and light governance. That may seem counterintuitive, given my profession and current role. But I'm a citizen first and foremost and honestly believe that civil societies are going to figure out how to keep the mix of interleaved public and private sector cyber infrastructure agile, generally survivable, reconstitutable in the face of occasional hits. The up-side of an open and lightly governed model is just too compelling to consider anything else. One-world unified governance of the cyber world sounds as totalitarian, bureaucratic, capability-limiting and draconian as any other form of well-intentioned one-world governance. I'm not a Libertarian kook, but I'll support freedom, loose federation and the beauty of a thousand (or million) flowers blooming any day of the week. So I think we'll need to go careful here. On the U.S. .mil/.gov/.state and "5th Estate" side of the equation, including some of our closest allies and their respective IP domains, my talking points would be notably different. I think wholescale architecture reform, acquisition reform and governance reform will likely be required in those areas where the most fundamental enablers of national security rely upon modern IT. I think we should be working to further limit critical interdependence with private sector infrastructure, and we need to think through how we can isolate, manage and reconstitute quickly when needed within the .mil/.gov/.state domains. I could write a missive on this topic alone-- but I'm sure you have folks a lot smarter on your staff who would bend your ear on this topic for hours, if allowed. All the best and Aloha from the other side of the world... Very respectfully yours, Dave McDonald

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Admiral, I definitely appreciate the questions raised by both your post, and your speech. It's encouraging to see these sort of challenges being thought through in a public setting. I agree that the issue of cyber security is far more complex than simply building a better firewall. I also agree that the challenges you highlighted will require a lot of thought, as evidenced by the points made by fellow comment posters. The web is an enabler of behaviors for innumerable groups, each with their own set of goals and values. While direct attacks on physical systems remain a concern, we will also have to think about how to navigate the social spaces created by interactions on the web. Cultivating an understanding of how the web functions, and how to navigate that space will be more important. Understanding how interactions take place, and what groups exist in this space is just as important as protecting against intrusions. To carry the cyber sea analogy, creating skilled captains and pilots to navigate an unpredictable environment will be as important as the security of the ships on which they sail or the ports they call home. While this would suggest that finding some way to regulate behavior would simplify, the nature of the web makes this more complex. Norms on the web do exist, but they exist on almost a community by community basis. The diverse, and sometimes disparate values of these communities present a significant challenge to the idea of top down regulation, which makes me wonder how possible it really is. For the sake of brevity, I'll stop here. I've gone a lot more in depth on the blog for M.C. Dean's Global Engagement and Outreach Team at http://geo.mcdean.com/blog/responding-to-the-cyber-sea I'd welcome any additional commentary or questions. I want to thank you again for exploring such an important topic. Opening this kind of discussion is the first step to addressing these challenges and I look forward to hearing what you have to say

From these findings?

I didn't know that.

tell sorry, I am just so mad!

Thanks for your thoughts, Kris. Yes, I had to bite the bullet and proceed with our evaluation on the proven iPhone 3G. Maybe at some point we can upgrade to the 4G, if the improvements are significant.

Looking forward to see how implementing the iPhone will affect/change EUCOM's public affairs operations. The first question that popped in my mind after reading this is why not until this summer when the next version of the iPhone will come out? It is going to have multimedia and exchange capabilities that far exceed the 3GS. Nevertheless, this is yet another sign that EUCOM is determined to leverage the latest tools and technology to reach out to the public. Sorry that you could not relinquish the Blackberry as I am sure practically everyone in your office has their own personal cell phone which means some of you could carry around three mobile devices. Oh well, I guess it's just like Mick Jagger sang, "You can't always get what you want..." All in all, congrats on once again pushing the public affairs envelop.

What is "Social Medializing"? Great article!

Stuart, Social Medializing is my own made up word for what we do in the social media realm. Maybe it will make it’s way to the dictionary one of these days? LOL! Thanks for the comment.

Just wonder in a country that is in a WAR fine thing after the WAR hopefully peace come soon there ,after decades of civil war and war against the big global players by the way i know very well the story of this country from the late 1970s to now we life

Did that commentor really think that social media is some kind of mind control experiment?!?! The use of social media has been a techtonic change for the military public affairs community. It allows us to be in control of our own news, swift and honest. It is a powerful tool. I agree, we need to use it wisely. My mantra in running the Fort Huachuca Facebook page is that it is always about the people. Our military is made up of incredible people -- ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We are no longer the big Green Machine. We are a diverse organization made up individuals who are committed to working as a team. Showing that through social media is definitely something we need to continue. While some may not agree with the politics and policies of how our military is used, most support the people who serve.

Ray, Really good points. I think the answer to your question is trust and transparency and over time people like the commentor will hopefully come to find that we are just like them. We earn a living saving lives and defending freedom but we also raise families and take kids to basketball practice and read in the classrooms and care about the healthcare plan. We are just like every other American citizen who wants what's best for our country. All we want to do is tell our story and not just tell it, but share it and talk about it. And maybe they won't change their opinions, and that's ok too...because it's a free country and it takes all kinds to make the world go round, right?

Thanks, Paolo, for the comment. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Social media channels allow us to reach out to so many people who may not understand the military and who we are and why we do what we do. There's a lot more than what is shown in the media.

Definitely use social media!! Twitter and FB bring the military closer. People can better appreciate the challenges and the successes. And the servicemen and servicewomen can tell their stories.

In the spirit of "seeing yourself as others see you", I'd submit that people like the commenter object to Government entities getting into the social media realm because they perceive that bodies like DoD already control a lopsided portion of the public debate on issues. These folks see social media as the one place where "all voices are equal", and object to anything that they see upsetting that balance. So the real question is not "Should the U.S. military do social media?" That horse is out of the barn and it's not coming back. The question is, "How does the US military do social media in a way that keeps channels open to the maximum number of audiences?" We can't reach everybody - but we can target key audiences in a way that doesn't come across as "propagandizing."

