Uncle Sam Wants You ... to weigh in on new media policy

the Department of Defense has recently launched a blog (discussed in several articles) to seek input from the public as the department seeks to develop new policies concerning all things new media. According to the new DOD blog, it's purpose is to seek out "insight from various Defense interest groups and think tanks, including Veterans groups, industry groups and individuals who have insights they can share regarding how Web 2.0 capabilities can be used to transform how the Defense Department operates." Posts on the blog have dramatically slowed (looks like the last one was 13 Aug) - not sure what that's all about - but the posts that are there have a decent number of comments. Clearly this issue is one that is of interest to many. Weigh in on the discussion over on their blog where their clever slogan is: "Collaborating about collaboration, Soliciting public input though Open Government".

Also, Patrick Thomas, a doctoral student at Kent State University, left a comment on a recent post here on this blog requesting participants for a survey he is conducting as part of his research into military blogging. Specifically he's looking into "blogging practices—how and why they blog, and their perceptions of their blogs’ audiences" and is "interested in what military blogs add to a growing body of research on the importance of social media (like blogs) in people’s everyday lives." I recently completed his survey - it took less than 5 minutes. If you are a military blogger, I encourage you to take the few minutes to help him out in his research. He's got a consent statement left as part of his comments that he asks you read before taking the survey.

Interactive Field Manuals: A Reality!!

Wow! The Army has made a giant leap into making use of new media. We had a discussion on this blog a while ago about the concept of interactive field manuals - electronic manuals in which Soldiers could leave comments, ideas, videos, etc. It's becoming a reality, according to a recent news report.

According to this story, the Army has opened a number of manuals up to wiki-style editing. And, any Soldier can do the editing. Interesting! The story also states that there are a number of manuals that will not be opened to editing - our capstone doctrine. That makes perfect sense. There are some foundational pieces of our doctrine that need to be developed in a more organized fashion. But for those more tactical level manuals having interaction with Soldiers is an incredible step for the Army.

There is a permanent team identified for each manual that is responsible to review all edit. Also, Soldiers must post edits under their own name, and since we have to log in with an ID card, there's not a way to be anonymous.

I haven't played around with the manuals yet since I just heard about it this morning. Once I experiment a bit and see what the use has been like so far, I'll put some more thoughts together and share them here.

What do you think? Is this a good idea? Being executed well? Share your ideas.

**QUICK UPDATE, 4 Sep 09: seems like the Army's pilot project is getting a pretty decent response although there are still several significant concerns to work through. See this Stars and Stripes story for more details.

Obviously slowing down on the blog ...

To my faithful readers, you've likely noticed that I haven't been posting much lately. That's due to a couple of reasons:
* been really busy with other stuff
* the academic project is completed and my brain is not as focused on this topic as it once was
* I feel like there had been some great discussion about ideas here but I'm short on new ideas to kick around

My intention is not to stop blogging here ... but you can expect that the posts will be much less regular. I will likely reserve posts for new ideas that I hear about (or the few that pop into my own head).

The comments that have been left along the way over the past six months or so have been extremely helpful personally as I try to decide just how I really feel about Soldiers blogging. Many of you have brought up points and counter-points that I would not have otherwise considered. Others pointed me toward some other great thinking and writing on the subject. Thanks to all of you. The project that began as something of an experiment turned into something extremely beneficial - personally, academically, and professionally.

I hope that when I do post in the future, the discussion will be just as useful as it has been in the past. Who knows, maybe someone out there in a position to change the Army's policies toward new media has been positively affected by the conversation you took part in. I hope so.

Would you use "interactive" FMs?

As this project about blogs kind of winds down, I keep thinking about other ways that we (the Army) could make better use of the new media technologies. One thing that I keep coming back to is the idea of "interactive" FMs.

Imagine that when you open up an FM or TM or any other manual through the digital library that you could leave comments - maybe something you did to implement doctrine in an operation or training exercies, maybe an idea for better organizing your unit, maybe some after action comments about how something went. Then imagine that when the manual describes something and refers to a figure, that figure is interactive - you can click on various aspects of it for more detail, or maybe it's animated to show the progression of a process.

We already have a process in place for sharing our ideas and comments through the center for lessons learned, but the rest of the Army doesn't benefit from those until the next edition of the manual is released. This "interactive" FM would speed up that process dramatically!

What do you think? Is this idea worth pursuing? Or is it off-the-mark? Weigh in by leaving comments - and take part in the current poll!

One way the Army is getting its stories out ...

... is by clearly valuing bloggers! I participated (well, more accurately listened in on), my first bloggers roundtable hosted by the Army PA office. The subject today was a recent demonstration of robotic UXO removing equipment. The equipment isn't new - it's currently being used by USAF EOD stateside and overseas - but the application is new. The Army is examining how effective these tools will be for their Range Modernization Process.

Results from the test are promising that, with some upscaled versions of the equipment tested, the Army could more quickly and safely prepare ranges for modernization. If you're interested in more details, the transcript of the session is here.

