View Full Version : The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Political Protest, Movement, and Revolution.
I had someone tell me once, about three or four years ago that we, military to SOF, don't need to look at anything cyber because that is CYBERCOM's job. Something that is becoming more and more clear is that "people" are using social media as a catalyst for many of the movements in different countries. Over the past two decades, the political role of the Internet and social media have played into different movements tied to revolutions. Different examples are from the Kosovo Conflict 1999-2000, the Saffron Revolution in Myanmar in 2007, and the Green Movement in 2009, the Jasmine Revolution in 2010, Arab Spring 2011, etc.
Most people, think of social media as the catalyst for anything cyber. I was on of them, but when your looking at foreign third world countries with a population that typically has least than 30% with a laptop with internet connection. Then with such low numbers of internet users, then how are all these mobilizing in political protest, movement, and revolution in all these countries? When know how, the mobile link. These mobile users fall into a class of "Information and Communication Technologies" users. Information and Communication Technologies refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and other telecommunications mediums. Through these different ICT individuals are linked and creat a "global village," in which people now can communicate with others via their mobile devices just like they would have from the village message broad. With actual social media sites and services, they can communicate with others across the world as if they were living in the same village. Just like most Americans do daily via their Facebook, Twitter and message broads like PS.com. For this reason, ICT should be studied in the context of how modern communication technologies affect society mobilizing in political protest, movement, and revolution in different countries apart of someone studying the battlefield environment.
What are Information and Communication Technologies (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/ict/intro_what_is_ict.htm)
I had someone tell me once, about three or four years ago that we, military to SOF, don't need to look at anything cyber because that is CYBERCOM's job. Something that is becoming more and more clear is that "people" are using social media as a catalyst for many of the movements in different countries. Over the past two decades, the political role of the Internet and social media have played into different movements tied to revolutions. Different examples are from the Kosovo Conflict 1999-2000, the Saffron Revolution in Myanmar in 2007, and the Green Movement in 2009, the Jasmine Revolution in 2010, Arab Spring 2011, etc.
Most people, think of social media as the catalyst for anything cyber. I was on of them, but when your looking at foreign third world countries with a population that typically has least than 30% with a laptop with internet connection. Then with such low numbers of internet users, then how are all these mobilizing in political protest, movement, and revolution in all these countries? When know how, the mobile link. These mobile users fall into a class of "Information and Communication Technologies" users. Information and Communication Technologies refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and other telecommunications mediums. Through these different ICT individuals are linked and creat a "global village," in which people now can communicate with others via their mobile devices just like they would have from the village message broad. With actual social media sites and services, they can communicate with others across the world as if they were living in the same village. Just like most Americans do daily via their Facebook, Twitter and message broads like PS.com. For this reason, ICT should be studied in the context of how modern communication technologies affect society mobilizing in political protest, movement, and revolution in different countries apart of someone studying the battlefield environment.
What are Information and Communication Technologies (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/ict/intro_what_is_ict.htm)
I recall reading this article before, but not sure if it's been posted on this forum, my apologies if I'm recycling it:
Social Media and UW
By Lieutenant Colonel Brian Petit
Originally published in the April-June 2012 edition of Special Warfare
http://www.soc.mil/swcs/swmag/archive/SW2502/SW2502SocialMediaAndUW.html
I recall reading this article before, but not sure if it's been posted on this forum, my apologies if I'm recycling it:
Social Media and UW
By Lieutenant Colonel Brian Petit
Originally published in the April-June 2012 edition of Special Warfare
http://www.soc.mil/swcs/swmag/archive/SW2502/SW2502SocialMediaAndUW.html
I remember this Special Warfare, they have put two different magazines on this topic. Both have been good.
Peregrino
11-26-2013, 21:08
Interesting concept. Shortly after the Muslim Brotherhood Spring (OK, if you insist - the "Arab Spring") my then boss recommended I read Revolution 2.0. Thank god I bought it on Kindle for $2. I'm still plowing through it months later. Personally, I think our policy wonks are overstating the utility of social media WRT igniting political movements. Everything I've read addresses it in a vacuum without taking into account the duration and depth of the respective population's underlying grievances. Generations of oppression and repressed potential stacks enough kindling for an impressive conflagration. I think social media is more the spark, and just like starting any fire with a match, insufficient tinder and preparation results in burnt fingers and no bonfire. It takes time and lots of repressed discontent to create the conditions for revolution. To illustrate my point - does anyone believe social media could effect a revolution in any western democracy in the near future? How about in 25 years (probably less considering how quickly they're progressing) in one of the current socialist inspired economic disaster zones (Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, etc.)?
As for the US using it as an offensive tool - I'm not holding my breath. And that's all I consider social media to be - a tool, another component of a shaping campaign. I've yet to see a modern psyop campaign (outside of commercial marketing or democrat politics) that I considered effective. Not timely, not targeted, and certainly not exploitable for strategic or operational gain.
Interesting concept. Shortly after the Muslim Brotherhood Spring (OK, if you insist - the "Arab Spring") my then boss recommended I read Revolution 2.0. Thank god I bought it on Kindle for $2. I'm still plowing through it months later. Personally, I think our policy wonks are overstating the utility of social media WRT igniting political movements. Everything I've read addresses it in a vacuum without taking into account the duration and depth of the respective population's underlying grievances. Generations of oppression and repressed potential stacks enough kindling for an impressive conflagration. I think social media is more the spark, and just like starting any fire with a match, insufficient tinder and preparation results in burnt fingers and no bonfire. It takes time and lots of repressed discontent to create the conditions for revolution. To illustrate my point - does anyone believe social media could effect a revolution in any western democracy in the near future? How about in 25 years (probably less considering how quickly they're progressing) in one of the current socialist inspired economic disaster zones (Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, etc.)?
As for the US using it as an offensive tool - I'm not holding my breath. And that's all I consider social media to be - a tool, another component of a shaping campaign. I've yet to see a modern psyop campaign (outside of commercial marketing or democrat politics) that I considered effective. Not timely, not targeted, and certainly not exploitable for strategic or operational gain.
Great post.....
Besides Revolution 2.0 I've also read Egypt unsh@ckled.
I would agree that social media isn't so much a new universe that some claim, but more like an increasingly important facet for shaping.
Not trying to be pedantic, but I kinda think of social media as not so much the spark as an accelerant like digital petrol.
Wouldn't the spark be real world/offline events like Mohamed Bouazizi literally sparking himself up via self immolation?
On that note, I wonder if a rigorous comparison between events such as the self immolation of Thich Quang Duc in Vietnam and Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia would be worthwhile?
Fortunately or unfortunately, a Pulitzer Prize winning photo(as well as film) was taken of Thich Quang Duc which immortalized him globally. Had he not been photographed and filmed would his action have achieved much reach beyond the ultra-local other than a single AP column inch and forgotten?
Because I would posit that ubiquitous photo/video combined with instantaneous global distribution of it is the only thing that has changed.
30 years ago, Assad Sr could level Hama like something out of the Dark Ages, today Assad Jr is finding his actions under scrutiny from the general public across the planet, rather than from national intelligence services and their masters.
IF my line of thinking is accurate and the main differences between Thich Quang Duc and Mohamed Bouazizi are:
Low probability of Thich Quang Duc reaching "criticality" in the media relatively slowly.
High probability of Mohamed Bouazizi reaching "criticality" in the media instantaneously.
Would that not mean that social media as an accelerant to an offline/real world event is to the benefit of those playing offense due to the exceptionally fast 0 to 100 speed and momentum like a digital MISO blitzkrieg while those playing defense will see their OODA loop rebooting at a cyclic rate due to official response decision making cycle time?
I feel social media (SM) is not anything close to being the catalyst or spark for any movements. But ICT, which social media networks use as one of there platforms, contributes to these mobilizing of people (or masses) that are apart of these political protest, movement, and revolution in all these countries. Militant/terrorist groups have moved from message/discussion board, websites and thread sites to Social Media (SM) platforms on the internet.They are using these social media networks to hiring new recruits, to spreading “their message," and trying to connect with like-minded individuals through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube apart of their "movement." Just as American youth use FB, Vine, Twitter, SnapTalk and other social media platforms to talk instead of traditional face to face conversations. For me this is a role that social media plays into as a support mechanism. Not the root catalyst behind any political protest, movement, and revolution.
I feel that as a military person you are always looking at “Stuff” as how they affect the Battlefield and how it impacts unit(s). Most will say that anything that is "talked" on the lines of social media is cyber and has nothing to do with the Battlefield. You be the one to answer on that question. But what about the need to study its effects of the different types of social media on your operations/plan within a country. Looking at how a population are using different ICTs and which social networks contribute to become influencer. Yes, looking at what role social media plays (influence) in affecting your “battlefield,” but what effects your Environment can have on your Battlefield. Which could have been apart of political protest, movement, and revolution.
For me, If your country has some kind of movement, or better, in its past had some political protest, movement, and revolution. What different types of social media and internet platforms were used, then study (analysis) them as OSINT. OSINT is a viable information/intelligence and pulls from so many different open sources and then is balanced with other disciplines. As with all disciplines, analyzing social media role within the protects, movement or whatever works off other disciplines to support what the analysis is looking for or obtaining to analyze it to become intelligence for that country.
History shows that the use of the internet through new and different types of social media employed by militant/terrorist group, activism, hacktivism, and cyberterrorist play into how they relate to "movements." Take the Iranian enrichment program example, I would say it was a good recent example of how through OSINT/ open source research on the social media sites (posts) from Iranian dissident groups pointing or discussing the evidence of enrichment sites and other activities. Along with what effects these have on the Environment on your future Battlefield within the country. Using Iran as the example again, most of what was found on Iran, from the nuclear proliferation to the Green Revolution was through internet searches of Iranian government websites, social networks, blog and forums. Was it 100%, no! it never is. It's a balancing act for FUSION cells or analyst. The same goes with terrorist groups use the Internet through social media for radicalization, recruiting, messaging, command and control, and fund rising. So how well do social websites, social networks, blog and forums influence protest, movement, and revolution within a country? History, just like combat and intelligence indicators provide the answer IMO.