Hey Kristi, Well, I think social media is here to stay simply because it is the main way that people communicate with each other on the internet. Events in Iran, Fort Hood and now Haiti have shown the immediacy and real-time"ness" that social media provides. I am a huge supporter of the military using social media to spark real relationships and having two-way talks with people instead of just press releasing people to death. One thing though that has crossed my mind, and I've seen it around the blogosphere too, is that the social media revolution "could" have a temporary detrimental effect on "hard" news reporting. Here's what I mean: With social media and technology, more people (me included) are starting blogs, vlogs, personal web sites, which can lead them to become "citizen journalists." As social media and the internet continue to take viewership away from the "reputable" traditional news sources, the lines between source credibility and factual information start to become blurred. Suddenly everyone is a reporter and giving their slant on an event. So now I get the CNN take, the FOX take, the Kristi Beckman take and the Kris Joseph take, etc.... Technology advancements have basically slapped big media business in the face. Look at the music industry for example. File sharing and MP3s have crippled this billion-dollar enterprise and all of their struggle to keep control with high-priced lawyers could not stop the momentum of technology. Now the music industry makes pennies from CD sales and the artist now only makes money from concert sales and radio play. Myspace and iTunes have become the new music industry giants. This music industry analogy in relation to the news industry is no less alarming. It will soon be the case that news organizations and seasoned journalists and broadcasters will have to compete for control and relevancy amid the growing storm of news blogs and Twitter feeds. I think though that the news orgs realize this and have al

Maj. Beckman, I could not agree more and I think your "humble opinion" is spot on! It is my hope that more DOD traditional media PR/PA practioners and policy makers will soon follow suit. Keep up the great work...you're efforts are inspirational!

Social media played a significant role in Red Cross donations, it's good to see businesses are utilizing the various outlets for Good and not just Gossip. And I couldn't agree with you more, social media is by no means a fad. I think some businesses aren't so willing to implement social media strategy into their marketing tactics because they think it wont last for long. Maybe the sites' popularity will change but social media is here to stay.

You can also follow this Twitter list that includes tweets of the many government agencies providing support to Operation Unified Response: http://twitter.com/NavyNews/haiti-relief . LT Kaye Sweetser Navy Public Affairs

Heather, Thank you for the comment! DOD is slowly coming on board and realizing the importance of this tool to allow us to better communicate like we used to back (way back) in the day :o) We’ve gone back to talking to each other and socializing and it’s so great!

Kaye, Perfect, thanks for keeping us posted on this! We'll be checking this list out and letting all know about it. Appreciate your efforts!

Elizabeth, You got it...here to stay! I, too, have been very excited about the great things as of late that have come out of the social media channels. Sure, we can use them to socialize all day long and I love being able to keep up with friends, collegues and family, but when you use them on such a massive international scale during a crisis for the good of a society...well, that's impact!

Oliver here from SOUTHCOM (Science Technology and Experimentation). Glad to see people out there paying attention to the employment of web 2.0 technologies to facilitate greater information sharing / collaboration. As you know, SOUTHCOM is still very much involved in the Haiti response (Operation Unified Response). Thought the operation is still ongoing, there are many lessons to be learned -- lessons that relate to online collaborating with non-traditional partners during crisis actions. SOUTHCOM's use of web 2.0 technologies during the response extended far beyond traditional Public Affairs responsibilities. The SOUTHCOM PAO did an awesome job in getting the official information out and into cyberspace; however, the command went far further to enable robust "whole of society" collaborations. Through the All Partners Access Network (APAN), the command was able to exchange information, and collaborate with over 1800 geographically dispersed stakeholders in the APAN Haiti HA/DR Community of Interest. APAN (also used extensively be PACOM), integrates diverse technologies like; forums, blogs, wikis, file sharing etc. that make it easy for stakeholders to connect and collaborate. * The SOUTHCOM APAN community grew from under 100 members prior to the crisis to around 1800 within a few days!). The complexity of this crisis action in terms of the diversity of actors demanded a networked UNCLASS capability to support collaboration across multiple domestic and international organizations. There is no way that this could have been done using conventional communications tools (email, phones etc.). The need for the military to plan and execute with non-DOD stakeholders is becoming increasingly apparent as we all operate in the same space, especially in HA/DR operations. Really, online collaboration with Non-DOD entities is not something the COCOMs can avoid or should want to avoid. Leveraging tools like APAN, information was shared in real time resulting in lives

Kris, I couldn't agree with you more. I've seen many folks establish Facebook and Twitter accounts to simply distribute press releases and articles then call it a day. They need to "repurposing" their products for this new two-way venue (like generating a Social Media news release) to open up conversation with our communities and ultimately build relationships with them. This doesn't mean we get rid of the old way of pushing our stories out via the "traditional media". PAOs need to adapt their "old" methods for this new medium. As Brian Solis mentioned in his book "Putting the Public Back in Public Relations," Social Media is the biggest revolution to the Public Relations profession since the introduction of the internet. As for DoD, Mr. Price Floyd, Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, is truly leading the charge in the Pentagon to get all military PAOs and leaders to use Social Media. A few months back he unveiled their new Defense.gov site which is rich in Social Media. Same kudos goes to the US Army, who's really leading the charge at the service level. It'll take time, but I do know more and more of my counterparts do understand the significance of Social Media. Now they just need the funding and resources to execute this new Public Affairs core capability.

Hello, Nice post, its good to see you moving forward with efforts to better understand, use and manage a wide array of available technologies. I was hoping you could outline your position on a couple issues regarding government use of commercial systems such as the ones you have identified and how they affect your role and decision making process in the application of these technologies. Firstly I am curious as to how your archiving this site to make sure it complies with freedom of information act requirements, and what advice you can offer other government web-masters and IT departments who may be looking to outsource their content hosting regarding this issue. Also if I'm an American citizen and this is a gov system, wondering how you handle my email under privacy act guidelines, and again what guidance you might be able to provide in terms of how to deal with record and personal information? Additionally could you speak to the use of Social Media in an official capacity and the gray area of "tracking" personal information of private citizens and how this impacts privacy act compliance? Is there a policy that you can point to for how you have dealt with this issue? I wonder also what your thoughts on Facebook shift in data privacy rules are and how they impact your view as a PAO of the use of such systems? Related to the above - How do you view government use of public cloud systems is going to manage compliance issues of these types? As a PAO what would your recommendations be? What is your view of how these types of compliance issues and legal mandates will affect the role of government interactions with commercial cloud based systems and the trends you have outlined? I look forward to reading about your opinions on this matter. Keep up the good work and good luck for this next year of fun emerging tech! Cheers, Ivan

