“Social media is here to stay,” says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Online social networks are more than just a fad among the younger generation. They’ve become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. They’re an effective way to keep in touch with people, connect with friends and family, and network with colleagues. Social media will also transform marketing as we know it. They’re powerful communication tools, and are becoming an essential part of successful marketing strategies.”
This is a new category (Private Military Company 2.0 or PMC 2.0-thanks to David Isenberg), which I think is essential. Social media, new media, blogging, social networking–all of it, must be studied and looked at in regards to how it will impact our industry. I have delved into the concepts before, with my My.PMC and MySomalia.com post, and figured it was time to give it some more focus.
And as I watch the news unfold about Iran, and how Twitter and social media is completely driving a mini-revolution there, I have to think that there are some really interesting and powerful tools that the PMC and PSC could use in their efforts.
This blog is PMC 2.0, as is the other blogs about this industry. I have found numerous Myspace and Facebook pages completely dedicated to security contracting. Most of my friends use Facebook and similar sites to communicate back home with friends and family. Even Youtube, with it’s numerous training videos and combat videos, is fueling the social media movement. And because this industry will continue to be staffed with Millennials who understand and like these technologies, or even depend upon them, then the PMC and PSC industry must find ways to work with these folks and take advantage.
For inspiration, I will continue to highlight companies and government agencies that utilize social media, and how their lessons and methods could be applied to our industry. In essence, my focus will be to find technologies that will enhance a company’s Jundism. –Matt
(for example, check out NASA’s Spacebook, a social network site for employees)
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Social media benefits trump security fears
by HOLLIS TEMPLETONJun 10, 2009
WASHINGTON—With a growing number of military personnel, reporters and elected officials using Twitter, Facebook and MySpace while deployed to the Middle East, experts agree that the government’s ability to understand and harness these applications is crucial to protecting national security.
When 26-year-old Spc. Michael Williams left for the Middle East in 2006 as part of the 233rd Transportation Company during Operation Iraqi Freedom, his MySpace blog became a place to chronicle missions between Iraq and Camp Arifjan, a U.S. military base in Kuwait.
Because social media can easily lend itself to a breach of security, Williams said he has learned to practice self-censorship in order to protect the operational context of what he and his fellow soldiers are doing.
“I know others want to know what I do or what I have done,” he said. “I appreciate that…However, it has been proven since recorded history began, that some things just should not be divulged.”
Today Williams’ MySpace page is home to a light-hearted collection of videos depicting off-duty antics and lines of poetry that offset photos of deserts, guns and tanks.
Now stationed at the Army’s National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, Calif., Williams readies Army units for deployment by helping to produce simulated enemy environments. He has joined the micro-blogging site Twitter, where he describes—with caution—these new experiences.
Tweeting from the war zone
In February Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., was less cautious as he detailed via Twitter a trip to Iraq that was supposed to be kept a secret.
The ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee not only revealed the trip, but also discussed the whereabouts of the congressional delegation with which he was traveling.
“Moved into green zone by helicopter Iraqi flag now over palace. Headed to new US embassy Appears calmer less chaotic than previous here,” read one of Hoekstra’s 140-character updates.
The House Armed Services Committee and the House Select Committee on Intelligence both discourage members from publicly disclosing information about overseas trips to unsafe destinations. However, there is no official congressional policy in place, according to Loren Dealy, press secretary for the Armed Services Committee.
“We didn’t change anything about the way we handle things because of that,” Dealy said. “It wasn’t on one of our trips and we still encourage members to do what they can to maintain the security.”
In addition to the fear of security breaches through social networking, experts say terrorists could use the applications in their planning efforts. Late last year, the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Huachuca in Arizona released a draft report outlining how Twitter could be used as a tool for terrorists. The report warned that terrorists could use Twitter via their cell phones to send and receive messages and to locate fellow cell members through links to Google Maps.
Terrorists could also use Twitter to find U.S. troops and elicit information from their profiles, leading to identity theft, hacking or physical abuse of soldiers if they were tracked down.