As for the US using it as an offensive tool - I'm not holding my breath. And that's all I consider social media to be - a tool, another component of a shaping campaign. I've yet to see a modern psyop campaign (outside of commercial marketing or democrat politics) that I considered effective. Not timely, not targeted, and certainly not exploitable for strategic or operational gain.
As a offensive tool, I don't know right now, but in some cases maybe. Now with it providing information that can be turned into Intelligence comes from Indicators. Which are observable or discernible actions that confirm or deny enemy capabilities and intentions. Ones ability to find and interpret these indicators is OSINT from social media. IMO is no more difficult than any other Intelligence discipline. The ability to find and interpret these SM indicators will directly affect the analysts' predictions of threat intent or there role in a protest, movement, and revolution in a country. It is this key, prediction, which distinguishes from just reporting the facts to assisting the commander in the decision making process. As with Intelligence, it almost always is not timely. But looking at SM and ICT platforms though different Intelligence disciplines can add to your influencing (Kinetic and Non-Kinetic) and it has be proven many times over that it is very exploitable for strategic or operational gain and plans. The hardship part is "assisting the commander in the decision making process," especially when leaders don't know anything about social media.
The whole MISO and CYBERCOM and even band 5 to 7 growth, should consider social media to be a tool, like you said, as a component of a IO shaping campaign for the overall plan. Peregrino you hit it with DoD and the strategic modern campaign by a PHYOPS/MISO Unit that can match any of the commercial marketing. We suck at anything IO by a PHYOPS/MISO. For me, we are missing it badly with new positions we are adding to Group and the revamping for the band 5-7. DoD and SOF need to analyze how the gaming Industry use of social media and how we can use it in exploiting militant/terrorist groups and influencing within a country.
Assad Sr could level Hama like something out of the Dark Ages, today Assad Jr is finding his actions under scrutiny from the general public across the planet, rather than from national intelligence services and their masters.
IF my line of thinking is accurate and the main differences between Thich Quang Duc and Mohamed Bouazizi are:
Low probability of Thich Quang Duc reaching "criticality" in the media relatively slowly.
High probability of Mohamed Bouazizi reaching "criticality" in the media instantaneously.
You are right with all of them, especially Assad Sr and Assad Jr differences. But as with each of them, it was all about their timing and era. Social media has increased in its popularity and influence in many ways.
With Thich Quang Duc's photo and it happening that had some pretty serious political consequences was back in 1963 and the fact that the only means to really get information was through printed media. I don't know if you could really have changed anything. But look at how it has stayed around.
Mohamed Bouaziz act was labeled as the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution, and inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country. Now this spread instantaneously mainly because of the era when it happened. Now there were many other factors behind what was the root cause for the Tunisian Revolution, which is the Tunisian protests inspired protests in several other Arab countries. Which is now labeled as the Arab Spring.
Was there such a difference between Mohamed Bouaziz and Thich Quang Duc turn outs based off them both self-immolation?
Would that not mean that social media as an accelerant to an offline/real world event is to the benefit of those playing offense due to the exceptionally fast 0 to 100 speed and momentum like a digital MISO blitzkrieg while those playing defense will see their OODA loop rebooting at a cyclic rate due to official response decision making cycle time?
There has been a lot of talk over how social media played in the movement or revolutions starting in many different countries. There are many different ones we can go back and look at. From Kosovo conflict (1999-2001), to the Iranian “Green Revolution” (2009), the Tunisian Revolution (2010) to a different SM employment during the Haitian Earthquake Relief (2010), and Syria. But as with most social media campaigns they are to spread a psycho-social information campaign or gain additional support for their movement. This plays into social media sites being used by that organization, individuals or militant/terrorist groups to engage the country masses or ideals. These ideals add to them (or us) obtaining data for radicalization, recruiting, messaging, command and control, and fund rising that can easily be targets for social engineering.
OODA Loop is so true with social media analysis and exploration. Like a wrote in the Chinese thread, they have master this concept cycle. Looking at observe and pulling your OSINT web analytics and other COTS systems come in to analytical studies of social media. It is said that the Chinese have mastered the Orient phase, which is where you start putting that data that was pulled and breaking it down. If you looking at how social media influences their movement. How does the data pulled today compare with the data you measured last month. Even looking at how does it compare with a larger set of data. OODA is just like F3EAD, you regenerate the cycle once the mission is over based off what information was found. Even reenergize the cycle based of what you found within a social media or ICT Platform or indicators.
BTW I hated Revolution 2.0 and War 2.0, both very dry reads and not intriguing at any level.
The Reaper
11-27-2013, 22:38
Just a reminder, this is an open, unclassified media source.
Please be careful in posting if you have access to classified material.
Thanks.
TR
Nothing discussed and writing here isn't published in some form already. This list below is where some of my ideas are pulled from. Most are dated, but whether the article, forum, PDF or white paper discusses the success, failures or political roll out and/or fall out for each of them. It provides me with ideas of how to use online sites, analyze social media, and what could be added to my tool bag. Most analyst don't look at OSINT, like any intelligence or information gathering platform, but really needs to be viewed as a tool in your toolbag. Here is a general break down of my information, good or bad links, that is for the eye of the beholder. This shows you on the social media side of the house, when to paint that picture it becomes valuable. I see social media as a great tool for us to be using, exploitating, analyzing and collecting from.
Iranian dissident groups exposed Iranian enrichment program evidence of an enrichment site.
http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/18/iranian-dissidents-say-tehrans-built-secret-nuke-s/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/18/new-iranian-site-reported/3625929/
Social media opportunities and challenges for open source information.
http://www.trajectorymagazine.com/defense-inteligence/item/1307-OSINT.html
http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/twitter-is-a-treasure-trove-of-terrorist-activity-says-the-u-s-military/
http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/social-media-use-in-the-military-sector/
http://www.csoonline.com/article/734764/nsa-revelations-could-push-terrorists-to-other-channels
http://academics.utep.edu/Portals/1892/Theses/Analyzing%20the%20Effectiveness%20of%20Al%20Qaeda' s%20Online%20Influence%20Operations%20(Lyons).pdf
Examples of pulling data and using it.
http://analysisintelligence.com/tag/osint-2/
Militant/terrorist group Increasingly Using Social Media to Communicate
http://freebeacon.com/twitter-used-to-disseminate-terrorist-messages/
http://www.securityaffairs.org/issues/2005/08/weimann.php
http://www.pixelsandpolicy.com/pixels_and_policy/2010/04/global-militants-terrorism.html
And the least favorite but very resourceful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_and_social_media
How activism, hacktivism, and cyberterrorist use SM
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1382/MR1382.ch8.pdf
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1208.4568.pdf
Tanzania Green Revolution:
http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1905125,00.html
Iranian Green Movement
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/06/evaluating-irans-twitter-revolution/58337/
http://www.scmagazine.com/iran-election-protesters-use-twitter-to-recruit-hackers/article/138545/
Haitian Earthquake Relief:
http://mashable.com/2010/01/20/social-media-lessons-haiti/
http://www2012.wwwconference.org/proceedings/companion/p713.pdf
Kosovo Conflict
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDwQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rand.org%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Fra nd%2Fpubs%2Fmonograph_reports%2FMR1382%2FMR1382.ch 8.pdf&ei=a3CTUouDGKamsQTr5oHIBg&usg=AFQjCNHXc5gLgeE2-BVrd23DFpYNe9JfRw&sig2=j6Z5Do5TBS1COhNYszLKrA
OODA Loop used to analyze Social Media
http://fabiusmaximus.com/2012/10/26/ooda-loops-44522/
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/2401375_A_Category-Theoretic_Approach_to_Social_Network_Analysis/file/d912f50ac2965a1d73.pdf
We don't teach this way of thinking, it is a small few that can think of how cyber, social media, internet all play into OSINT for operations. Which becomes a tool in the toolbag for intelligence or information gathering platform as with any one of the disciplines. Aa a analysts we must look or find non-traditional information tools like OSINT and social media in making causative linkages on the battlefield of your hypothesis. However, when OSINT or specificity social media used as intended, as part of a holistic picture, and within the purpose for which they were developed as a communication platform. Looking at social media as a non-traditional intelligence disciplines, such as OSINT, it is just as valuable as SIGINT, HUMINT, MASINT, ELINT, etc. We need a discussion on this topic to devolve dialog, simulate thought on how to use it and it's employment in painting the picture and providing assessments to Commanders. Otherwise, keep kicking doors and thinking you will be shooting someone in the face. That mindset is being forced to go away, so as we use to say, "Start thinking outside of the box" or really your sights.
Peregrino
11-28-2013, 12:35
--- I see social media as a great tool for us to be using, exploiting, analyzing and collecting from. ---
I absolutely concur with everything you've written - as far as you go. There are two sides of this problem and (as I see it) our approach is lopsided.
SM (or anything else susceptible to ELINT collection) is absolutely the best (risk vs. ROI analysis) TARGETING tool we have, especially today when it has become so ubiquitous that people take it for granted without adequate consideration for OPSEC. After all how many people using cell phones actually think of them as radios - and all that implies WRT interception, analysis, and exploitation? We have achieved phenomenal successes because of our ability to capitalize on the adversaries' myopia (and in fairness to the more sophisticated - their technical limitations) WRT exploitable communications vulnerabilities.
My concern with our current approach to SM is not the exploitation part, it's the "shaping" part. Personally I would much rather influence millions with an IO campaign vice 100's with bombs & bullets (actions the adversary can then use as part of their IO counter-campaign - to influence the millions we missed with the DA message). That's where I see our weakness WRT ICT. You'd think a country that does so well selling consumerism would be at least as competitive in the "marketplace of ideas". (To illustrate my point - check out the GAO [or] DOD IG report about the contractor provided "propaganda campaign" in Afghanistan.)
Course that's MOO, YMMV. :p Quality discussion with a lot of food for thought in any event.
Hmmmmm.....so maybe more Saachi & Saachi Lovemarks and less Booz Allen Hamilton datamining?
Not that it's a choice, but massive emphasis on the latter without much emphasis on the former seems a bit lopsided.
Is calling MISO geopolitical marketing and advertising a bit oversimplistic?
I'm surprised there aren't more open source indications of major marketing and advertising firms trying to get a slice of the defense pie over the last 10+ years.
Peregrino
11-28-2013, 22:40
Do you have a link to the DOD report you mention?