I really have to hand it to you and your public affairs team at EUCOM for the efforts you are making in light of the social media revolution. You have highlighted many of the emerging internet tools and technology trends that will allow public affairs and servicemembers to tell their stories and speak with their "real" voice. I only hope that as the military and public affairs embraces social media that we don't use it as simply another forum to push traditional command information products. I have seen far too many DoD social media sites where it is PAO shops simply posting their standard packaged news releases with a photo, video and cutline. I'm not saying that we shouldn't inform our audiences of our latest stories on social media sites, but if that is the majority of what we do on these sites then all we have done is brought our traditional one-way communication to a "social" two-way communication environment that is meant to be conversational. I feel like there has been a knee-jerk reaction by PAOs that think, "Yea, now I don't only have to email or post our stories on our web site, I can Facebook it and Twitter it too..." This, in my opinion, is a flawed approach. We have to see social media as a normal conversation where real people are simply sharing ideas, thougths and experiences. If all we do is post news releases than we look like used-car salesmen crashing a casual party or get-together. Before we shove our press releases on Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, etc., we first need to establish real relationships with people. You wouldn't walk into a party for the first time and say, "Hey, I work for the military, check out this story on our web site about a unit that's getting ready to deploy." People would look at you like you are crazy and think you are only at the party to sell them your "message." In social media, it is about people getting to know each other, not a product placement forum. I know there is a lot of excitement about the p

Good questions, Ivan! I look forward to CAPT Buclatin's reply.

Very good overview, CAPT Buclatin! I am very pleased and impressed you see the value in Google Wave and similar products. Google Wave-type platforms will be the standard once people get accustomed to the dynamic nature of page. Thank you. Respectfully, C.P.

Thank you so much for this post. There is so much more everyone has to benefit from using this technology to its fullest than simply ignoring it and letting others talk for us. I am glad to read that there are proponents of using social media within the SOF community. I can only hope we will use it more in the future. As a PAO, I still find that many operators are weary of any PA coverage, social media included. But, our job as PAOs is to help them tell their story, their messages to the public. Not to spill secrets or harm missions. As PAOs, we have to gain their trust and work as a team to demonstrate what we can bring to the table in terms of information dissemination. This can have a lasting positive effect on the mission and can aid SOF forces when interacting with host nations. And, yes I agree really with the last post that if we are marginalized to only cover COMREL events and feel-good stories, we can only be so effective. If we have a way to communicate operations in a way that does not compromise security, we should do so. This way, we are doing our part to contribute to the tactical picture LTJG Donnelly

C.P. – Well put on all accounts. Thank you very much for the comments. I mentioned in the post that if we leave communication to only our senior leaders, we will not succeed in the information war. I also believe that if we continue to silo public communication efforts within any specific directorate (public affairs, IO, SC), we cannot succeed. Defining communication objectives and determining how to achieve them must become part of tactical, operational and strategic planning. My goal is to get others to think about communication objectives when planning and then consider how to disseminate them effectively. Oftentimes, social media is the best platform for getting relevant information out in the timeliest manner possible. Certainly, within special operations, challenges lie in finding the appropriate balance between protecting sensitive information and communicating effectively with key stakeholders. As you alluded, this condition presents a unique opportunity for SOF commanders at all levels, who must operate within the tight constraints of highly classified environments, to become experts in achieving the necessary communication balance and thus serve as an example to the rest of the military. As the current USSOCOM PAO, COL Tim Nye once told me -- Special Operations Forces are recognized globally as leaders in the development and application of tactics, techniques, procedures, and resourcing systems. So too should they be recognized as leaders in the information engagement arena. The same tenets of operational planning and trademarks of SOF leadership: flexibility, adaptability and aggressiveness, need to be adopted for information engagement planning and execution.

Jim, Great way to help convince others find a common bond with Generation X. The biggest opportunity to those of us, is struggling to change our habits from pushing the pencil and the PRINT button to actually learning to read and write vertically. Social media is a brilliant way to stay connected and communicate much more effectivly. Call me old fashioned but...I do love that one-on-one hand shake and eye contact that has seemed to become :o) or =+.... Thanks great blog.

Yes, social media presents a few additional risks, but none that cannot be managed to the benefit of the SOF community. The foremost risk social media presents is that as more personnel outside of the Command suite are allowed to participate there is the potential for an organization's message to get clouded or diffused. Aside from that manageable risk, the perceived risk social media presents to the SOF community and its operations has likely been exaggerated. The resistance the SOF community may have to using social media may be rooted in both a fear of the unknown and a fear of loss of control of its message. Additionally, SOF, as a culture, have traditionally prided themselves on a low public profile often rationalizing limited communication as necessary to protect methods and personnel. Such justifications do not serve the SOF community’s best interests and are impractical given the increasing ease of information sharing and the ubiquity of the internet. Public Affairs appears to be a natural fit to serve as an intermediary between social media outlets and the SOF community, however Public Affairs and SOF appear historically to have an uncomfortable relationship. Public Affairs has often been perceived to provide limited benefit in relation to the risk of giving away some element of operations. As a result, Public Affairs’ external communication is often limited to covering minor stories, such as community relations projects, which garners little attention and interest, or alternatively, press releases of past operations with distribution to traditional media outlets that display little interest in the stories. Today's savvy information consumer wants relevant and timely news and most of what Public Affairs produces for external use does not support either. I have highlighted these issues because those who still find merit in restricting the use of social media have missed the huge change in information distribution and management. Recent unrest

Dear Kristi Beckman, you asked on Twitter about "Transparency at European Command - Do you think EUCOM is transparent?" I'll try to compare the transparency of EUCOM with the German Bundeswehr. If you make a range from zero percent to hundred percent and put these two organizations on that line EUCOM is about 100 percent and the Bundeswehr is about 10 or 15 percent. I'm not joking. Last week a member of the German Parliament said: "We don't need Twitters, Facebooks and Blogs for communication." Oops. I think the new German Minister of Defence, Dr. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, has recognized that some important changes have to be done. First decisions have been already made. Some highest "heads" in the German MOD have been cut, as known from the public press. And some more changes will follow as people say who are closer to him. This will for sure include transparency - like EUCOM does. Regards Ralf Zielonka

