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.

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.

Results are in: 3 out of 5 blog to keep family and friends updated

Last week's poll asked what prompted you to enter the blogosphere. Most (3 out of 5 ... yes, only 5 responses this week, again quite unscientific) said the primary reason was to keep family and friends updated while deployed or out of the country for other reasons. 40% (2 people)said that is was because they felt strongly about a topic. I certainly realize these polls are not scientific and are, therefore, not valid for adding to the academic discussion (congratulations, by-the-way, to the Milblogging.com webmaster - The World's Coolest Dad!). They are, however, a source for some commentary ... and, perhaps a way to generate some more discussion. Thanks again to the participants -- now PASS THIS LINK ON SO MORE PEOPLE WILL VOTE IN THE FUTURE!!

Despite the very low sample size, the results corroborate what I'm finding as I survey milblogs. The majority, so far, exist (at least at first) simply to share stories with folks back home. Several of the top ranking milblogs then morphed into something a bit more - reaching a broader audience. But, even those that have grown large readerships remain primarily focused on sharing accounts of events that the author has been involved in. These personal accounts are what seem to attract many people to milblogs - stories that they can't get from main stream media. This also, by-the-way, matches the reasons that you stated you read milblogs - to get the Soldiers' sides of the story and their opinions about it.

As I see it, there's not much the Army can do to change the motivation for Soldiers to try their hand at blogging - it's not something we can (or, admittedly, want) to do. However, for those that are interested in a way to keep family and friends up-to-date as they're deployed, a blog offers a great method! And, importantly, the Army should do a much better job at educating them to blog as effectively as possible because, unlike e-mail or an old-fashioned letter home, blogs are immediately accessible by anyone who wants to read. Therefore, every Soldiers blog is a piece of the Army's communications whether we like to admit that or not. Not that every Soldiers blog should be controlled by the Army (in fact, as discussed previously, even the perception of control detracts from the credibility.) But just as we owe it to our Soldiers to train them to be successful with the various weapon systems they use, we owe it to them to train/educate them to be as successful as possible using new media.

The detailed (?) results from the poll, if you're interested ...

What triggered your entry into the blogosphere?

• 3 (60%) Wanted to keep family/friends updated while I was deployed/away.
• 0 (0%) Wasn't satisfied with what was out there about the war(s), so I started my own blog to write about it.
• 0 (0%) I enjoyed online discussions so started a blog to control one.
• 0 (0%) Really enjoy writing, so a blog seemed like an obvious thing for me to start.
• 2 (40%) Felt strongly about a topic (wars or otherwise) and wanted to write about it.
• 0 (0%) Just wanted a place to rant, share my opinions, etc.

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.

Reasons why you blog

Some of you blog to get things off your chest, others because you want to try your hand at writing, some to report what's going on in their part of the world, others may be dreaming of a book contract someday down the road (i.e. CBFTW, Kaboom, Big Tobacco), still others may want to offer their opinions on current events.

This week's survey (look to the right) asks you why you personally blog - note that you can select multiple answers in case more than one applies to you. Results will be discussed next week. Thanks for your participation!

Please send this blog address around - the more participation in the polls (and, more importantly, the continuing dialogue) the better. Thanks for spreading the word about this project.

A survey of blogs will be starting soon ...

... do you have any you want to make sure are included?

Over the coming week or so, I will be looking at a large number of milblogs for the following:

• reasons for blogs (update friends, tell good stories, correct the record, tell another side, etc)
• purpose of blog (journal, "war stories", opinion on current events, etc)
• any evident bias (pro-war, anti-war, any other possible "agenda", etc)
• any trends that I identify (changes over time, etc)

Cannoneer No. 4 has provided me with a list of 8 that he recommended and I've come across quite a few more by visiting milblogs. If you have any that you'd like to ensure I include in this survey, please leave the links in a comment on this post. If you'd like me to look at your blog, let me know.

Also, let me know if you think there are any other specific items I should be looking for as I venture through the mil-blogosphere.

When I've completed the survey, I'll post what I find here on this blog. Thanks for your help!