The discussion was interesting, the demonstration was encouraging, but I was left with a number of questions. Not about the UXO robotics demo - the folks that did the demo were very clear and detailed in the descriptions and willing to answer questions. Rather, my questions were about the process itself. Lindy Kyzer, from the Army's Online and Social Media Division of the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, responded very willingly to my questions. Here is what I learned about these roundtables (since I'm not much of a journalist, there are huge quotes from Lindy below):

The Army does regular blogger roundtables and traditional media roundtables. "Today's blogger's roundtable was just one part of a multipronged outreach strategy we have in public affairs - but what we've learned, especially in the past yearis that blogger outreach is really a core part of what we do because so many people are looking to blogs for news and information. In addition,a significant percentage of traditional media reporters say they look to blogs for ideas - so if we're not telling our story in the blogosphere,we're missing out on that opportunity, as well."

There's a core group of about 50 bloggers who participate in the blogger roundtables - usually about 5 or so in each discussion. "Because of the natureof the blogosphere, it's always evolving. Someone happens upon our program and will join in. Five is an ideal number for a conversation, but we'll have more or less than that at any given time."

These roundtables are receiving great feedback. "Bloggers are glad we're reaching out to them and respecting them as important news sources. We have a number of active-duty soldier bloggers who participate in our program, and they are extremely glad for the support of Army public affairs."

Bloggers play a new and important role in getting the Army's story out to people who are interested. "Depending on the topic, it [a blog] might reach out to people who are truly interested in Army issues in a more significant way. In addition, with the Web, you have a better guarantee that people are actively pursuing your information. Increasingly today, newspapers are ignored while people read their favorite blogs for information instead. And, because blogs cover niche topics, we can hold blogger's roundtables on a variety of issues that might not appeal to a wide-focused publication, but will appeal to blog readers."

Facebook value?

So I've heard all the talk about Facebook and I've thought that it's just a thing that college kids use to keep their social lives squared away. But recently a former Soldier that I worked with sent me an e-mail requesting I join FB (I'm now hip enough to refer to it like that!) so he could update me on his family through pics, etc. A day or so later I read the Christian Science Monitor article about senior officers using new media to better communicate with their subordinates and the public, and ADM Stavridis (Cdr of USSOUTHCOM) was quoted about how he uses FB to kick around ideas. "So", I thought after blogging about these senior officers, "one of the most senior officers in our military is hip enough to be on Facebook ... then so am I!" And thus began my journey into one more of these new media creations.

So far, I've reconnected with about half my HS class (admittedly a small class, but still), caught up with a couple of college friends, and become "friends" with ADM Stavridis (I'm still trying to process what exactly that means).

Aside from being able to see photos of folks I've not seen in 15 years or so, finding out what they're "doing right now", and posting pictures of my kids to show how great they are, I'm not completely convinced of the value to military communication. I imagine it's a great tool for keeping up to date with family and friends when deployed, or for setting up plans for Friday night, but it doesn't seem to be well-equipped for having continuing, engaging dialogue.

What do you think? If you are on FB, do you see value from a professional point of view? Or is it mainly a social networking thing? Maybe I'll create a poll to inquire about this in the future, but for now leave some comments to let me know what I may be missing.

New Poll: Is it good to have so many GOs in the blogosphere?

This week's poll seeks your opinion about the growing number of General Officers who are actively blogging. If you haven't checked their blogs out yet, I encourage you to do so before you answer the poll. You can look here for some examples of blogs. If you find others that I haven't mentioned yet, please leave their url in the comments here so I can check them out. Thanks!

And, as always, tell your friends/colleagues/complete strangers to stop by this blog and take the poll.

New poll: can Soldiers blogs have strategic effect?

What do you think? Can they? Do they currently?

Sorry there's no poll this week ...

... but my brain was fried the other evening and I couldn't gin up a decent poll question. But don't fret, ye who long to share your opinion via voting button, a new question will appear in the not too distant future.

Results are in: Most believe milblogs are pro-military biased

The results from the most recent poll corroborate what I'm finding in the survey of milblogs that I'm currently in the midst of: the overwhelming majority (62%) of the people who took this poll believe that most milblogs are at least slightly biased in favor of the military. From my trolling, there are a few milblogs out there that are more negative, but they are certainly the minority.

Thanks to the 16 of you who voted - a new Soldiers in the Blogosphere polling record!

Do you think most milblogs are biased?

• 18% (3) Absolutely! Most are pro-military and/or pro-war
• 62% (10) Yes, they are somewhat pro-military and/or pro-war
• 12% (2)No. Most are quite neutral.
• 6% (1) Yes, most are somewhat negative about the military or war
• 0% (0) Absolutely! Most are very negative about the military or war

So I ask: is this a problem? Is it somehow bad that most milblogs provide a positive outlook when discussing military matters in general or the wars specifically? Is this an important aspect of achieving balanced information when considering that most people believe that the mainstream media has a negative bias for the wars specifically?

I personally don't find this to be troubling as long as the positive outlook is based on facts. The idea of truthful information is paramount to creating and maintaining credibility. Interesting stories can be told, compelling drama can be generated, and readers will keep coming back for the next installment if the Soldier is credible.