I give EUCOM high marks in transparency through social media. My initial engagement with EUCOM here was in following ADM Stavridis (and his prolific writing) from SOUTHCOM, but I have since been very impressed by the breadth of EUCOM's commitment to transparency through this technology. Being able to follow the Admiral, CAPT Buclatin, Dana Clark, and yourself (and I am sure others that I am not aware of) demonstrates more of an authentic commitment that runs deeper--and is more meaningful--than top-level leadership simply trying to make a statement about openness. Interesting where else we are beginning to see signs of this commitment... http://youtube.com/iraqigov is a new entrant, as discussed recently by Google at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/iraqi-government-on-youtube.html. Thank you for your leadership! v/r, Andrew Welch

Ralf, Thanks for your honest assessment. In my humble opinion, I don't think we, EUCOM, are at 100% just yet (more like 75-80%), as we've just scratched the surface with leveraging Social Media to establish conversation with the cyber community on relevant topics, including our activities and engagements with our partners in Europe. As you pointed out, Social Media should not be ignored and must leveraged to augment traditional media, public diplomacy and other pillars of a comprehensive communications program. Just like the internet, Social Media will continue to evolve, as more and more folks use it to communicate to friends and family in near real-time. In the near future, we plan to roll-out more initiatives to make two-way dialogue status quo and build enduring relationships with our friends in Europe and around the world. Cheers, Ed

Andrew, Good to hear and thanks for the kind words. As my boss stated in his response to Ralf, we're getting there! It's a whole new world for the military as you can imagine. And, wow, on the Iraq You tube channel. Now that is a fantastic way to harness social media. The opportunities are endless, aren't they? We still have many improvements to make to our Web site to make it more user-friendly and real-time. There are great tools out there to leverage all of this. The hardest thing is keeping up with the latest, greatest one! But we've got a good team and we've got great friends in the cyber realm, so I know we'll go far. Take care, Kristi

Kristi, You are right! We all have the same challenges ahead when it comes to play the game of Social Media. We have to play with the rules and this means to make the changes within our organizations. It all starts with the culture and a common uderstanding as the basis for entering the conversations. To have an ongoing knowledge exchange with other players is very crucial at this stage. So THANK YOU for approaching us. Looking forward to further work with you. Lefti

Thanks, Ally!

NicP, Thanks for the comment! Just got to keep it simple and to the point...especially for me :o) Take care! Kristi

I like this, really like this. Uncomplicated, short, effective and getting the message over. Well done, ma'am!

Simple &amp; spot on! -A.

Steve, That's the key of this whole thing, caring/engaging/building relationships. I could be out there all day long touting my information about my mission and "broadcasting." But who cares unless you take the time to read about what they do and what's important to them. IT TAKES TIME, but so does everything if it's worth it, right? Thanks! Kristi

Kristi - you may not think of yourself as an expert yet, but I sure wish some of those so-called "experts" would listen to more people like you! I'll take a less experienced person who has the basic communications skills and a genuine interest in building relationships over the greatest Internet marketer and SEO guy any day! What I like is that you're advocating actually caring about other people instead of (what many traditional comms people say) "making it seem like you care about them." Keep doing what you're doing. Keep learning. Keep listening. Keep engaging. And most of all, keep having fun doing it!

Echo that - Simple &amp; Spot on! Also, thanks for mentioning Google Reader... I had not used it for several years since its first (and unimpressive) iteration. You inspired me to check it out, and I think I may stick with it!

Hey Paul, Oh yah, have things changed dramatically since that fateful day! I can remember USAFE/EUCOM being much different back then. Seems like eons ago though. I don’t think we’ll every get back to those days which is why EUCOM is so much more relevant now. I’ll get with you soon on the .com issue. Thanks for the comment!

Kristi, nice post and nice site. Great to see you guys are embracing this. As you may remember, we used to wonder back in 2001(ish) about the relevancy of USAREUR/EUCOM when 9-11 happened. I think it's important to remind everyone that the world is a dangerous place and every command is relevant. After all, who would have thought CENTCOM and Afghanistan would be this high on our radar on 9-10... Another process question on your blog... I see it's hosted on a .com site. Did you have to apply for a waiver to operate an "official" military web presence on a .com domain. Our site (www.taskforcemountain.com) is being threatened with being shut down by our CIO. By our antiquated regs (AR 25-1) you have to have a waiver to operate on the .com side of the house. Of course this reg was crafted by Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble and hasn't been updated to address social media - but never let it be said an OBE reg should stop you from doing something good and righteous... Best, Paul

Curtis, Thanks for the response! I'll do my best to keep everyone posted. Just keep reading!

Yes, I care. Social media allows me to reconnect with the European US culture I enjoyed during my family's two tour of duties in Germany. Following EUCOM and Mr. Rasmussen (NATO), helps me maintain the cooperative worldview I developed while overseas and support our troops, even now from the mountains of Virginia. Kudos to you for carving out the time to keep us apprised of EUCOM's hard work and accomplishments. TweetDeck makes it easy to track a variety of folks with a quick moment's review. Social media certainly makes the world much smaller and closer. Keep up the good work! (and let us know)

Kristi: I think you can make the case that technological advances have always been (in the production sense) about doing more with less. In general terms, each new tool makes some job easier, but … once that tool becomes commonplace, the expectations for production grow and you’re back to feeling that pressure. That kind of dovetails with Jen’s point. The nation has (generally) had this arrogant worldview that the news cycle ended at 11 p.m. EST, but technology has made us aware that it’s always been a continuous cycle. It’s also shown us that the noise element in the Shannon/Weaver model of communication is continuously getting larger/noisier. And, I’m not convinced that this new globalization hasn’t created information consumers who discard products as “noise” if the “me factor” isn’t readily apparent to them. But from my perspective, yes, the general tasks for a professional communicator can be a lot easier if social media tools are used correctly. I’d also offer that since our tactical-level goals are generally lower-level communications pyramid items like informing/educating, social media should be a plus for us. Since people choose to friend or follow us, I think we’re generally safe in the assumption that they have an interest in our organization and messages, but figuring out the optimal times (less noise) to communicate with those friends/followers is the more difficult element. If we can get the tactical social media piece to work with the other tactical elements (action, outreach, political, etc.) then we should be able to achieve those high-level strategic goals of changing beliefs/behavior and moving people to action. Of course, measuring that strategic success will always be difficult for government public affairs because we can’t measure/poll like other agencies/organizations. Finally, I’d also add that a major plus of effective social media application can be the demonstration of active, accessible, responsive and engaged leadership/employee