The growing number of applications available on cell phones and the increased ease with which people may use services like Twitter and Facebook can exacerbate traditional information-sharing problems such as confidentiality, cultural sensitivity and accuracy.
Facebook illustrates global reach of information
When 26-year-old photojournalist Jonathan Vidar arrived in Iraq in May to capture images at a Kurdish refugee camp, he was armed with a 21st century freelancer’s toolbox: a new SLR camera that also captures high-definition video, a personal blog and Facebook and Twitter accounts.
These tools help Vidar tell the stories of forgotten people living at the Moqoble camp in Dohuk, a city occupied by Kurds in northern Iraq.
“Granted, I only have 30-plus followers on Twitter and just over 500 on Facebook, but nonetheless the information is out there and readily accessible, especially on Twitter,” Vidar said. “And for my work specifically, the political situation between Turks and Kurds requires me to have even more self-censorship. I am friends with people of both ethnicities.”
One look at Vidar’s Facebook page and the tension is evident. After posting a link to a Flickr photo of a home-cooked dinner at his “Turkish family’s” home in Diyarbakir, one comment pointed out that the cuisine he had photographed was Patlican Kebap, a Kurdish, not Turkish, dish. Another asked, “I thought you were friends with Kurds? Am I mistaken?”
Vidar quickly apologized and corrected the photo caption to read “Kurdish family’s.”
Message sharing among military personnel is often just as innocent. “Social media is a good way to stay in touch with family and friends and stay current with sports teams, news and buddies that are deployed with you that you don’t see on a regular basis,” said Staff Sgt. Randall Cates, an infantryman stationed in Iraq.
But caution is key, Cates explained. “Any type of media that can be accessed from the Internet can be exploited by anyone seeking to do harm,” he said. “I practice self-censorship every time I get on the Internet and encourage all my soldiers to do the same.”
Social media pros outweigh cons
Researchers warn that if the government distances itself from Twitter and Facebook, Web 2.0 ignorance could pose its own security threat and hinder Department of Defense communication, efficiency and community-building efforts.
“Security, accountability, privacy and other concerns often drive national security institutions to limit the use of open tools such as social software,” explained National Defense University researchers Mark Drapeau and Linton Wells II in an April assessment of social software and national security. “Information security concerns are very serious and must be addressed, but to the extent that our adversaries make effective use of such innovations, our restriction may diminish our national security.”
In fact, social media can be an asset to the national security community.
“Some of the best lesson-learned sharing, the best idea generation has come from military people using social media to talk to each other,” said Dr. James Jay Carafano, a senior research fellow who studies national and homeland security issues at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
One example of such sharing is CompanyCommand, a password-protected Web portal that connects junior Army officers so they can exchange knowledge and experience directly, without going through the traditional chain of command. After threatening to shut down the site, the military adopted the service as a professional development tool in 2002.
“Actually some of the most effective public diplomacy has involved people in the military sharing their thoughts and experiences,” Carafano said.
Colleen Graffy, former deputy assistant secretary of state for public diplomacy, used Twitter on trips to Romania, Moldova, Iceland, Croatia and Armenia to introduce herself to foreign audiences before she arrived.
In a public relations effort at home, Graffy uses Twitter to inform Americans about embassies’ public diplomacy programs in a peppy, informal and personal manner, as she explained in an op-ed to The Washington Post last December.
“To keep our public diplomacy relevant today, we have to reach out and connect with people on their terms, whether we use blogs or texts—or tweets,” Graffy wrote.
A policy future for social media?
Researchers are encouraging senior Defense Department officials to develop a strategy for using social media in order to strengthen national security.
“I think it’s a little early to say what exactly is happening, but I can say that while at the present time we don’t’ have one, there certainly has been a lot of interest from high levels all over the DOD,” said Drapeau, who’s heard from staffers in the offices of the secretary of defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, military public affairs and service members from all branches.
“I think it shows the beginning stages of a dialogue that could lead to such a policy,” he said.
There is no coordinated, department-wide policy for the DOD’s use of social software tools internally, between agencies or with the public.
