SmartBrief on Social Media is helping to sponsor the upcoming Rethinking Corporate Communications conference here in Washington, D.C., this week. I was lucky enough to get a head start — landing some advance time with Jack Holt, chief of new media operations at the Department of Defense and one of the event’s speakers.
ROB: Explain your role at the DoD and how it came about?
JACK: The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review contained a framework and direction called the Strategic Communication Road Map, the key tenet of which was to learn how to communicate in the 24/7 new media environment. Working at the Office of the Secretary of Defense Press Operations team, I was tasked to the New Media Directorate and charged with fostering a test bed for learning how new platforms are changing communication patterns.
There are quite a few registered social media sites from all of the military services in a wide variety of channels (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, etc.). Is there any centralized control over content on these sites?
Not really. You cannot “control” content any more than you can control a message. You have to educate, equip, empower and encourage and that implies trust. You have to trust.
How are each of these sites/channels managed from a personnel perspective? Does each service differ?
Each branch of the armed forces has a different social media presence, based on what channels they think are best for them. One caveat, though, is that each organization must negotiate a terms of service to which the U.S. government can agree, and the organization must designate someone with the authority to sign it.
Many of us, public and private sector alike, are struggling with how to create internal social media policies. The Department of Defense’s stance on social media is magnified. On one hand, our men and women in uniform depend on many social technologies to communicate with their family and friends in distant locations. On the other, information security is as critical as ever. How do you balance this conflict?
It’s important to keep in mind that not everyone accesses these sites from government computers. We do not regulate what servicemen do on their own computers, but we encourage them to practice information safety on their own home systems. We believe strongly in educating them and letting them take that training home to their families and friends. If it’s good for the soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, it’s good for their families.
When it comes to social media best practices, what do you think the Department of Defense can learn from the private sector?
Trust in employees — or in our case servicemen. Trusting our troops means embracing open collaboration with others outside of the structured hierarchy of their team/division. We call this horizontal communication “self synchronization.” It allows for increased agility and optimally, aggregated, archived and shared knowledge.
On the flip side, what can the private sector learn from the impressive work being done by your team at DoD?
Don’t get stuck in your thinking. Don’t look for answers or solutions, look for a path. And understand that it may be up to you to blaze it.
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[...] SmartBlog On Social Media » Talking social media strategy, policy with the DoD smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2009/09/28/talking-social-media-strategy-policy-with-the-dod – view page – cached SmartBrief on Social Media is helping to sponsor the upcoming Rethinking Corporate Communications conference here in Washington, D.C., this week. I was lucky enough to get a head start — landing… (Read more)SmartBrief on Social Media is helping to sponsor the upcoming Rethinking Corporate Communications conference here in Washington, D.C., this week. I was lucky enough to get a head start — landing some advance time with Jack Holt, chief of new media operations at the Department of Defense and one of the event’s speakers. (Read less) — From the page [...]
[...] SmartBlog On Social Media » Talking social media strategy, policy with the DoD smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2009/09/28/talking-social-media-strategy-policy-with-the-dod – view page – cached SmartBrief on Social Media is helping to sponsor the upcoming Rethinking Corporate Communications conference here in Washington, D.C., this week. I was lucky enough to get a head start — landing… (Read more)SmartBrief on Social Media is helping to sponsor the upcoming Rethinking Corporate Communications conference here in Washington, D.C., this week. I was lucky enough to get a head start — landing some advance time with Jack Holt, chief of new media operations at the Department of Defense and one of the event’s speakers. (Read less) — From the page [...]
Really glad you got a chance to talk with Jack. He is fantastic and will be a great part of the conference taking place this week in DC. If any of your blog readers want to attend, we still have some room and would love to have them join us for what promises to be a great event filled with knowledgeable speakers, plenty of attendee / speaker interaction & networking opps. I can even give SmartBlog on Social Media a special discounted registration code to make it even more affordable. They can contact me at rsauter (at) communitelligence (dot) (com).
Thanks and see you on Wednesday!
-Rick
Implementing Social Media requires more than just a traditional communication strategy. Using it effectively, means changing the culture in the Military from one built on the traditional “vertical flow of information” to more horizontal flow as you Jack Holt implied. This will necessitate breaking the traditional leadership model of “control” and replacing it with one of “empowerment”.
Current DoD Leaders see the value of horizontal flow of information, when it breaks down the barriers of “them” getting information faster. But few understand the need for that information to flow two ways. They rarely feel that those below them can or should be privy to much of the knowledge at their level.
In my opinion, any effective communications strategy (whether dealing with internal or external comms) must address the cultural barriers that continue to stifle real change in DoD.
[...] http://bit.ly/4GsYT Cool: Social Media Strategy & Policy with Department of Defense – http://bit.ly/REH6F Google & Wharton’s FastForward: Youtube Channel for Marketers – [...]
[...] just troops on the ground. Jack Holt, chief of new media operations at the Department of Defense (read our Q&A with Jack here), recently gave a presentation at Rethinking Corporate Communications, providing a glimpse at how [...]