Hugh, I like your thought on looking at computer architectures as ecologies rather than closed systems. Very interesting. I like how you explained it in your last paragraph, because before that you weren’t quite getting through to me :o) If I’m following you right, you could look at Twitter as the organism and see how many other organisms have formed from Twitter, such as Tweet Deck, Tweet Grid, Power Tweet, Twitter Mail, and so many others. They are the offspring to that organism. And the same holds true for SO many other systems. Over time the organisms will evolve to fit their environment, hence the future organisms to come. How did I do??? It’s clear as mud to me! :o)

Jen, Yes, your downside that you refer to has been the complaint for many news journalists out there who are now up against bloggers and citizen journalists who post the stories so fast! I think the more difficult challenge lies with the consumers of the information though. We are the ones left with determining what to believe and when. We have been brought up to trust the media because they are held to a code of ethics and are held accountable when they break that code. Your good bloggers understand this though and they have a large followership of folks who trust them and they've built a great reputation. I, personally, am in favor of the way things are running these days. I like having the news available through numerous sources and I don't just have to rely on CNN or FOX. I can more than likely google the subject or go to YouTube and watch the events unfold from a citizen journalist witnessing it first-hand. A lot of the news outlets are embracing this. I really don't think they have much choice in the matter. If you can't beat them, join them. CNN's I-Report is a prime example of this. Thanks for the follow and the comments! Keep them coming!

Kristi: I know it wasn't the subject of your post, but I'd caution against a "keeping up with the Joneses" aspect of blogging that you alluded to at the start of your post. When I was blogging, I always went for a quality over quantity aspect - I'd rather make 1-2 posts a week that were good for provoking conversation than a flurry of less-impactful posts. It helps that you're part of a group blog, so some of the pressure to produce is off of you. Thus far, your posts have been consistently high-quality, so I don't think you have a lot to worry about on that regard. Ray

I think social media has enabled us and at the same time set us back. We are able to communicate and be more engaging to a wide audience in telling the story, sharing information and trying to be heard. However, I think the downside, and this also comes from the shortened news cycle, is that individuals can be so quick to get new information out there and to be the first ones with the "breaking news" that checking the facts and making sure you have the entire story first. Kristi, I believe that you are going to do great things with your efforts on social media because you are showing that you are focused on getting accurate information out but presenting it in a format that allows discussion and is understandable by individuals at all levels. I look forward to reading more of your blogs and learning more about EUCOM's mission and impact.

I think you did fine, don't worry. Sometimes it's even hard for me to wrap all of my thoughts into a cohesive train of thought ;) That is a very good way to look at it, though. Mashups in particular are a great example of how a particular organism can spawn off multiple organisms that share a common bond (i.e. feed your personal Twitter stream) but that can offer more than what just regular Twitter offers (ability to embed geo-locational data, ability to embed streaming radio, ability to embed file data, etc.). Eventually the best of breed features from each will get incorprated into future generational mashups and continuously evolve. Mobile technology will push this rate of evolution faster than I think most people can really anticipate (including myself).

Curtis, Well, I guess one could say Chris has been doing this a while with over 104,000 followers on Twitter. I'm not even going to put my number out there :o) I'm now following Chris and Steve thanks to you, so THANKS! It's a brave new world out there and I'm having fun exploring it! As Dainaz Illava wrote on Facebook today, it's not word of mouth anymore, it's WORLD of mouth! Love that quote!

You know, Ray, that's a pretty good point! I don't want to just blog to blog. There's a rhyme and reason to the madness, after all, right? Thanks for the reminder and the pat on the back!

Kristi: You've already achieved the three fundamental attributes of a great blogger: knowing it's only a tool, knowing quality content trumps quantity, and knowing that you don't know everything. As alluded to in prior comments, focusing on the "social" aspect of blogging automatically generates the "media" distribution. Open interaction with your readership and fellow communicators builds trust and interest, and a desire to redistribute, re-tweet, and repeat the valuable content you provide. Two trailblazers I suggest you check out are Chris Brogan (http://www.chrisbrogan.com) and Steve Radick (http://steveradick.com). Chris is a down-to-earth social media guru and one of the leading bloggers in the US. He's on Twitter at @chrisbrogan Steve is the Social Media Lead for Booz Allen and championing an insightful creation of Gov 2.0. He's at @sradick. I envy your EUCOM social media position in Stuttgart and the relationship opportunities with other countries. What a great assignment!

I think it has. I think that there have been two key developments through social media’s advancement (though I want to be careful here and state that social media itself does not garner all the accolades) that have occurred that will empower more improved productivity for individuals: first is we’re actually looking more at the Web itself as a social conduit than we did in the past and second people are now looking at computer architectures as ecologies rather than closed systems. On the first, the Web started a bit social but gravitated towards commercial and “New Economy” model. People were so busy trying to develop the next Amazon that the social conduits of previous eras (Usenet, IRC, IM) were relatively left ignored and not advanced upon. It took companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter to show that the social dynamics of individuals contain critical pieces of information that can be leveraged to the individual user’s advantage. As mobile has become more and more important over the years through the advent of smartphones and their blurring the lines of how far the Network (Internet) reaches, the ability to leverage your social networks is going to become even more critical to individual and organizational success. Being connected to your peers through the Network and being able to “touch” them when you are disparate geographically from them is going to force organizations to become more agile. It will also help to further productivity as the power of the group can help be leveraged to tackle problems and issues that we as individuals sometimes have problems digesting into smaller bits. On the second, we have generally treated systems and architectures as walled gardens and not ecologies. Defining ecology as study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment, we are now looking at how our XML-based standards and protocols can take our walled gardens of data silos and bring interaction/data excha

I'm not an expert, but I think you just made the best point. You obviously know a lot about what youre talking about. Thank you for being so upfront and so honest about the subject matter. I really feel like I have a better understanding now.