“It is unclear in many cases who, what, when, where, why and how such tools should be used while at work, and while not at work,” wrote Drapeau and Wells and their report. “This leads to confusion and inconsistencies.”
Carafano agreed. “There’s no rationality behind this,” he said. “The whole idea is just let people do whatever they want.”
“I would like government to be a little more thoughtful,” Carafano continued. “I’d like them to understand the logic and thought behind networking before they run out and try to exploit it or even set policies.”
Government should fully adopt Web 2.0
In a report last month Carafano recommended steps that the government could take in order to better interact in today’s digital world.
He believes the Obama administration, in its effort to promote an open and transparent government, should:
–Restructure U.S. strategic communications;–Require research and development in social networking; and–Prepare national security professionals and decision makers with new skills, knowledge and attributes.
“Given Washington’s difficulty in adopting new information technologies…it is premature to promote specific programs for establishing Web 2.0 as a basis for National Security 2.0,” Carafano wrote. “Congress and the administration need to first lay the foundation for a broader and effective adaptation of social networking.”
Drapeau and Wells also offered a series of suggestions to the DOD. These include:
–Acting as leaders by strongly supporting social software;–Analyzing the balance between security and sharing;–Creating a culture of social software experimentation; and–Envisioning citizens as communities of conversations.“DOD needs to be prepared to not only research, build and/or acquire social software tools, but also to be prepared to educate its workforce about how to use them, and why,” Drapeau and Wells wrote. “But, most of all, DOD needs a strategy that envisions how social software can be used to complete its missions better, and even envision new missions and goals that were not before possible.”
Obstacles to ensuring social media security
It could be awhile before we see anything resembling Government 2.0. Experts worry that several factors could hinder the adoption of social technology as a means of enhancing national security.Carafano acknowledged information assurance—knowing that data is accurate and rumor-free—as a top concern. Web 2.0 may also lead to an “information overload” that could complicate, rather than facilitate, decision-making processes, he said.
Too much control could also be an obstacle. “One of the benefits of social networking is the ability to innovate…and to be highly unstructured,” Carafano said. “If you start putting structure on that, you start eliminating some of the creativity and innovation.”
Story Here.
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Social Media Explosion
June 16, 2009
Social networks are exploding in popularity. Forty-three percent of the online community now uses social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. This is up from 27 percent a year ago, reports The Conference Board and TNS.
The Consumer Internet Barometer, a quarterly report produced by The Conference Board, the global business membership and research association, and TNS, a global market insight and information group, surveys 10,000 households across the country and tracks who’s doing what on the Internet.
More than half of social networkers log on at least once a day, and the majority log on several times a day. Interacting with family, friends and celebrities are among the main reasons people log on to sites like Twitter. The majority of users log on at home, although a quarter of social networkers log on at work, and 10 percent connect through their phone.
Social networking spans all generations. Today, about 19 percent of those age 55 and over visit these sites, up from just 6 percent a year ago. Women are more likely than men to use social networking sites (48 percent versus 38 percent), but usage has increased dramatically among both groups in just a year.
“Social media is here to stay,” says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Online social networks are more than just a fad among the younger generation. They’ve become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. They’re an effective way to keep in touch with people, connect with friends and family, and network with colleagues. Social media will also transform marketing as we know it. They’re powerful communication tools, and are becoming an essential part of successful marketing strategies.”
“Social media has transformed the way individuals connect and communicate with one another,” says Anita Watkins, Senior Vice President at TNS. “Smart marketers are utilizing this behavior to their advantage by setting up online communities in which consumers can freely interact, discuss and debate issues around products, services and brands in a natural way. Companies are listening in to these conversations and harnessing the power of influencers to co-create their marketing strategies.”
Facebook Most Popular Site
The most popular site is Facebook, used by 78 percent of online households, followed by MySpace (42 percent), LinkedIn (17 percent) and Twitter (10 percent).