The first one that caught my eye was: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/23/military-propaganda-operations-poorly-coordinated-often-ineffective/2354235/. IIRC we discussed it in here when it was first published. A little additional research (all oriented towards Afghanistan) gives this: http://www.afghanwarnews.info/IO/IOnews.htm. Very little of it paints a flattering picture of our IO efforts.
To understand social media, it’s about the “street”, whether it’s a company or a revolution, and the most direct way in understand the immediacy of crowd sourcing, or massing protest is to review a commercial template that incorporates the allegiance to brand and connection to the street, be it Mao, Che, or Obama.
That said, in the commercial zone, look no further than Harley Davidson owning the street; with 3.5 million avid Facebook HD devotees, HD long ago turned their web site to their ridership. (think of this as cell phone text swarming) HD encouraged the ridership to post pic’s that showed attitude, bikes, life style. In essence, “you, the average rider are HD”. In doing so, HD acknowledge in the SM context that they could not control their image or message, so they enlisted the ridership to do so.
The ridership is loyal to the point, that they Tattoo the “HD” brand to various points on their body, sometimes in multiplies. This loyalty is comparable to any cult, CAS, particularly, AQ in that context.
But, in relation to the storied history of Harley Davidson Motorcycles it’s co opied- ingrained in the American psyche as the iconic free spirited outlaw, as a marketing strategy established with the formation of the company. The imaging of HD is the foundational underpinning of Harley Davidson current social media marketing program in context to the 110 years of freedom campaign, in that sense, its a SM strategy.
For eg. this past September, 2013, Harley Davidson Motorcycles was 110 years old. The company celebration is a worldwide affair, and as such, Harley Davidson is engaged globally across the following social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vimeo, and its own expansive and interactive web site. Harley Davidson’s event twitter account is #HD110, launched in 2012 in China, for the event “Crossing Tibetan Plateau”, between Aug 04 - 09, was an international political and public relation success. (http://110.harley-davidson.com/en_US/events/china2012) And most recently in Goa, India http://110.harley-davidson.com/en_US/events/goa Instagram #HD110INDIA
Harley Davidson’s successful use of these two platforms is evident with numbers of a third platform used to promote its brand. Utilizing Vimeo as the video platform to showcase riders experience and Harley lore. AQ does this with its martyr program.
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Harley Davidson's established Facebook page is the company's fourth social media platform, and with 4.5 million fans, is easily one of the most popular contra brand marketers of America’s S & P 500 corporate elites. Harley Davidson with reference to social platform Vimeo, recognized there was a need for viewer content and set up “Ridebook”, a section where videos could be uploaded and shared with the rider base. HD behaves as a CAS SM system.
Eg: Ridebook is Harley Davidson’s intersection of brand to emotion and customer/rider connection, emphasizing the iconic free spirit, enhancing the Harley gypsy outlaw-esque myth, as the following statement readily illustrates. “Ridebook is the riding manual from the voice of those few who cherish the search for new scenery with the wind in their face. A glimpse into a stripped down lifestyle, free of the clutter and filled with style, quality, and the essentials”. Image = self actualization.
Ride book’s “Ghost town USA” video embodies all the classic iconic myth making of the American West. In doing so, Harley Davidson reaches back to our American idealized past to create the linkage to the riders, creating their own relationship with myth and legend on the back of a Harley. In “Ghost towns” Harley Davidson reminds us “there is a violent truth to places like this, where people struggle to survive”, Harley’s implied myth attachment, enriches its own lore of acquiring rough knowledge in forbidden places. http://ridebook.harley-davidson.com/#!/ghosttowns
This imaging is a continuing content thread in all things concerning Harley Davidson. In the video Iron & Resin 2013 teaser http://vimeo.com/53129614, released on March 27, as of April 3, has 16.3K listens, and is an equally compelling story filled with folklore and possible discover.
What is unique about this social media video platform usage is the available opportunity for customer engagement, participation, and the real sense of voice in the Harley Davidson experience, here the nexus of social media campaign, brand, and customer merge. Harley Davidson provides an avenue for the client to upload their video’s, to tell their stories of the open road, a second level engagement vehicle that encourages partnership and the ultimately the big prize, Brand Loyalty. “Your Video Belongs Here, Share a Moment or a Masterpiece”, the add on beckons, join free, click, and you are in.
Another interesting social media-advertising segment, included in all the video’s, is the age bracket of Harley’s ideal consumer it is reaching for. In the video “The Prohibition Tour” a group of diverse riders travel up highway 101, from LA to Napa, it’s cool, but the subliminal messaging was age and technology, as one of the riders present’s “his” story, he states how discovering a charging hook up for his iPhone on his Harley change the nature of his connection, by having the choice to listen to what he wanted to, rather than the “played out music on the radio”, equals choice, action, Harley Davidson.
According to The Media Audit, a majority of motorcycle owners are married (59.2 percent) with an average age of 41 years. Adults who own a motorcycle earn $77,714 in annual household income, a figure that is $12,424 higher than the household income for the average U.S. adult.
Considering the average Harley Davidson owner is 41 years old, and by contrast, those who use Vimeo are a generation removed, Harley Davidson social media program is succeeding in appealing to, and expanding its client base via these various social media platforms, platforms which are not all that familiar to Harley Davidson’s core clientele base in the age range 50-65 years of age. The social media platforms are familiar to this new generation of riders. Harley Davidson recognizes this and uses these social media platforms to recruit the next generation of riders, 17% of owners are 35 or younger, which means the company has made significant inroads to a younger demographic.
The video “Tomcats Barbershop” epitomizes this cultural hipness. The storytelling is actually a demographic profile verbally actualized, its shockingly honest in its brevity, combine with voices that are listenable, it is a pure message of identification, of who we are, what we represent, and where we belong. http://ridebook.harley-davidson.com/#!/tomcats
SM media new venue - social video
That said, in the commercial zone, look no further than Harley Davidson owning the street; with 3.5 million avid Facebook HD devotees, HD long ago turned their web site to their ridership. (think of this as cell phone text swarming) HD encouraged the ridership to post pic’s that showed attitude, bikes, life style. In essence, “you, the average rider are HD”. In doing so, HD acknowledge in the SM context that they could not control their image or message, so they enlisted the ridership to do so.
Small world......I think it was a bit over 3 years ago I met the young fella who kicked off HD's Facebook brand when he had only gathered a couple hundred K of fans and they were making a big push for their first million.
While they definitely control the release of certain content in a highly coordinated way, the majority of their Social Media efforts are community driven and HD marketing shaped.
I might have to dig up a Harvard Business Review article written by a former senior HD marketer who went freelance who wrote about different categories of online brand and community building that I think might be relevant to this discussion.
Yes on the MISO and IO Campaigns we have screwed the bucket from 40 to 100 ways. But a lot of this is at the highest level and not at the tactical levels. PENN you bring up a lot of great points with the way HD used SM. I'll tying this into terms of the The Gaming Industry and IO. I'm picking the Gaming Industry to compare it to the use of social media by militant/terrorist groups, because it falls closes to their model. In the nature of Al-Qaeda’s (AQ) sphere of influence and their use of the internet has changed, with how AQ operates as an independent organization, actual size, operations status, members, sympathizers, ideology, and their social environment. Weather they are going after a “homegrown radicalismy” or “homegrown terrorist/jihadist,” is utilizing the internet to reach out to a new generation and online activities. Just as the Gaming Industry (GI) deploys pop-cultural art work and slogans to their online messages to reach out to their members and sympathizers, so do militant/terrorist groups. Both AQ and GI are groups who implement their advertisements, propaganda, promotional trailers and filmed suicide bombing clips online, all for what; drive that message and recruitment. AQ and other militant and terrorist groups are using available “channels” of social media to promote its ideology and to communicate with its members, sympathizers, bomb makers and even leadership. This is why I point to the same lessons learned can be taken from how the Gaming Industry promotes its products by all means (channels) of the internet with their social media advertisements. The gaming industry uses YouTube for game trailers or “movies” on new games, Facebook with game profiles and groups, and Twitter to encourage gamer feedback and advertisements. Just as Gaming Industry has adapted in their methods, so has terrorist groups in theirs. They are using the social media platforms as they did the classical websites to message boards, to forums, blogs and emails to reach the youth of the nations they are in due to IMO the youth being more of a mobile “group” than a computer or internet café group. This is why I say it is more of the ENVIRONMENT and how we should be looking at this in the future. The tie to future of pre-deployment analysis and studies for some, not all and differently not every time or place. Yet does this tie any on the internet in terms of social media's role in protest, movements and revolutions that have happened or will happen?
Okay Oakie I'm going to ask you some question so we can look at CA IO within a given country, this is my understandings of what should be happening. I'll take you SME within CA Ops. Weather it really happens, who Frinkin really knows.
So if a CAT is going into country X, then you want to do some kind of targeted, planned, and coordinated observation and evaluation of those specific civil aspects of the environment of the country. Maybe doing some ASCOPE/ PMESII Matrix, some Datamining, collection on country X Govt, IGOs, NGOs, IPI and military. I would say that the purpose of collecting civil information would be to enhance situational understanding and facilitate decision making. CAO planners, in coordination with the Company or Battalion level civil-military operations center (CMOC). Just like I would be looking at my Core Task at the mission at hand, we take civil affairs Core Tasks and the CMOC conducting civil information management, especially when integrated into a SOTF or TSOC and Embassies. Now I saying just like SF, CAT and CMOCs have to do some kind of IPB and/or IPE before their deployment. Every commander has to visualization and achieve a clear understanding of the force’s current state with relation to the enemy and environment (situational understanding) developing a desired end state that represents mission accomplishment and the key tasks based of pre-deployment studies.
So if you take this topic of The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Political Protest, Movement, and Revolution. Along with Social Network Analysis (SNA), as the term is being coined, how would you as a 38A tie your "conventional methods" to enable your CAT & CMOC to study how and why social groups operate, interact and behave in particular ways?
dualforces
11-30-2013, 19:21
This may be of some use to the discussion. From RAND Europe,
Radicalisation in the digital era: The use of the internet in 15 cases of terrorism and extremism - Ines Von Behr, Anaïs Reding, Charlie Edwards, and Luke Gribbon, RAND: http://bit.ly/1773kQs
"We live in a digital era. In the UK alone 85 per cent of homes have internet access. As society increasingly embraces the internet, so opportunities for those wishing to use it for terrorism have grown. The internet offers terrorists and extremists the capability to communicate, collaborate and convince. In recent years, European policymakers, practitioners and the academic community have begun to examine how the internet influences the process of radicalisation: how a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism associated with terrorism"
my intention was is to illustrate the success of SM in relation to corporate marketing tied to a devout consumer base; in my mind that is AQ.