Hey Ray, I get what a quality post is but can you explain how quantity posting is done and why it's not advisable? Thanks, Harris

Social Media only transmits Ideas. if those ideas turn to action, then yes I would say that social media allows one to do more with less. But, it will never be more than the first step. Social Media must be in accord with action, otherwise there is no difference between what we all do online, and what old men do in coffee shops and cafes: Talk. Politics and the world of diplomacy lend themselves better to social media than the military does. As the military will always first and foremost be about turning something into reality, not just talk. If you look across all the milblogs out there, you will find that most any issue facing the military today has thousands of good ideas being debated which all could turn to a good resolution. Because of this, I almost daily become less and less enamored with good ideas. There are just too many of them, what we have far fewer of are those people who can take those ideas debated ad nauseam and create results and beneficial change from them. Now that many say we've got web 2.0, I would like to see 3.0 be about taking these good ideas and helping to implement them. Otherwise, all information will be for is amusement, no different than watching TV.

Major, I definitely agree that the use of social media can help groups do more with less. However, I think the cited proof point could have been serendipity. I think with respect to the military environment, social media can yield outrageous results when there's intent to how the connecting technologies are used. For example, some intentionality to the keywords or tags allows for people to more easily find affinities and discover or develop networks. Having common, trusted places to connect is also helpful. Having said that, i would continue to encourage the use of the public tools to stimulate appropriate other conversations. Great post. Keep it up.

Kristi: Kudos to you all for this experiment. I think your focus on conversation is right on the money. If you're looking for ideas, check out the NATO Secretary General's page at nato.int, and see what they're doing with his video blogs and embedded twitterstream. Good stuff.

Congrats on your assignment to EUCOM, Kristi! You're certainly joining a team of leaders when it comes to social media in the Combatant Commands. One concern I have with SocMed and PA in general for a geographic COCOM is the issue of language. As it stands, EUCOM is communicating with the English-speaking world. Before the website makeover early this year, there were language options for the static content so visitors could read the "who we are" stuff in Russian, German, Spanish, French, etc. If we're "stronger together", then we should recognize that, while our uniformed partners might speak English, the folks "back home" supporting them (or not) may not. Translation isn't fast or cheap, but EUCOM would be more engaging if it put some content out there in a few other tongues. The same goes for Social Media. Twitter's growing in Europe. Look at the percentage users (Spain, France, Germany) and consider adding an account or two to stream for those potential audiences. Your NATO counterpart up in Mons ought to be tweeting in French since it's the "other" official language of the organization. (NATO tweets too: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kit-eaton/technomix/nato-tweets-too-twitter-gets-really-serious) Since France is a full partner in military operations again, there's a French public that may want to join the conversation. Every capability comes with a price tag, I know. You probably already have the skills resident somewhere in the organization, but its a matter or priorities. Maybe the COM can be your AO for the French tweet stream! My 2 euro cents. Good luck with the job and enjoy your time in Europe! Cheers, Scott

Scott, Pretty good 2 euro cents there! You are correct that we had some translated material on our old Web site before the revamp. I agree that it's about partnerships more than anything. MANY different languages out there. You brought up the number one issue, the money. WOW, is it expensive. And then you look out at the technology these days and folks can translate documents for free in seconds on sites like Babelfish. As a matter of fact, that's what I use to translate my German mail. It's not a perfect translation, by any means, but it's close enough. Anyone who can read this site, can also get it translated lickity-split. So, this isn't to say that your response didn't generate talk and another meeting for me (thanks for that :o)). Not sure that we'll be able to go wild on translations, but it is definitely worth discussing about putting some of the static translations back on the site. Danke on the input!!!! Kristi

Kristi, I've learned from my own PAO and personal experience with social media that people will care when you do the following: 1. Give them something they can't get anywhere else in the style they prefer. Pick one tone and audience for each medium or definable space in the medium that you're using, and stick with it. Don't try to mix stuff that will attract influential policy types (white papers, raw video of speeches or conferences) with chatty, visually arresting, EUCOM-is-cool stuff for a general audience. This is why I tend to prefer inhabiting existing spaces like Facebook, YouTube, LiveLeak, etc., because there's an established audience and tone that you can match. But you can make it work in the ".mil" domain, too. Just don't try to be everything to everyone in one location, you'll be nothing to anyone. 2. Satisfy their natural desire to be lazy consumers of information. Twitter is excellent in this regard. I'm sure dozens of news items about EUCOM cross your inbox everyday. Tweet some of the best content to your followers, including the better critical stuff, and they'll rely on you more to steer their information-seeking. That means you get more click-throughs on Tweets that link to your own content. 3. Provoke them. Tough to do this as a PAO, but you need the leeway to be a bit controversial or at least entertainingly conversational in any written communication. I'm only talking text here, because good raw photos and video are their own draw. But people won't stick with you for straight written information. Within minutes of when you're ready to release something (if not before), there will be someone who can pull from more sources who will write it up better than you can. Your strength is your position. Only you can answer questions like, What do EUCOM leaders think? Why should I care about something that's important to you that I otherwise wouldn't care about? Why should I agree with your command's perspective? Unless you have

Kristi, Based on what I've learned from the social media world, it seems to me like you're quickly becoming the expert: - You've responded to every post thus far, thus owning up to your promise to make your efforts two versus one-way communication - You’ve recognized that you get better feedback when you, as Dan said, ask for feedback - It's obvious that you understand that a blog is more engaging when you speak freely than when you simply post an article or "press release" on the blogsite - You’re (hopefully) going to continue with the engagement...and do it as much as possible. Although most people know about these tenets of social media, many seem to rarely follow them (myself included). Obstacles include command climate, lack of passion, competing requirements for time and potentially resources. It seems that you're on the good side of all of those things, not to say they aren't challenges too. In the end, at least for me, many obstacles are simply excuses. I just hope to be able to keep up with you! All the best! Jim

Ankara, tesekkür ederim, sagol! If I got that right, I'm trying to tell you thank you. It's amazing the translation sites out there to help us communicate! Your comments are excellent and definitely worth looking into. Every little bit helps and I appreciate you taking the time to help me! Stronger Together, definitely! Kristi

