Do you agree or are there more Social Media Tips for Military Leaders with Personal Accounts?

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 14:33:27 -0400

Do you agree or are there more Social Media Tips for Military Leaders with Personal Accounts?

RP Members what else should leaders be concerned about with social media - do these (5) tips cover it all or are there more that should be added?

http://www.ameriforce.net/blog/military-news-5-social-media-tips-for-military-leaders-with-personal-accounts-071915

5 Social Media Tips for Military Leaders with Personal Accounts

Facebook has billions of users, including many military community leaders. As a leader, you need to consider what you post onto your personal account.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 2:35 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 14:35:27 -0400

I would agree with the 5 tips listed. We need to always keep opsec in mind.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jul 24 at 2015 2:38 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 14:38:27 -0400

Considering OPSEC Always a Wise Idea. I'm a little freer being retired for 18 years. All my tricks are old hat, old school. I haven't had "Access" in a long time and most of my Exploits someone has beat me to the punch and written a book about it. LOL!

Response by LTC John Shaw made Jul 24 at 2015 2:46 PM

LTC John Shaw — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 14:46:30 -0400

COL Mikel J. Burroughs Yes, this is good. I am surprised there is no mention of practical opinion issues that routinely come up. Like the Army social media policy.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 2:49 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 14:49:45 -0400

COL Mikel J. Burroughs, Sir, I hate social media like, Facebook, Tweets, etc. Way too much information gets out that can be used, twisted, or interpreted in different ways. I especially don't think a top military service member should give more than, name, rank, and serial number. Also, they don't need to discuss anything military related. That's enough right there for others to use as propaganda and twist things around.

Response by PO2 Mark Saffell made Jul 24 at 2015 3:01 PM

PO2 Mark Saffell — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 15:01:18 -0400

Im old enough to remember when None of this was around. I do believe it has changed life in America and not always for the better

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 24 at 2015 3:04 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 15:04:24 -0400

I would take this a few steps further.

1) Determine what types of accounts are necessary, and what kind of visibility they should have. We all have Public & Private "personas." How I interact with my Seniors & Juniors is different than how I interact with my Peers & Friends. Develop accounts that are "Interaction Appropriate," and ensure that their visibility settings are set correctly.

2) Not to be overly descriptive, but like Nude Photos, once they exist, assume that anything you write will get out. Think twice. In the Digital Age, you cannot destroy the negatives. You cannot get rid of all the copies. Someone, somewhere will screen-capture it.

As an example, we had the Soldier holding the Flag upside down for an Evidence Photo last week. That was taken in 2004-2006~ timeframe, yet still persists.

3) The written form of communication does not convey emotion as well as other forms of communication. This can cause massive misinterpretations of intent.

Linked article for example:

http://www.danielgoleman.info/email-with-care/

4) Familiarity breeds contempt. It's an old adage, but a good one. There are some People who build things up, and there are some who like to tear things down. Those who like to tear things down will look for any excuse they can, and social media accounts are great ammo.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 24 at 2015 3:25 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 15:25:51 -0400

Thanks for sharing

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 8:41 PM

SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 20:41:23 -0400

I deleted my FB page because of all the drama and bs that was spewed by people with zero facts to back up what they were saying. Opsec is huge when talking about social media. I couldn't tell you how many times I had to have conversations with members and their spouses about what was put and said on FB.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 26 at 2015 1:18 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 01:18:38 -0400

I find this interesting and a good read. They make a lot of good points and concerns. I also would like to point out that we need to consider all these points in all social media communication. That includes this one. I really liked the part about how the members of our armed forces need to be engaged and taught on the dos and don'ts. It is important to remember so long as your in the military right or wrong what you say and do will be seen as the military. I personally try to pay close attention to what I say comment on and the opinions I give. All to often I have sadly seen individuals with pictures of them in uniform and post nagitev comments about different things such as the president. All of you know this is against UCMJ while we are entitled to our opinion it does not mean we are entitled to share it with anyone and everyone that will listen/read. So to recap I thought a wonderful article and we definitely need to spend some more time and effort on educating dos and don'ts. I think for the most part we all understand the rules of opsec it now needs to be taken further.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 25 at 2015 8:23 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 08:23:23 -0400

Their are clearly more things to talk about but with attention spans being so short, I kept it simple. Here is another tip I didn't list: Even if you don't use social media, you need to understand and appreciate its value. 61% of Millennials get political news from Facebook at least once a week. This is going to increase each year. Leaders need to be cognizant of how quickly information is received and processed in 2015. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Sep 26 at 2015 12:08 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 12:08:14 -0400

Anonymity is dangerous. I participate in social media and Internet discussion threads using my real name and photo. Yes, that's really me and that's really my mustache. (Of course I have lost 80 pounds since that photo was taken and haven't gotten around to having a new one taken.) I don't participate with "friends" who are anonymous. They tend to shuck off all social constraints when they divest themselves of their true identities. Remember the old Disney cartoon of Mr Walker and Mr Wheeler? The same thing happens in chat rooms and discussions when the participant is replaced by an object like a car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZAZ_xu0DCg

Goofy in 'Motor Mania' (1950)

http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com Goofy stars as a Jekyll and Hyde character, Mr. Walker/Mr. Wheeler. When he's a pedestrian he's mild-mannered and rat...

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2016 10:43 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 10:43:15 -0500

I keep a FB because of my family that I don't get to see but other than that I'm slowly trying to stay off of it altogether. Nowadays you just never know who is watching.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Feb 18 at 2016 10:49 AM

LTC Stephen F. — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 10:49:35 -0500

One thing I have noticed about FaceBook in particular is that they change their security protocols a few times a year COL Mikel J. Burroughs. It is a good idea to monitor security changes on social networks.
I expect it is generally understood; but, since it wasn't mention - don't reveal anything you would not want to be published in a newspaper or see on the nightly news and never reveal anything about unit mission, operations, etc without PAO clearance.
The five tips seem like a reasonable baseline for individuals.
Having at least one robust firewall and internet security system to protect against malware, etc is also essential.

Response by SFC David McMahon made Feb 18 at 2016 2:17 PM

SFC David McMahon — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:17:56 -0500

DOD already has a pretty lengthy handbook covering this (and rightfully so). This is just common sense stuff but as we have seen, these rules are for many of those that don't "get it".

Response by COL Ted Mc made Feb 18 at 2016 2:20 PM

COL Ted Mc — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:20:00 -0500

COL Mikel J. Burroughs - Mikel; Being somewhat "crusty" once in a while, I'd add "DON'T use 'Social Media'.".

What you put on the Internet survives until the heat death of the universe and is highly likely to be misunderstood. You don't NEED 'Social Media' for your professional life and the chance of 'identity theft' is just too high to make it worth your while to use it.