They are a complex adaptive system, whose hierarchical structure is related more to social and tribal connection, than authoritative direction.
It is what MC Chrystal and his staff presented, that was rejected by the admin, that led to his resignation, or at least, that was the story presented in our seminar on CAS.
That said, SM is successful in the hands of AQ and other non state groups, because it is a ubiquitous- low tech- commo, everyone has a cell phone...it, the association, has no formal structure, and reinforces contact nods base on familial and group association, not alignment to cause, cause is an adjunct.
Framing in this context supports like groups competing for the same limited resources, understanding that need opens areas for exploitation .
EDIT TO ADD: I just realized what thread this is 18F. I am completely out of my lane. MY sincere apologies.
my intention was is to illustrate the success of SM in relation to corporate marketing tied to a devout consumer base; in my mind that is AQ.
They are a complex adaptive system, whose hierarchical structure is related more to social and tribal connection, than authoritative direction.
It is what MC Chrystal and his staff presented, that was rejected by the admin, that led to his resignation, or at least, that was the story presented in our seminar on CAS.
That said, SM is successful in the hands of AQ and other non state groups, because it is a ubiquitous- low tech- commo, everyone has a cell phone...it, the association, has no formal structure, and reinforces contact nods base on familial and group association, not alignment to cause, cause is an adjunct.
Framing in this context supports like groups competing for the same limited resources, understanding that need opens areas for exploitation .
EDIT TO ADD: I just realized what thread this is 18F. I am completely out of my lane. MY sincere apologies.
PENN,
Maybe in my writing I came off wrong, I understood the illustration you were painting between HD and what they were or are doing on the internet and with SM. I JUST THINK we the military should look at the Gaming Indrustry and their foot print and usage of SM and how they networked. You can take just about any Indrustry and look at how, say: Sony, Nike, Gatorade or any clothing line. The best thing for our MISO NCOs and Officers to study is how thing are done online here in the US Indrustry and how things are in their AORs within SM and the internet.
Like Peregrino and Brush Okie pointed out, we are missing the boat on this big than $&?! I feel you have to study the social side of the country your going to. Does it play a big part, small part or what does it play.
Penn brought up a point, yes this is posted in 18F thread. Unless Admins have issues, I didn't post this in Technology news or General Discussions because I'm bring this topic to stimulate thought among 18F and 18 series on how internet, social media play within our planning, coordination and execution of missions. Using the title of The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Political Protest, Movement, and Revolution. How you as a person, maybe in the military, a support, an enabler or just a person working at Walmart. Like dualforces pointed, there are organizations, people, groups looking at this.
So with all of this rumbling of me. I'm all for anyone posting great dialog over what you know, think, feel or believe would add to this. I see this as 18Fs I know don't know how to do go tactical battlefield analysis. None this is my thinking, why. Most don't have a collection plan for their base. Most don't know how to think combat with HUMIT with basic Force Protection. Operations drive Intelligence and we all say Intelligence drivers Operations. But IMO we do more dart broad planning and sync operations at all levels. So from this soapbox, like it has been said, we behind on our online analysis and focus. DoD stood up a special organization just to study how the internet will play into the future battlefield. USASOC is conducting its own studies, along with AF, Navy and many others. I feel there are many different people here, some military, some in the IT fields, some in INTEL and most retirees from many fields that can provide insight.
I want dialog on what you think the Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Political Protest, Movement, and Revolution. What does Social Media have in the role with warfare maybe. From all of this, maybe guys will go back and bring up what we discuss and stimulate thought in team rooms, section cages or offices on internet and social media.
I find the discussion stimulating and hope it continues.
Trapper John
12-01-2013, 16:42
I find the discussion stimulating and hope it continues.
:lifter Me too and I am learning here! I wonder if we could expand this a bit and hold a little practicum for those who want to participate. What I am thinking is a project could be assigned, the class participants could open a Twitter account (for example) under a pseudonym, engage a target audience, and let the game begin. Report back in 30 days with what is learned. Not only would that be fun, we might see a few surprises too. MtnGoat, Penn, and Brush Okie could be the mentors if willing.
dualforces
12-01-2013, 17:32
I maybe be able to offer some insights. I work with Nike, VANS, and the gaming industry within what is referred to as the Global Influencer area. This area is the Tip of The Spear, so to speak, within culture, arts and commodities. Without getting too philosophical, I do see the major impediment to SM or any consumable created with intent on influence, is governmental layers. Much like Nike. The global influencer groups within large corps. hire my company almost as proxy to speak to the discerning consumer. Communications, product, consumables are highly sophisticated within our flat, hyper consuming world. Nike or other brands want authenticity that can only exist with a language spoken by the man on the ground.
Great discussion. I think a helpful way to re-model the thought, is to think of SM not just as a cyber paradigm. SM with influence can start with cyber and continue its life cycle into, say a pair of sneakers or film. Close the loop with a tangible and keep feeding. All the components need to align through focused branding to make it through all the noise.
This is an example of AQ utilizing an influencer media outlet with huge bandwidth>
VICE: British Nationals Fight with al Qaeda in Syria
http://youtu.be/7jD146Rx80k
Funny thing, I've actually contacted SOCOM to participate or formulate something for VICE around SF. My request made it through one email.
Feel free to contact me if I can give a hand. Cross pollination of ideas, industries, is much in need.
Great points!! We are thinking the same I feel, just at different waves right now.
First thing you can do is get someone that is skilled in the local language or culture, possible even native speaker to get on forums that many people in the target area go to. What you are looking for here is get a feeling for the attitudes and outlook of the local populace. Your best bet in this either in person or on the internet is talking to teenagers and young adults say fifteen to twenty five. They usually do not have the filters that adults do as we all know. Adults tend to be more “polite” and not express their true feelings. While all ages should be talked to and heard this age group tends to be more outspoken. The approach should not necessarily be “Hi I from the US Army” but more like hey my name is John Doe leaving out the fact you are in the military at least at first. The point is to integrate yourself into the “community” on the forum or forums just like we have all done here on PS. The benefits of this are that not only are you gathering data such as attitudes etc about the target area, the soldier is actually interacting with people from that culture and learning many of the nuances of the culture and language as well as hearing about local news and gossip that may not make the news or at least the viewpoint other than the news we all know is so accurate.
I wish we had native speakers, but this is the hardest part of all of this. As a military, our native speakers will be on the battlefield and elsewhere. If we are so lucky to have a guy that is a 2/2/2 and able to pull off fully understanding the written language with all the community "talk" with its dialects, jargons, slang; pidgins or argots, and idiolect to name a few. He would be great, yet would he be behind a computer. The manning and the man hours spent will not add up, No man power equal lack of man hours, which like business nothing gets done. IMO, Sometime your not looking to "learn" from the people on their culture or motivations. Maybe just research on their key viewpoints behind the motivations as a person or group. There are a number of programs that will look at foreign languages within social media a look for your key words for you to research. This is just like what you can do with google alerts (http://www.google.com/alerts/manage). So from this, then I say you can go with the human touch on key "alerts." But keeping in mind that social media may not start or drive a movement or revolution, yet looking at what is going on social media or with social networks can help in many different avenues. Looking at your ENVIRONMENT.
A second approach is a targeted approach. Have your S2/G2 shop help you in this. Say there is a local person of importance in the target area where you are going to be. Find out where that person or his loved ones frequents on the internet and go to that forum and join. Again you are looking to join the community and if possible interact with the person or people close to them. From this you get more than the official face and an inside look at their personal side that will help you in your interactions with them if and when you meet them in the AO. You may find out they have a twitter account you can follow of find out they have a strained relationship with their spouse. You can also get a feel for their personality, for instance what could you tell me about Reapers personality just from this forum? Do you think he is a guy you want to convince to help implement gun control in his local community? Did he vote for the current president?
YES, I'm in the same boat here. We need to look at what is going on with the ENVIRONMENT on SM and conduct Social Network Analysis (SNA) to find out who, what, when, where and how "things" are driving, influencing and motivations for the movement/revolution. Looking at what ROLES are contributing to the movement. On the personality side, I don't know how much you can "profile" off of social media. I know people do it, but at our level I don't see it happening. I feel that you can develop a lot based off what post someone has posted and what you have found. I think you could find demographics a lot faster as far as who is who and using what.
But with everything, this takes a team to do this.This is one side we are missing out on, The team. Just like you CA units, the CMOCs and how they are to play into a CATs deployment and execution of missions. If you making Company level or Fusion Cell, you can just have a bunch of ASAP Analyst, HUMINT or CI guys, or Linguists. You have to have people that understand the cyber world. I say you add to add the new 35Q cryptologic network warfare specialist and the 25D cyber network defender to the SF Battalions and to some of the new levels coming up. Yes you can also take the f3ead targeting process and turn it into a cyber one. You can't think you can't "talk" to someone and in turn, why not target them in cyber. Gen McChrystal to this to the best level with Gen Flynn. I think the best team would have to have your INFOSEC guy, journalist, medical field, analysis, CNO (Computer Network Operations) , Geospatial Intelligence Imagery Analyst, Logisticians, maybe even anthropologist just name a few. Big business does this for marketing, pulling different walks of the business to research and come up with a action plan, our engagement plan, for our SM ENVIRONMENT.
The next approach is a little different in that you are just looking for contacts there. You meet someone on the forum that is a local business man that may be a community organizer sympathetic to your goals. When you go there he may be a good POC to meet others in the AO and network into the community.
Another approach is networking through places like Facebook etc. You can do this by the usual approaches such as invites etc. One way is to provide a link to your twitter account or Facebook account you want them to see. Just interact normally and openly on the forum with the link in your signature line to places you would like them to look at.