Tampa Sultan, Your "limited experience" is more than likely far greater than mine, so thank you for your thoughts! I agree that it's about engaging. Great point on the audiences as I've learned that you can't get an audience until you go out and seek them and learn about them -- and the more you learn, the better you can communicate. Thanks on the kudos! Kristi

Thanks, Jim! Agree with the obstacles you note. It's tough to stay ahead, but I'm working on it! Having just moved to Germany and still (after more than a month) not having internet connectivity in my house hinders my communication just a bit, but this too shall pass! I've got the passion and command climate. I can overcome the requirements vs time and resources - so I should be golden! Keep your toes crossed! Kristi

Ray, I'm have to say that I am very impressed with the Secretary General's corner. I LOVE the fact that he doesn't just tweet about his job, but he also reaches out to the average Joe (or should I say Joe the Plumber...LOL) through his everyday tweets! I loved his soccer tweets as we were happy here when Germany qualified for the World Championship tournament and especially when my U.S. team did! That type of tweeting will draw followers and fans! I will definitely be sharing this site with my web guru here and see what we can't do to steal some of these great ideas! Thanks so much for sharing! Kristi

I look forward to seeing what you are offering up on your blog/twitter/facebook and how it compares to traditional PA "reporting" of print stories, broadcast stories and photos. Social media is a new way of engaging with different audiences. Best of luck!

Quatto, EXCELLENT information, thank you for all this great stuff! And, I can relate to the lazy consumer of info. I love having the news pushed to me and I can read what I want when I want. Good call on the tone of the blog too. I'd like to keep this one light and interesting. No white papers here! Cheers!

Quatto really articulates well. Who is she/he? The third point, asking "what do EUCOM leaders think?", gets right at the heart of how effectively garnering an audience via social media and "chain of command" are almost antithetical. Social media leaves PAOs with a new outreach and feedback channel, maybe offering a bit more personality than a standard press release, but still operating within constraining command boundaries that will perforce limit audience size beyond a certain core of followers.

Dear Maj. Kristi Beckman, In Turkish Language, if someone come to new place for to work we say to her “HAYIRLI OLSUN!..” This short sentence mean covers during to your stay you take a success, in healthy, you will take a good finish your working period and turn back to your country with a new rank. My suggestion is for US EUCOM, different then existing social media and your work planning. Shortly my offer is: New one Twitter. (Very short name – My experience short name is giving to you use more letters.) What is different than other? Moderators are EU COM responsibly area representatives. How? From France army, Germany General Staff or Turkish General Staff etc. every country has a moderator for a common twitter. Twitter director and main chef moderator is Kristi Beckman. RULES: 1- Every country representatives, in the week for seven days only can three twit messages sent. (or less than three) This number can change only is that country or area has any common maneuvers. Common some activities. Or some important visitors. 2- Message contents are free. That mean is military activity, social activity, cultural, some times may be tourism and may some military web, their twit… address. Every country representatives will decide every week. May some articles from their commanders. That is it! If you like and your commander approval this idea, call to all USA EUCOM area countries military section and give then new common twit name and common password. STRONGER TOGETHER. Respectfully, Cafer Tanriverdi Ankara - Turkiye

Based on my limited experience w/ social, it seems that blogs, FB, Twitter, etc are simply NOT a good plaform to spread a message. These applications can, however, help "engage" audiences. The Web2.0 environment fosters interaction/conversation, not necessarily support. Success, then, should be determined by what EUCOM learns about audiences and less about what audiences learn about EUCOM. You're certainly starting out in a position of advantage -- in a crisis-free setting -- so kudos to fwd-leaning EUCOM.

Dan, Thank you so much for the feedback! Nice to know the tweets caught some attention. You've got a pretty difficult job as relocation and deployments can be extremely trying on families. Been there, done that! But so many of us have been there done that and you probably have a great support network by now. Thank YOU for what you do to make our lives less stressful! Keep in touch if you come up with any new tools to reach out to folks and I'll do the same for you! Kristi

The blog was great. Your call to action on Twitter is the reason I popped over to check it out. We use social media to speak to military families and assist them with Relocations, deployment stress, and other situations. We have found social media is best used when a response or feedback is requested or urged. It shouldn't be a one-way form of communication. I appreciate your service, thank you. Dan

On item 12 of “15 things for leaders” 12. Don’t rely on … lawyer’s opinion as to what the law says. Get it and read it yourself. This point ignores the role of legal advisers: “Commanders’ attorneys and honest brokers” It is good to read the law and the principles may be grasped by anyone with certain level of education and then you do not need lawyers until an International Court calls you asks you why you prepared your OPLAN, your ROEs or your Targeting Priority List this way…because then it comes the figure of the “Commander’s Responsibility” Then the commander will regret not having counted on an honest broker and attorney in the thinking phase of an operation or simply an administrative decision that can cost much money simply because someone read the law but…alas! forgot to read the jurisprudence. Do not agree with point 12 at all! By the way, I recommend you to read the Hippocrates Aphorisms and perform an open heart surgery…if the patient accepts, of course! Speaking of medicine and lawyers “It is better to prevent than to cure”

Great list! It’s going up on my wall right next to General Powell’s 13 Rules. One of the things I've always emphasized very strongly, and it proved to be most valuable when leading SAF/IE after the transitions in the Air Force in 2008, is transparency. Rumors can damage any organization and the antidote for rumor and speculation is to be as transparent as possible so people know what’s going on and why. There will always be things that must be closely held, but for the vast majority of things, the more people know, the better.

Thanks for these great responses to my blog. I enjoy hearing from folks that I may not necessarily get the chance to talk to in my daily routine. As you'll know from my posts, I'm traveling a lot and this is a great forum in which to pause for a second and put my thoughts down. Please keep the feedback coming and I challenge all of my other readers to do the same.

Andres, what I mean by point 12 is, it's important to always know the law. Yes, I rely on the lawyers a great deal and they are truly an integral part of my staff who advise me every day. However, ignorance of the law excuses no one. A good leader relies on staff's advice, but must have firsthand knowledge of the law, as well. Thanks!