300th uniqe visitor stopped by yesterday

Wow! I continue to be amazed at the number of you who have stopped by to peruse these discussions. Thanks for your interest in this subject and project! Perhaps you were #300 yesterday (22 Dec)? That's 300 unique people (or at least IP addresses...) in a little less than a month. Wow! And you're stopping by from all over the world: United States, Germany, Portugal, Colombia, United Kingdom, Canada, Egypt, Australia, Netherlands, India, France, Sweden, Russian Federation, Spain, Thailand, Mexico, China, and Poland.

I encourage you to leave your opinions, ideas, and thoughts in the comments to the posts - don't worry about it being missed, I read all comments that you post and try to respond if you've left something noteworthy, insightful, or in any way helpful. I really do appreciate your participation in this discussion.

If you're one of the regular readers, please consider "following" this blog so you'll be notified when something is posted/updated. Plus, you get acknowledged in the followers "mosaic" to the right!

Are milblogs biased?

One of the main complaints that I've often leveled at the main-stream media is that they are biased: negative stories, against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, liberal, etc. When we toured the CNN studios several weeks ago, we asked the executives about this perception of bias. They danced around the accusations of liberal- and conservative-bias. One did admit that they are biased toward conflict by discussing the elements of a good television news story. The best stories are the ones with dramatic footage of something out-of-the-ordinary happening. The best stories are about topics that are somewhat controversial or, at least, unusual. The best stories are the ones that engage people - they excite emotions in some way.

Similar elements could be listed about what makes the best milblog post, the post that gets the most interest and readership. These stories appear to be the ones with the most personal elements - a dramatic telling of a patrol from an infantryman's perspective, a memorial post to a fallen comrade, or the joy of returning home. Many of the most popular milblogs also include photos or videos that add to the emotional content of the post. But are these posts biased? Do most milbloggers write because they're against the wars and have found blogging as an outlet? Or are most milbloggers pro-military and pro-war and seek to use their blogs to balance what we percieve as the negatively-biased main-stream media with positive blog entries? That's the subject of the current poll (look to the top right of this webpage). Please weigh in with your opinion about any bias you percieve from milblogs you read. Thanks!

This week’s poll: what value are “official” blogs?

As you’re perusing the discussions on this blog (and leaving your comments since you're an active participant, right?) don’t forget to voice your opinion through this week’s poll (top right of this page). In this discussion about Soldier engagement of new media, I’m curious about what folks think about official military websites and blogs. Specifically, this week’s poll asks you what you personally use them for. Thanks for your participation!

Results are in: Most milbloggers blog to report or editorialize on events

Probably not an earthshattering result from this week's (nonscientific) Soldiers in the Blogosphere poll. Thanks to the 7 of you who took the poll this week (numbers are down - I'm going to attribute that to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend).

Why do you blog? [respondants could select multiple choices]

• 14% (1) - To get things off my chest (vent)
• 57% (4) - To share my ideas on what's going on (editorialize)
• 71% (5) - To share with people what's going on (reporter)
• 28% (2) - To record for posterity the happenings of my life (journal)
• 14% (1) - To practice my hand at writing (aspiring author)

So there are the results - looks like the average respondant chose 2 reasons. I must say that I was a bit surprised about the low percent who use blogs to "vent". Thought for sure it would be a more popular reason, but that's an encouraging result. Venting our emotions on a blog may not produce the most accurate or well-thought posting.

The two top reasons selected (reporter and editorializer) are good to see. In last week's poll, most people said they read milblogs to get Soldiers opinions about events and to get the "real story" not available through the main-stream media.

As we continue this discussion, and I progress on the project, these results will be good to keep in mind. Knowing intent is critical when deciding how/if we can get more benefit from the work Soldiers are already doing in the blogosphere.

Take a look to the top right of this blog for this week's blog - what triggered your entry into the blogosphere? Curious to know what led you to start your own blog (assuming you have one). Will post the results in a week.

NOTE: if you're interested, I've started keeping the old poll results graphs at the far bottom of the right column. For posterity's sake . . . .

Results are in: Folks read milblogs for a variety of reasons!

It should come as no surprise, but we read milblogs for a variety of reasons. Last week's survey asked you to share why you check in on milblogs and the results were:

What do you value most from reading Soldier's blogs?

• 2 (18%) Augment the viewpoints published by main-stream media
• 1 (9%) Learn what its like to be a Soldier
• 4 (36%) Understand Soldiers' opinions about current events
• 4 (36%) Get the "real" story (I don't trust spokesmen or reporters)

Thanks to the 11 of you who took part in this (unscientific, but interesting) poll. That's a few more than we had for the first poll. As you can see, the most popular responses were to get a Soldier's take on what's happening and because you value their input more than official spokespersons or reporters. I find the results fascinating. When I crafted the poll, I anticipated that the first answer (augmenting mainstream news) would be the leading response. Guess that's justification for why this project needs to be done.

In order to make these results a bit more meaningful, it would be great to have even more participation - please forward this link around to anyone and ask them to be a part of this discussion. I've appreciated the comments from the wide variety of people so far (military, DoD civilians, military spouses, and citizens with an interest) - thanks! Keep the dialogue going.