This whole FINDING contact and business side I'll get into what I think we can be using and doing as far as with SM and movements. The SM network approach has so many possibilities, just like businesses do with online marketing. Then to look at the exploitation, analysis and Metadata of SM is just crazy. As far as the RESCOM and those CA issues, I feel for you My Sir.
So how do you communicate online? Your you just a forums person like PS.COM and others? You Facebook? LinkedIn? Have a Twitter account and check you feeds? You SnapChat with your girlfriend, so those pictures are gone in 15 seconds?
So with everything you use and do, post, read, visit online. Do you think something like the Arab Spring could be supported by your activities? Which accounts or Groups do you follow, how could they effect or affect the support base of the movement? Would your activities be conducive through your “channels” of social media to promote a ideology and to communicate with members, sympathizers, bomb makers and even leadership?
:lifter Me too and I am learning here! I wonder if we could expand this a bit and hold a little practicum for those who want to participate. What I am thinking is a project could be assigned, the class participants could open a Twitter account (for example) under a pseudonym, engage a target audience, and let the game begin. Report back in 30 days with what is learned. Not only would that be fun, we might see a few surprises too. MtnGoat, Penn, and Brush Okie could be the mentors if willing.
My input on practicum, I'll be post some free site that you can do a lot with once people hit on them in the discussion. I think they will open your eyes as far as what you can do online.
I maybe be able to offer some insights. I work with Nike, VANS, and the gaming industry within what is referred to as the Global Influencer area. This area is the Tip of The Spear, so to speak, within culture, arts and commodities. Without getting too philosophical, I do see the major impediment to SM or any consumable created with intent on influence, is governmental layers. Much like Nike. The global influencer groups within large corps. hire my company almost as proxy to speak to the discerning consumer. Communications, product, consumables are highly sophisticated within our flat, hyper consuming world. Nike or other brands want authenticity that can only exist with a language spoken by the man on the ground.
Great discussion. I think a helpful way to re-model the thought, is to think of SM not just as a cyber paradigm. SM with influence can start with cyber and continue its life cycle into, say a pair of sneakers or film. Close the loop with a tangible and keep feeding. All the components need to align through focused branding to make it through all the noise.
This is an example of AQ utilizing an influencer media outlet with huge bandwidth>
VICE: British Nationals Fight with al Qaeda in Syria
http://youtu.be/7jD146Rx80k
Funny thing, I've actually contacted SOCOM to participate or formulate something for VICE around SF. My request made it through one email.
Feel free to contact me if I can give a hand. Cross pollination of ideas, industries, is much in need.
I hear what your saying. I have watch Podcasts over online SM marketing and the business approach audience targeting online.
I feel, a lot of what business does online, we can be doing about the same. Weather in research, connecting, assess where we can get our biggest bang for our buck. We have our engagement plans and business has their action plans or business plans. Basically the same thing, just different terms.
The research we do before we deploy maybe looking at the battlefield or our environment and then we must turn it into a integrated marketing strategy for SM networks and their individuals, groups or organizations. Just like industry does from their marketing.
What are the SM pattern and doing online pattern recognition and indicators. Just like in marketing. Conduct our own Netnography on the different social networks sampling. But making the Netnographer or finding one it the long hard road. I say We have to do both targeted linkage and search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns require an investment of time. Breaking down how different industries do it can be tricky, yet not knowing is not a good reason.
The major impediment to SM would be the consumable created with intent on influence of what your market audience. Nothing new, maybe fancy, but taking current models as using them.
To understand social media, it’s about the “street”, whether it’s a company or a revolution, and the most direct way in understand the immediacy of crowd sourcing, or massing protest is to review a commercial template that incorporates the allegiance to brand and connection to the street, be it Mao, Che, or Obama.
That said, in the commercial zone, look no further than Harley Davidson owning the street; with 3.5 million avid Facebook HD devotees, HD long ago turned their web site to their ridership. (think of this as cell phone text swarming) HD encouraged the ridership to post pic’s that showed attitude, bikes, life style. In essence, “you, the average rider are HD”. In doing so, HD acknowledge in the SM context that they could not control their image or message, so they enlisted the ridership to do so.
The ridership is loyal to the point, that they Tattoo the “HD” brand to various points on their body, sometimes in multiplies. This loyalty is comparable to any cult, CAS, particularly, AQ in that context.
But, in relation to the storied history of Harley Davidson Motorcycles it’s co opied- ingrained in the American psyche as the iconic free spirited outlaw, as a marketing strategy established with the formation of the company. The imaging of HD is the foundational underpinning of Harley Davidson current social media marketing program in context to the 110 years of freedom campaign, in that sense, its a SM strategy.
For eg. this past September, 2013, Harley Davidson Motorcycles was 110 years old. The company celebration is a worldwide affair, and as such, Harley Davidson is engaged globally across the following social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vimeo, and its own expansive and interactive web site. Harley Davidson’s event twitter account is #HD110, launched in 2012 in China, for the event “Crossing Tibetan Plateau”, between Aug 04 - 09, was an international political and public relation success. (http://110.harley-davidson.com/en_US/events/china2012) And most recently in Goa, India http://110.harley-davidson.com/en_US/events/goa Instagram #HD110INDIA
Harley Davidson’s successful use of these two platforms is evident with numbers of a third platform used to promote its brand. Utilizing Vimeo as the video platform to showcase riders experience and Harley lore. AQ does this with its martyr program.
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Harley Davidson's established Facebook page is the company's fourth social media platform, and with 4.5 million fans, is easily one of the most popular contra brand marketers of America’s S & P 500 corporate elites. Harley Davidson with reference to social platform Vimeo, recognized there was a need for viewer content and set up “Ridebook”, a section where videos could be uploaded and shared with the rider base. HD behaves as a CAS SM system.
Eg: Ridebook is Harley Davidson’s intersection of brand to emotion and customer/rider connection, emphasizing the iconic free spirit, enhancing the Harley gypsy outlaw-esque myth, as the following statement readily illustrates. “Ridebook is the riding manual from the voice of those few who cherish the search for new scenery with the wind in their face. A glimpse into a stripped down lifestyle, free of the clutter and filled with style, quality, and the essentials”. Image = self actualization.
Ride book’s “Ghost town USA” video embodies all the classic iconic myth making of the American West. In doing so, Harley Davidson reaches back to our American idealized past to create the linkage to the riders, creating their own relationship with myth and legend on the back of a Harley. In “Ghost towns” Harley Davidson reminds us “there is a violent truth to places like this, where people struggle to survive”, Harley’s implied myth attachment, enriches its own lore of acquiring rough knowledge in forbidden places. http://ridebook.harley-davidson.com/#!/ghosttowns
This imaging is a continuing content thread in all things concerning Harley Davidson. In the video Iron & Resin 2013 teaser http://vimeo.com/53129614, released on March 27, as of April 3, has 16.3K listens, and is an equally compelling story filled with folklore and possible discover.
What is unique about this social media video platform usage is the available opportunity for customer engagement, participation, and the real sense of voice in the Harley Davidson experience, here the nexus of social media campaign, brand, and customer merge. Harley Davidson provides an avenue for the client to upload their video’s, to tell their stories of the open road, a second level engagement vehicle that encourages partnership and the ultimately the big prize, Brand Loyalty. “Your Video Belongs Here, Share a Moment or a Masterpiece”, the add on beckons, join free, click, and you are in.
Another interesting social media-advertising segment, included in all the video’s, is the age bracket of Harley’s ideal consumer it is reaching for. In the video “The Prohibition Tour” a group of diverse riders travel up highway 101, from LA to Napa, it’s cool, but the subliminal messaging was age and technology, as one of the riders present’s “his” story, he states how discovering a charging hook up for his iPhone on his Harley change the nature of his connection, by having the choice to listen to what he wanted to, rather than the “played out music on the radio”, equals choice, action, Harley Davidson.
According to The Media Audit, a majority of motorcycle owners are married (59.2 percent) with an average age of 41 years. Adults who own a motorcycle earn $77,714 in annual household income, a figure that is $12,424 higher than the household income for the average U.S. adult.
Considering the average Harley Davidson owner is 41 years old, and by contrast, those who use Vimeo are a generation removed, Harley Davidson social media program is succeeding in appealing to, and expanding its client base via these various social media platforms, platforms which are not all that familiar to Harley Davidson’s core clientele base in the age range 50-65 years of age. The social media platforms are familiar to this new generation of riders. Harley Davidson recognizes this and uses these social media platforms to recruit the next generation of riders, 17% of owners are 35 or younger, which means the company has made significant inroads to a younger demographic.
The video “Tomcats Barbershop” epitomizes this cultural hipness. The storytelling is actually a demographic profile verbally actualized, its shockingly honest in its brevity, combine with voices that are listenable, it is a pure message of identification, of who we are, what we represent, and where we belong. http://ridebook.harley-davidson.com/#!/tomcats
SM media new venue - social video
Here's that attached Harvard Business Review Article about Online Communities called:
Getting Brand Communities Right
Written by Susan Fournier and Lara Lee, both of whom had long involvement with HD's community engagement strategies.
A couple of interesting highlights that can easily convert from the corporate business to the conflict business:
Brand communities exist on contrast and conflict, not love
Brand communities exist to serve their members’ needs—not your business.
Communities are strongest when all members—not just opinion leaders— have roles.
MYTH: Successful brand communities are tightly man- aged and controlled.
I have this idea in my head about Social Media for military operations being used much like some consumer brands aggressively seeking out and carefully recruiting/nurturing key influencers within certain communities to "lease their credibility".
There are examples of very small but very aggressive clothing brands recruiting key influencers of high school age and plying them with free merchandise as a form of guerrilla marketing due to their considerable online influence and credibility.
Trapper John
12-02-2013, 12:56
Native speakers is one of the area your reserve CA/MISO can be an asset. We have several native speakers. The last CA course I was involved in teaching actually had a native Russian speaker. As for time before a computer it does not take a lot of time. The soldier doing the work can check in a few minutes throughout the day using a smart phone if they need to. Start taking a look at reserve assets more than you do. While many times they may not be as tactically proficient they may have a skill set you need. It used to be that to get into CA you had to bring something to the table. I got in due to my medical training, Combat engineer MOS and I used to work with my grandfather drilling wells. That sadly is not the case anymore.