As a Fletcher guy I was taught that when something is written and lately read by laymen or simply by others who will come after us...we will not be there for explaining what "I mean" but what is there [written]. So that it is better to write it good from the outset and correct it if wrong or misleading later on. Your point 12 is pretty clear: "Don’t rely on … lawyer’s opinion as to what the law says" it does not say "Ignorantia legis neminem excusat" and that law must be known but it says must be interpreted...yes but until certain point. Amateurism is something that your two commands cannot afford as we deal with very serious stuff...with history and the future of our children. For the sake of our leaders and the leaders to come this point 12 needs to be rephrased at the least. Just a suggestion. In other note, my compliments for the idea as well as for your June "traits" and "top four". I like specially point 6 of the 15 things above on personnel...no human capital...no other capital.

ADM, thank you for posting your list on this blog. For my part, the principal idea I've attempted to keep in mind while working with people, whether in a commander-subordinate relationship, or as a collaborative peer across organizational lines, is that generally speaking, people do not wake up in the morning and hope to fail. Seniors, subordinates, and colleages alike may have divergent objectives or differing levels of situational awareness about issues, but most, if not all, have good intentions and seek to solve problems, not create new ones. The challenge of leadership, even peer-to-peer leadership, is empowering that motivation to succeed, and aligning it with the goals of the collective body, thereby strengthening the overall effort together.

Sir, Great post! I had the privilege of serving as the helo det commander there at Chievres for the past three years (leaving the day after you took over). I am serving a year-long tour teaching Army ROTC before I take battalion command in the 82d Airborne Division next summer. I shared your post with my senior class of cadets as I believe it is perfectly relevant for them, at the very beginning of their career. Your thoughts on things to avoid was excellent as well. Leadership is a people business and your post reinforced that message with our future officers perfectly. Safe travels!

Andres, Fair enough, thanks for the suggestion!

Mi Almirante: Thanks for this great lesson. For me an important leadership principle is to be wise enough to identify the leaders who have made positive changes and be able to follow their example. It is intelligent to learn from our own experiences, but is even wiser to learn from others success or failures. That's why I'm still reading your blog, even though I can't find it any more in SOUTHCOM's spotlight! Atentamente, David. A. Hardy Captain, Chilena Navy Liaison Officer US Southern Command

Sir, I am too small to comment. But liked your blog and loved point No 15. Rgds, Shri

Sir; As always - an interesting post. My list has a generational twist to it as that was my focus during my graduate studies and beyond. It focuses on how Generation-X wants to be led and will/does lead. 1. Do not micro-manage. Micro-management kills creativity and indicates a lack of trust. 2. Leadership not management. People want leadership - each of us can manage ourselves. As has been stated elsewhere: Manage things and lead people. 3. Motivate by freedom/autonomy. SInce motivation is inherently intrinsic you can release each person's motivator by allowing them to seek their own path - when appropriate. 4. Empower. Provide a broad vision and let people go. 5. Allow for creativity. Similar to your view - in that there is more than one way to accomplish a task. Just a few thoughts from an X'er. CW4 Paul Dannar

Wonderful perspective on leadership! I think I would add also to focus on the things you can control and don't worry about the things you can't control. However, you have to clearly itemize the two. Safe Travels! Happy Fall to ALL!!

Dear Sir, Thank you very much for your insights on the most important element of military affairs - leadership. To Command is something that cannot be fully taught at a desk. It can be refined using "academic" techniques but is really genetic. I also think that the Command at Sea brings out the best or the worst of any leader or Commander. It is under an unwavering sea that men realise their true dimension and humanity. Any leader who demonstrates his humanity, revealing minor faults rather than perfections, characteristic of any human being, has a profound ascendent over subordinates instead of harming the exercise of Command which would be the immediate conclusion one would make. The difference between Command and Preside, Direct, Supervise, Superintend, etc is that a Commander tells a subordinate to go somewhere but to be careful because he might die in doing so and he goes without any hestitation. Just an opinion. Thank you again. With my best regards, Manuel Mota Commander Portuguese Navy Staff Officer Lessons Learned NATO Supreme Allied Command Transformation Norfolk, VA

Sir, The most important rule to me is no. 15. If we all think in that context, then the other 14 will follow suit. If one practice being a servant to all then it keeps your opportuniry for excellence to increase by all people. Thank you for the wisdom and these principles were definitely seen/felt while serving with you on the Enterprise. Thanks

We are creating a dedicated D-Day page which includes photos, history and a list of ceremonies in the area commemorating D-Day. We’ll be supporting about 20 French-organized ceremonies in the Normandy area with approximately 550 U.S. troops. The page will be available on May 1.

Welcome to Web 2.0 Captain! Glad to see that ur command is encouraging web trend technologies and social networking sites... However, you need to PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH and allow your users (EUCOM employees) access to these websites! Have a good day now. B.

Thank you for your support, B. Herndon! Though our Web 2.0 public site is geared towards our non-military cyber audience, we understand the value and the power of leveraging New Media to communicate effectively with our internal audience as well. It's my understanding the Dept. of Defense, who establishes the policy on Web access, is reviewing the current regulation on employee access to social media sites. More to follow.

Hi, Speaking of D-Day, what do you folks over at EUCOM have planned (we live on Patch)? Also, if my husband and I wanted to do a few bordering countries tour (esp. France) around that weekend, where do I go to get that info? I checked Embassy Paris's website and e-mailed their ODC office and they have nothing yet!!! Strange no? I know ur not the travel office, but I just want a want stop shop that will tell me where all the exciting (like military or Embassy sponsored) events in EUCOM's AOR are taking place. Cheers,

In your support of the 20 French-organized ceremonies your D-Day page will also be in French, no?

That's a great idea. Unfortunately due to resource constraints we are unable to provide translation.

Social networking is about communication; its another avenue to communicate and to share ideas with others. Social networking doesn't diminish the traditional ways of communication, it is simply just another method for people to engage with one another. The 2009 EUCOM Quality of Life Conference is a perfect opportunity to use social networking (along with other means of communication) to engage, inform, answer questions and get answers. COL Dave Johnson, US Army

Maj Center, What a great initiative! Particularly for a conference representing so large a community but always confined to the logistics of what one room will hold. Hopefully this will encourage some "real time" feedback from interested "constituents". Extending this notion to planning conferences for large excercises and/or operations (RIP/TOAs come to mind) would create a very interesting and most probably useful mission-focused dynamic. Looking forward to seeing your AAR! RDML Dave Simpson