Both men and women use Facebook in equal numbers. However, women are more likely than men (47 percent versus 35 percent) to use MySpace. Conversely, more men than women (21 percent versus 15 percent) use LinkedIn. Across generations, Facebook usage is about equal, but when it comes to MySpace, those under 35 are more likely to have an account than their older counterparts.
When asked with whom they would like more access/interaction with, celebrities (15 percent) topped the list, with favorite company (14 percent), service providers (13 percent) and athletes/sports teams (11 percent) not far behind.
The top concerns of social networking members — expressed by about 50 percent — are viruses/malware, exposure of information to strangers and lack of privacy. Women tend to be moderately more concerned than men. Only 14 percent claim they have no concerns, compared to 22 percent of men.
Twitter Encourages Closer Connections
Members of Twitter, the real-time micro-blogging website, say their top reasons for “tweeting” are to connect with friends (42 percent), update their status (29 percent) and look for news (26 percent). They also use Twitter for work-related (22 percent) reasons. Two out of three Twitter users interact with friends. Thirty percent interact with family, 30 percent connect with celebrities, and 24 percent interact with other bloggers. Members of Twitter also are likely to interact with TV shows, employers, co-workers, companies/brands and TV anchors/journalists.
Among Twitter users, half report being introduced to the site by a friend or family member, and one out of three were introduced by a co-worker.
About This Survey:
The Consumer Internet Barometer is based on a quarterly survey of 10,000 households. A unique sample is surveyed each quarter. Return rates average 70 percent, which ensures highly representative data. Data is weighted as well to reflect the latest U.S. household demographic information. The latest survey was conducted during the second quarter of 2009. For more information, please email f.tortorici@conference-board.org orlynn.franco@conference-board.org.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE BOARD
The Conference Board is a global, independent business-membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world’s leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance AND better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org.
About TNS
TNS, which recently merged with Research International, is the world’s largest custom research agency delivering actionable insights and research-based business advice to its clients so they can make more effective business decisions. TNS offers comprehensive industry knowledge within the Consumer, Technology, Finance, Automotive and Political & Social sectors, supported by a unique product offering that stretches across the entire range of marketing and business issues, specializing in product development & innovation, brand & communication, stakeholder management, retail & shopper, and qualitative research. Delivering best-in-class service across more than 70 countries, TNS is part of Kantar, the world’s largest research, insight and consultancy network. Please visit www.tns-us.com for more information.
The Kantar Group
The Kantar Group is one of the world’s largest research, insight and consultancy networks. By uniting the diverse talents of more than 20 specialist companies — including the recently-acquired TNS — the group aims to become the preeminent provider of compelling and actionable insights for the global business community. Its 26,500 employees work across 80 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at each and every point of the consumer cycle. The group’s services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies. The Kantar Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP Group plc. For further information, please visit www.kantargrouptns.com.
For further information contact:Lynn Francoat +1 212 339 0344lynn.franco@conference-board.org
The rise of Web 2.0 is certainly fascinating, especially with respect to its potential in the broad world of Risk Management – which naturally includes PMC and the services they can bring to bear.
I have posted a number of articles on Aprodex about the rise and use of "Resilience 2.0” – and the use of social media in, for example, emergency response… see . , and I too am a keen spectator of how the phenomenon is developing, and how it can be put to best use.
As per the links in your blog, there is much in the news currently about Iranian Political Instability and the use of Twitter and there is no denying the success and usefulness of it – but it is used by ANYbody to write about ANY, and EVERYthing. There aren't many sophisticated ways to filter the increasing Twitter chatter, and the service can become a major time-suck – you can spend hours seeking Tweets that have any real relevance, interest or value.
One wonders if a system, along the same lines as Twitter, cannot be used more effectively – that is to say a system that provides real time data feeds, but for a specific purpose – namely: to collaborate, share information, raise awareness, request assistance and advice, and seek strategic and operational resources specifically to mitigate the risks and lessen the immediate impacts of threats we face today – from terrorism to natural disasters … and not to have to seek those things out from between the latest shock revelations in the life of Britney Spears, posted by some oblivious 13 year old girl in downtown Wherever.