As for communicating on line it is another tool in the box. You still need to walk and talk, drop leaflets for the MISO and other ways of communicating. I think the Army and even SOF has lost the point that people are the key. We have always been good at kicking in doors and shooting bad guys in the face we forget that communicating with PEOPLE, be they civilians, HN officials or even the enemy has many benefits. SN is just another way to enact that principal.
An example I would like to use is from the book SAS Secret war. Required reading at the British War College. They were operating in Oman in a COIN operation. Long story short they were doing a MEDCAP mission and they allowed one of the guerrillas to watch the mission. He was openly an insurgent. They knew etc and under ROE could have taken him prisoner. They didn't. They allowed him to watch and talked to him. A few days later he came over to their side bringing someone else with him.
Here is a link to the book. Very good info and like I said used to be required reading for the Brits. May still be on their list.
http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Secret-War-Tony-Jeapes/dp/0004708997
:lifter Great points BO! I especially like the story from the SAS Secret War.
From what I am gleaning from this and other threads, there is and has been a tendency towards overspecialization whether it is MOS or unit mission focus. (Would you believe this is the 4th time today that I have had a conversation with 4 different people on 4 different issues that ended up making this same point.)
I see the same problem in business/industry/academia. IMHO, successful COIN or UW requires generalists to successfully plan and execute. Skilled in various disciplines/arts to be sure, but capable of seeing and operating in the bigger picture. At the end of the day it always comes down to human-human interaction and the basics (hierarchy of needs).
The story from the SAS Secret War exemplifies that point exceptionally well and I can assure you is not unique. Most of the time our decision base is intuitive anyway. All of the other inputs into the intelligence matrix are framing the environment. SM is just one more tool in the kit, IMO. A potentially important and useful tool, but a tool nonetheless.
I think the focus of the SOCOM mission on the Human Domain is precisely the right direction and emphasis. That is where all future conflicts will be won or lost and how many many more conflicts can be averted.
Native speakers is one of the area your reserve CA/MISO can be an asset. We have several native speakers. The last CA course I was involved in teaching actually had a native Russian speaker. As for time before a computer it does not take a lot of time. The soldier doing the work can check in a few minutes throughout the day using a smart phone if they need to. Start taking a look at reserve assets more than you do. While many times they may not be as tactically proficient they may have a skill set you need. It used to be that to get into CA you had to bring something to the table. I got in due to my medical training, Combat engineer MOS and I used to work with my grandfather drilling wells. That sadly is not the case anymore.
As for communicating on line it is another tool in the box. You still need to walk and talk, drop leaflets for the MISO and other ways of communicating. I think the Army and even SOF has lost the point that people are the key. We have always been good at kicking in doors and shooting bad guys in the face we forget that communicating with PEOPLE, be they civilians, HN officials or even the enemy has many benefits. SN is just another way to enact that principal.
An example I would like to use is from the book SAS Secret war. Required reading at the British War College. They were operating in Oman in a COIN operation. Long story short they were doing a MEDCAP mission and they allowed one of the guerrillas to watch the mission. He was openly an insurgent. They knew etc and under ROE could have taken him prisoner. They didn't. They allowed him to watch and talked to him. A few days later he came over to their side bringing someone else with him.
Here is a link to the book. Very good info and like I said used to be required reading for the Brits. May still be on their list.
http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Secret-War-Tony-Jeapes/dp/0004708997
Well that maybe the reserve component, yet on the active side we don't have many native speakers. Yet even with native speakers how many do you have? Yes he can check his SM network feeds or pages, etc. But how many in a day. Just like with any kind of intelligence disciplines, Its about the differences in Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination.
SM is OSINT and Open Source is anything overtly, legally gathered that is published both traditional and electronic. So no matter how many of the collection tools, analytical processes and objectives there are. I feel you still have look the same way as other disciplines and vary for tactical, operational and strategic uses. Human factor or not. Critical elements in SM include the human terrain and contextual aspects of available information collected from online sources. Emerging technology has opened the aperture on what is knowable and enables planners for preparation of operations.
The SAS are IMO the master of how to properly execute a COIN operation. From the secret war to rhodesian SAS, they all get it and have the freedom to operate.
Flagg I have this idea in my head about Social Media for military operations being used much like some consumer brands aggressively seeking out and carefully recruiting/nurturing key influencers within certain communities to "lease their credibility".
This is the current contra model employed in my industry, where corporate, or series owned restaurant groups, employ in house PR to post for their benefit -superlative comments, especially when a negative occurs, they swarm and bury it. It's one method of "Brand" protecting = your rating, but requires constant attention.
Recruiting clients to post on your behalf is a long engagement process, which moves in the exact same way any relationship building does, based on commonality, trust, and support.
Like's do not matter, commentary does.
In that regard, site development to engage in projecting and developing an image is first formed with your grp or company. Google allows each member to have multi-media email accounts, and they can have accounts exponentially; each has to build its own credentials, once that's accomplished they are certified by the hosting site as a "Star" contributor in some fashion or another, posting on others to create "substance", but are really a defensive force in protecting the reputation of home base. JQP see's it as authoritative and knowledgeable reporting.
frostfire
12-03-2013, 01:15
Well that maybe the reserve component, yet on the active side we don't have many native speakers. Yet even with native speakers how many do you have? Yes he can check his SM network feeds or pages, etc. But how many in a day. Just like with any kind of intelligence disciplines, Its about the differences in Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination.
SM is OSINT and Open Source is anything overtly, legally gathered that is published both traditional and electronic. So no matter how many of the collection tools, analytical processes and objectives there are. I feel you still have look the same way as other disciplines and vary for tactical, operational and strategic uses. Human factor or not. Critical elements in SM include the human terrain and contextual aspects of available information collected from online sources. Emerging technology has opened the aperture on what is knowable and enables planners for preparation of operations.
The SAS are IMO the master of how to properly execute a COIN operation. From the secret war to rhodesian SAS, they all get it and have the freedom to operate.
IIRC in a briefing, AWG and USASEID are doing some form of this already. I always wish there are more collaboration among folks belonging to the same side. This is old news, but DHS surely has much to share on this topic too! http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/01/welcome-dhs-agents.html
I concur with the native speaker challenges. There were much discussion some years back here about regional misalignment with the SF pipeline, changes to language at the end, etc. When you have an ethnic oriental with high DLAB assigned French, it makes one wonder. The mismanagement of plenty MAVNI personnel assigned to USASOC is another wonder. It seems those assigned to Lewis are handled more properly. In my limited observation, the same with active CA too. Hell, I did not get to go to where I could make most difference despite native language and cultural proficiency.
:lifter Me too and I am learning here! I wonder if we could expand this a bit and hold a little practicum for those who want to participate. What I am thinking is a project could be assigned, the class participants could open a Twitter account (for example) under a pseudonym, engage a target audience, and let the game begin. Report back in 30 days with what is learned. Not only would that be fun, we might see a few surprises too. MtnGoat, Penn, and Brush Okie could be the mentors if willing.
That surely would be fun! I am still waiting for Demosthenes and Locke :cool: I've met a few "Valentine's" that I'm most certain could have pulled it off. Thank goodness for teenage distraction these days lol:D
I think we are thinking the same way, just stating it different. Reserve CA/MISO is available to active units, all it takes is paperwork.
While CA is NOT Intel the fact is we tend to collect a LOT of HUMINT by the nature of what we do, ie we talk to alot of people including civilians but because we are not S2/G2 commanders many times do not want to listen to what we have to say and we are put off to the side for "more important" things. Well CA used to do that, now they go around and make pay offs to dirty contractors.
Do an area assessment. Have a couple of guys just walk around and BS with the locals at coffee shops etc for a while and see what they come up with. You can do this on your next time out of the country or your next vacation. Anyone here can do this exercise. Look up an area not familiar to you. Go there and just hang out and get to know the locals.
CA and the HUMINT side. I know what CA to be able to as far as "collecting," but today I don't see it. 4-5 years ago there was a cry from USACAPOC for CA soldiers to go to our collectors course. Good reason, but not the same. My argument for not allowing CA to attend is you have people that can tell your soldiers what they they need to be doing. Collection mainly for Force Protection or so kind of LLSO. Each Batt, like SF has the MID and within there you have a CI section. That's good enough IMO.
I'm bring this up, not to get off on a CA and SF COLLECTION topic. But you bring up a great point that SF have missed out on. I always said that every SFODA section; 18B,C,D, and E should have one of them go to the two course. This would allow both the Fox and Threes the ability to "tap" into them. Also Charlie's work with local labors, Bravos too. Medics, well clinics, easy one. Echo, I still don't know, but they are there and will mingle with locals. So like CA they can collect, but even if these sections go to the two course they still need to know what to collect. Atmospherics is Sanitation, Healthcare, Power, Food, Water… and measurable, yet what is collectible. This is why I feel a collection plan is so important. You do IPB say, find gaps and now develop a engagement plan, a collection plan on how your going to find these gaps. What is measurable!! Teams are not doing this, from what I have seen. A good Fox and Three can direct the different sections, CA people and others; telling them what to ask about or for. So as a fox and three, you're synced. Many are not and it's dart board engagements for operations or just going a hunts.
So with all that said, yes we do need the face to face time in the long run. But I'm also looking at this as a time where you CAN NOT go into that country and get boots on the ground. SM and employment of IPE with analysis and visualization of Social Networks maybe your only option. This was done with Syria and Iran to date.
For me I look at SNA and how SM help us build a template of the Threat Process Model? Can it? Where are we going gathering information to fill in gaps on? How does this (SNA) support a collection management plan? Going with the CA HUMINT thought, which is a right way, and if you roll it up into a LLSO FP that you have people, soldiers, CA, MISO, ETC providing (collecting) the "talk on the street". Yet on SM with, Social Network Platform, how do we find the streets? Where do we go looking? Why do we even care to go looking online? I am not sure when this morphed into sentiment analysis or capabilities. But I'm looking at SM with a country apart of a protest, movement, insurgency, revolution as OSINT. Like other disciplines, they must answer three questions typically: Who benefits from this event/information? Why now? and so what?
For a Intelligence side of the house, most should know TCEPD cycle - Tasking Collection Processing Exploitation and Dissemination. Most forget this acronym TCEPD, but it really doesn't differ from use with other disciplines. Many of the collection tools, analytical processes and objectives are the same and vary for tactical, operational and strategic uses.