Surely a system, dedicated only to involving specific, interested stakeholders – such as the effected public, collaborating amongst themselves, as well as with professionals best placed to employ their knowledge and expertise accordingly – would better serve the immediate and ongoing requirements of such circumstances, than the current tools available?
Perhaps such a system exists already? Is it even feasible – would people use it now that Twitter is so established?
A Thompson,
http://www.aprodex.com http://twitter.com/Aprodex
Comment by Andy Thompson — Wednesday, June 17, 2009 @ 6:25 AM
Andy,
Thanks for the comments and you have brought up some interesting questions. There are two ways for companies to take advantage of social media. One, for creating a better learning organization that fosters the company's Kaizen. I would call this the company intranet/social networking site. In some ways, companies are already doing this with issues like pay or basic communications. The next step is to create a company 'MyPMC.com' or 'PMCbook.com'.
On a site like that, they could take many of the functions they already perform and put them up for the whole company to see. Scheduling, pay issues, times, company news, etc. The most important aspect though is for the various employees or contractors of the company to have a profile page and running blog (if they want), within the company site. The CEO should be encouraged, along with the rest of the management staff to interact and freely communicate with the rest of the company.
The thing I see with a 'intra-net' setup like this, is taking advantage of your people resource. If your company has 150 people working for it, and they are posted all over the world, then that is 150 sensors/salesmen/idea factories that the company could be taking advantage of. To not set up the proper architecture to support this kind of activity is like burning money. A company should be doing all they can to tap into that resource. Plus, if people give input, and the company acts upon it, those people are more willing to support the company they work for because in essence, they helped to build it.
Also with Twitter, there are numerous applications to better harness that resource. You could set up a locked Twitter account for everyone to use, and the information should also be pertinent to just company operations or news(OPSEC and PERSEC should apply).
The other development in the world of social media is the smart phone. Contractors are carrying smart phones out there, and they are using them to communicate with the company and family. You can even use Hushmail with a smart phone, or even Skype. These phones will be an essential tool to have, as a company's social media plan develops and includes a mobile social media plan.
The way I see this going, is you sign on to your company website via your smart phone, and then do all your updating or information collection about the company when you have internet access. Most of these phones now are either 3G or WiFi or both, and anywhere a computer can operate, a phone can operate. A company that does not take advantage of this, will be left in the wake of those companies that do. Plus, smart phones are getting cheaper and more available. I can get one through AT&T for like 79 dollars, along with a new service plan of two years. I could even see companies buying these phones.
I think it is Blackberry that has a push to talk phone, that is a smart phone as well. I think it is Wackenhut that makes the Securetrax software for smart phones that help guys with first responder activities. Plus phones all have GPS, which makes tracking employees and contractors out there a lot more feasible. Perhaps incidents like the one that happened to Crescent Security in 2006 could have been averted, if a contractor had a GPS phone and Twitter account. "help, being attacked and they are taking hostages"……"GPS on, track me….."
The second way for companies to use social media is for information collection, business intelligence, and security checks within the company. The imagination is the only limit there, and one thing a company can do is check all their employee's facebook, myspace, twitter, and whatever accounts. Now a company could do this during the background and clearance check, or they could just ask employees to list that information. Or another way to do it, is for the company to have a facebook, myspace, and twitter account, and put it out to the employees and contractors that the company would like to link to you guys.
I like the last one, because it is impossible to get an employee to disclose all of their sites they hang out on, and it really isn't that cool to do (and an invasion of privacy in some cases). But to put it out there for an employee to link to, with the hopes of them linking to it, would be a better plan. But, if an employee or contractor knows that the company has a presence on those sites and is active on those sites and knows how to use the features (like search), then that employee or contractor might be a little more cognitive of not posting OPSEC or PERSEC stuff. Plus, the company can recruit throughout the general population through those sites, as well as put out pertinent information or even put out the real story on incidents. It is pure Information Operations essential, and companies need to get on board with this stuff.
By the way, Blackwater has a Twitter account. And so it begins…..
Comment by headjundi — Thursday, June 18, 2009 @ 3:39 AM