So what role does Social Media have in mobilizing protest, movement, insurgency, revolutions in a country? Or does it play a role? Can you find a tangible matrix of measure from Social Network Analysis (SNA).
Okay try a new direction for this subject. Not much input now. So I'm going with the assumption that SM plays into protest, movements and/or revolutions in a country. So I'm going down a road most of us know, insurgency/asymmetric warfare.
No matter which Intel Disciplines is used it's still all about how one uses the differences in Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination. Most ArcGiS, AnB and Palantir. For me this is some ideas I have for using SM within Intel Cycle and doing some Social Network Analysis (SNA). Here is my assessment broken down for thought and digesting.
Planning and Direction. The first step in the cycle, planning and direction, involves the management of the entire intelligence effort, from the identification of a need for data to the final delivery of the intelligence product to the consumer. The process consists of identifying, prioritizing, and validating intelligence requirements, translating requirements into observables, preparing collection plans, issuing requests for information collection, production, and dissemination, and continuously monitoring the availability of collected data. In this step specific collection capabilities are tasked, based on the type of information required, the susceptibility of the targeted activity to various types of collection activity, and the availability of collection assets. (http://www.fas.org/irp/nsa/ioss/threat96/part02.htm)
Intelligence Preparations of the Battlefield (IPB) is noteworthy for its flexibility. IPB is still a sound method and has useful applications to today's contemporary operating environment. And yes it has been adapted by inter-agencies and law enforcement as well. However, it is not a comprehensive solution. IPB was developed to fight the Soviet bloc forces in the Fulda Gap of northern Europe. Its predictive/estimative value (most likely/most dangerous course of action) was derived from the Red Army's rigid adherence to published doctrine. The Gulf War destroyed adversarial faith in Soviet doctrine, leaving many adversary states and non-state actors to develop their own unpublished doctrine. We now use IPB to fit a newer need, yet fundamentally flawed in most settings. Because of this the IPB theme was changed by NGA to fit this insurgency/asymmetric in what is now Intelligence Preparation of the Environment (IPE or sometimes Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment -- IPOE). So now we have Social Network Analysis (SNA) which is about entities and the relationships between them online or cyber. SNA has a number of variations within the intelligence community ranging from techniques such as association matrices through link analysis charts for visualization, right up to the validated mathematical models of statistics and data. Most Intelligence analyst knows I2's Analyst Notebook and Palantir for visualization linkage charts yet many Analysts don’t know how we can look at SM to conduct a threat modeling process in SNA for operations. Does SNA answer the basic question of what the Information will be used for Intelligence?
We is something to think about, the normal way of doing things with standard software.
http://youtu.be/FXTxs2UqHY4
Collection. The second step in the intel cycle is collection, includes both acquiring information and provisioning that information to processing and production elements. The collection process encompasses the management of various activities, including developing collection guidelines that ensure optimal use of available intelligence resources. Intelligence collection requirements are developed to meet the needs of potential consumers. Based upon identified intelligence, requirements collection activities are given specific taskings to collect information. These taskings are generally redundant and may use a number of different intelligence disciplines for collection activities. Tasking redundancy compensates for the potential loss or failure of a collection asset. It ensures that the failure of a collection asset is compensated for by duplicate or different assets capable of answering the collection need. The use of different types of collection systems contributes to redundancy. It also allows the collection of different types of information that can be used to confirm or disprove potential assessments. Collection operations depend on secure, rapid, redundant, and reliable communications to allow for data exchange and to provide opportunities for cross-cueing of assets and tip-off exchanges between assets. Once collected, information is correlated and forwarded for processing and production. (http://www.fas.org/irp/nsa/ioss/threat96/part02.htm)
So within SNA, how does the Intelligence collection requirement relates to mapping, understanding, analyzing and measuring interactions across a network of people? Social Networks, both formal and informal can foster a knowledge sharing among individual, groups, participants, and organizations. SNA collection of SM information lays emphasis on large scale distributed information of participants in SM networks over a period of time. Using SNA software ability to relate one message to another, one post on a SM platform to other posts, and capture data from identities, personalities, locations, content, DTG of postings and messages to chronology logs of all actions in a “community.” Yet we can’t just use one system like we have been doing with the fall back AnB or Palantir just because it is easy to use. We have to be able to use of different types of collection systems contributes to redundancy in analyzing what our specific taskings to collect information from SM. You should be asking, why do I need to be looking at SM for information? Just as with any collection process, for SNA you are encompasses the management of various activities in cyber, including developing the same things you would be looking for in different intelligence disciplines for collection activities. Just because we are cyber it doesn’t change the way we operate. Just as in HUMINT you would be doing the same things are you would on a street corner, now your café is online. SM is OSINT at the heart of it; but still must be balanced with other disciplines when possible.
Freely available Social Network Analysis (SNA) Software
(Keep in mind that most of these use and/or produce a EXCELL spread sheet, so it can be used in other software we have now)
Netdraw: http://www.analytictech.com/downloadnd.htm
NodeXL: http://www.connectedaction.net/nodexl/ (NodeXL at this time can collect data from your Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, or Youtube accounts and graph them.)
+++ YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/39yXz72qdow
Gephi: www.gephi.org (Can collect data from your Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter accounts and graph them.)
***Understanding Gephi: http://www.martingrandjean.ch/introduction-to-network-visualization-gephi/
+++ YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/bXCBh6QH5W0
ORA: http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/projects/ora/index.php (Go to the software tab to download)
UCINET: downloads | ucinetsoftware but you need NetDraw to network visualization.
Visible Path
FOCA 3.2: (great for Metadata obtaining/analysis) http://www.informatica64.com/foca.aspx. +++YouTube Videos: http://youtu.be/XVjZEijbekw
This is a good list breaking down of different softwares for your viewing pleasures. http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/tools/tools.php
Purchase available Social Network Analysis (SNA) Software. Just the better ones I've seem employed.
Maltego: http://www.paterva.com/web6/products/maltego.php. (I really like this software)
+++ YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/e33NSUkyEg0
NetMinwe4: http://www.netminer.com/index.php#! (Can collect data from your Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, or Youtube accounts and visualization them.)
+++ YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/9GZVhmZou_c
Examples of SNA Collection. http://s4rsa.wikispaces.com/Social+Network+Analysis
If you look at the free SNA software, you see there is a lot you can do. FOCA is great at "looking" at and within file. Metadata if you don't know what that is, google it. Pictures too, I saw one where they went onto three dating sites, LinkedIn and FB; all free accounts and every picture got all kinds of user information. The Metadata. The other funny thing, was all the pictures that picture block faces, "painted" over rooms, backgrounds and other things. Well FOCA "unpainted" all the pictures. It opened my eyes bigger than $&!#.
Yes principles are the same, for me the process stays the same too. The Old Days of doing link analysis was 3x5 cards and photos taped to a wall, chalk boards, and white boards, just migrated to the computers and use of software. Like the old Cold War days of the five book set of the Soviet Union doctrine and tactics. We could go off indicators based off their doctrine and tactics. No THINK TANK has a full study, good white paper or anything studying the indicators of SM. Well I haven't read any.
It’s just like Intelligence Cycle, invented over 50 years ago, yet the basics of the principles are there, and the process still works.
I'm going with my basics of the linkage analysis and add them to a SNA process:
•Identifying the network of people to be analyzed (e.g. Individual, team, group, and organizations).
•Gathering background information – finding within/on SM network platforms the key players and individuals, understand the specific needs and actions.
•Clarifying objectives, defining the scope of the analysis and agreeing on the level of reporting required for Commanders.
•Formulating hypotheses and questions of what the defined problem or questions are.
•Developing the methodology and designing the Gaps questionnaire.
•”Surveying” the individuals in the network to identify the relationships and knowledge flows between them.
•Use a network visualization software mapping tools to visually map out the SM network.
•Reviewing the map and develop a library for the modeling, analysis, and visualization of SM network data.
•Designing and implementing actions to bring about desired changes within the “system.”
•Mapping the network and how the ability to extract "who", "what", "where", "when" and "why" facts and then drill down to understand people, places and events and how they are related.
This isn’t just about doing an IPB as in an IPE/IPOE. This could be used in many ways. Say how SOF uses SM when you have militants targeting passenger trains, gas pipelines, security forces, and kidnapping NGO workers in the area for more than a (X-Time) whereas incidents of kidnapping for ransom have also risen (Y-Time) recently. So if militant groups are using YouTube to spread their propaganda (ransom requests, videos of IED Explosions). Can we use SNA for a IO counter-campaign? Tracking, indicators of the militants? Looking at what they are doing on SM and how we can use for or against what they are doing. Within the IW, UW and Integrated Asymmetric Warfare Environment (IAWE) can we use SNA? I say yes, we have people looking at what the business world is doing for their business network analysis and just like the ODAA loop in business changed to Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) cycle. What can we do or change?
frostfire
12-06-2013, 22:36
FOCA is great at "looking" at and within file. Metadata if you don't know what that is, google it. Pictures too, I saw one where they went onto three dating sites, LinkedIn and FB; all free accounts and every picture got all kinds of user information. The Metadata. The other funny thing, was all the pictures that picture block faces, "painted" over rooms, backgrounds and other things. Well FOCA "unpainted" all the pictures. It opened my eyes bigger than $&!#.
Thank you so very much for all these posts, MtnGoat. Yes, I was all wide-eyed too. Considering all the implications, that's scary *****.
When I perused those softwares, I didn't see much noise suppression though. Information is only as good as the knowledge one can extract from it.
I genuinely felt smarter going through and rereading this thread. As I delve further in the IC, I'd be grand to meet you and pick your brain barring OPSEC/PERSEC of course.
Ditto with Brush Okie on disinformation. Misdirection works well from the hand-to-hand level all the way to strategic.
Trapper John
12-07-2013, 13:03
A thought here. Besides the ideas you have above (all good) how about SM web for information support for resources etc. For instance on the CA side how to build a sand filter for water and videos of your success and or information with links to gather intel. An example is the FBI most wanted but have a website dedicated with links, videos etc. Even a tip line of sorts ie email address to send intel from anyone that might have some.
You could have plans for building basic community projects, how to videos, etc etc. and even a forum section for people to post etc. This would be a type of collection point, PR, CA, MISO cyber point. It would also be a great big target for the bad guys and that in its self can be an asset when you give them a "target" their attacks can be traced. Also if the anti American folks want to come on we can even have some dialogue with them in a safe manner much like my earlier example with the SAS on Oman did.
I am far from an electronics guy but the server etc would be independent from government servers etc so if it did go down it will not affect the rest of the govt web sites.
Just kicking around some ideas that may sound nuts or be impractical but sometimes kicking around crazy ideas brings out a good workable solution. This coud even be done at team, company or Bn. level for a specific region, country or population within a country.
Once again, BO, we are thinking alike. (This is getting scary weird, so stop it. :D)
I was thinking almost exactly the same thing, but more in reference to Twitter.
I signed up for a Twitter account several months ago as an experiment to pulse attitudes, etc. particularly the 20-30 yo age group. One of the things that I noticed (or think that I noticed) is that as you post and develop a posting history, select folks to follow, and accrue followers, that Twitter segregates you into groups of of like minded users and isolated from the rest of the Twitterverse.
I doubt that SM can be used to mobilize protests or revolutions as was the original question of this thread. However, it would appear that SM could be useful in mapping groups that are potential assets or potential targets.
Might be interesting to try this as a little experiment.
Collection. The second step in the intel cycle is collection, includes both acquiring information and provisioning that information to processing and production elements. The collection process encompasses the management of various activities, including developing collection guidelines that ensure optimal use of available intelligence resources. Intelligence collection requirements are developed to meet the needs of potential consumers. Based upon identified intelligence, requirements collection activities are given specific taskings to collect information. These taskings are generally redundant and may use a number of different intelligence disciplines for collection activities. Tasking redundancy compensates for the potential loss or failure of a collection asset. It ensures that the failure of a collection asset is compensated for by duplicate or different assets capable of answering the collection need. The use of different types of collection systems contributes to redundancy. It also allows the collection of different types of information that can be used to confirm or disprove potential assessments. Collection operations depend on secure, rapid, redundant, and reliable communications to allow for data exchange and to provide opportunities for cross-cueing of assets and tip-off exchanges between assets. Once collected, information is correlated and forwarded for processing and production. (http://www.fas.org/irp/nsa/ioss/threat96/part02.htm)
So within SNA, how does the Intelligence collection requirement relates to mapping, understanding, analyzing and measuring interactions across a network of people? Social Networks, both formal and informal can foster a knowledge sharing among individual, groups, participants, and organizations. SNA collection of SM information lays emphasis on large scale distributed information of participants in SM networks over a period of time. Using SNA software ability to relate one message to another, one post on a SM platform to other posts, and capture data from identities, personalities, locations, content, DTG of postings and messages to chronology logs of all actions in a “community.” Yet we can’t just use one system like we have been doing with the fall back AnB or Palantir just because it is easy to use. We have to be able to use of different types of collection systems contributes to redundancy in analyzing what our specific taskings to collect information from SM. You should be asking, why do I need to be looking at SM for information? Just as with any collection process, for SNA you are encompasses the management of various activities in cyber, including developing the same things you would be looking for in different intelligence disciplines for collection activities. Just because we are cyber it doesn’t change the way we operate. Just as in HUMINT you would be doing the same things are you would on a street corner, now your café is online. SM is OSINT at the heart of it; but still must be balanced with other disciplines when possible.
Freely available Social Network Analysis (SNA) Software
(Keep in mind that most of these use and/or produce a EXCELL spread sheet, so it can be used in other software we have now)
Netdraw: http://www.analytictech.com/downloadnd.htm
NodeXL: http://www.connectedaction.net/nodexl/ (NodeXL at this time can collect data from your Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, or Youtube accounts and graph them.)
+++ YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/39yXz72qdow
Gephi: www.gephi.org (Can collect data from your Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter accounts and graph them.)
***Understanding Gephi: http://www.martingrandjean.ch/introduction-to-network-visualization-gephi/
+++ YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/bXCBh6QH5W0
ORA: http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/projects/ora/index.php (Go to the software tab to download)
UCINET: downloads | ucinetsoftware but you need NetDraw to network visualization.
Visible Path
FOCA 3.2: (great for Metadata obtaining/analysis) http://www.informatica64.com/foca.aspx. +++YouTube Videos: http://youtu.be/XVjZEijbekw
This is a good list breaking down of different softwares for your viewing pleasures. http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/tools/tools.php
Purchase available Social Network Analysis (SNA) Software. Just the better ones I've seem employed.
Maltego: http://www.paterva.com/web6/products/maltego.php. (I really like this software)
+++ YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/e33NSUkyEg0
NetMinwe4: http://www.netminer.com/index.php#! (Can collect data from your Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, or Youtube accounts and visualization them.)
+++ YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/9GZVhmZou_c
Examples of SNA Collection. http://s4rsa.wikispaces.com/Social+Network+Analysis
Okay this is going off something that a Trapper John posted.
I signed up for a Twitter account several months ago as an experiment to pulse attitudes, etc. particularly the 20-30 yo age group. One of the things that I noticed (or think that I noticed) is that as you post and develop a posting history, select folks to follow, and accrue followers, that Twitter segregates you into groups of of like minded users and isolated from the rest of the Twitterverse.
Most of these software, websites and a lot of the other places you can go onto to play around use your account to log onto. IMHO do not use your real account and if you doing it from a mobile device make sure you have your GSP location turned off or go into your sets and change your location to another location manually.
Once again, BO, we are thinking alike. (This is getting scary weird, so stop it. :D)
I was thinking almost exactly the same thing, but more in reference to Twitter.
I signed up for a Twitter account several months ago as an experiment to pulse attitudes, etc. particularly the 20-30 yo age group. One of the things that I noticed (or think that I noticed) is that as you post and develop a posting history, select folks to follow, and accrue followers, that Twitter segregates you into groups of of like minded users and isolated from the rest of the Twitterverse.
I doubt that SM can be used to mobilize protests or revolutions as was the original question of this thread. However, it would appear that SM could be useful in mapping groups that are potential assets or potential targets.
Might be interesting to try this as a little experiment.
As far as the Twitter, just go to BING.com and on the main page look for MAPS, then on the left side look for MAP APPS.. then scroll down and look for and click at TWITTER MAPS box. This typically will not work on mobile devices, not on my IPad. You can download the "app" but I wouldn't. Also, don't click this if your a daily twitter user unless you want everyone to see you. I say make a new account to look around in detail. You can just click on the bing twitter map, this will let you see every in your vicinity is tweeting about. If you are a FB person and leave yourself log on, didn't with BING (IMO) it will absorb your FB Account, so log out of FB before using BING IMO.
BING TWITTER MAP
(http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH2#Y3A9MzUuMDU2MzM5fi03OC45MDg2OTkmbHZsPT Qmc3R5PXI=)
Bing twitter map is more of a business "interface" app or feature. It is for business' to load it (link on their URL) onto their website for viewers to see what is being Talked about. I.E.: a resort loading into there web page you visit online.
So far as twitter there is a lot of business applications that can be used that will make you say wow!!
Look for a Imagery Metadata, people and posting photos. Got to love them. Especially people that do it from there work place. You just tweeted a pic of your computer desktop.. WTH?!?? There's more for this subject, Metadata later too.
[QUOTE=Trapper John;532651I doubt that SM can be used to mobilize protests or revolutions as was the original question of this thread. However, it would appear that SM could be useful in mapping groups that are potential assets or potential targets. [/QUOTE]
TRAPPER JOHN.. I'm think of doing a video to show somethings someone can do just with business apps or websites to see what people are "talking" about or posting there pictures. Which is nothing more that what many business are doing to drive up sales, bring in clients, or spread the word or to "hash tag" something they want pushed. If a business can get people talking about something, or get people following their "hash tags" or discussions. Do you think with your background and training think you could direct someone with the knowledge, and/or expertise in using trending "hash tags" for other means?
One thing to keep in mind, I guess this isn't just about the thread subject. But how you, IMNSHO, is/are being looked at by businesses in many ways. It's not all about your VIP Grocery key chain card, they can do it if you're big into SM platforms.
So with that, I'm a believer that we, SOF, and the military can use SNA in many ways.
Trapper John
12-08-2013, 06:57
Holy Snoop n' Poop Batman! Do you think with your background and training think you could direct someone with the knowledge, and/or expertise in using trending "hash tags" for other means?
You have just opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.;)
I've got some homework to do - really, really good thread Bro :lifter
Holy Snoop n' Poop Batman!
You have just opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.;)
I've got some homework to do - really, really good thread Bro :lifter
Business does it why no others, is my thinking.
Thank you so very much for all these posts, MtnGoat. Yes, I was all wide-eyed too. Considering all the implications, that's scary *****.
When I perused those softwares, I didn't see much noise suppression though. Information is only as good as the knowledge one can extract from it.
I genuinely felt smarter going through and rereading this thread. As I delve further in the IC, I'd be grand to meet you and pick your brain barring OPSEC/PERSEC of course.
Ditto with Brush Okie on disinformation. Misdirection works well from the hand-to-hand level all the way to strategic.
As far as the noise of the information, are asking if anyone uses the software and that the data is pulled in is so much and then you visualize it, you will see so much that it will be a bunch of dots and lines? So much that you really wouldn't be able to find any information out there. Is this what your saying?
Yes, to a point, but most software user can set the parameters. Also just for anyone that uses AnB or Palantir, you can control where, what and how you "pull" the data. So for me it is learning the software you are using and the user knowledge of that system. 18Fs don't use the ASK Kits we have with AnB. Then you have Palantir, where many 18Fs and MID people don't really know it we'll enough to use it effectively. This plays into one of the biggest issues with a lot of this.. User knowledge. This is where many say other people can do all of this. For me the people saying this aren't down at the tactical level, on the ODAs, CATs or MIST. So sending up a RFS to come MACOM or Nation level Agency takes time, typically over a week. Think about those CIOC RFS you submit online. How long do they take? This goes back to my thinking of adding the new cyber MOSs at the Battalion MIDs and even at some Company levels. Remove a ASAP or HUMINT position and add a heckler or cyber MOS there. We don't have this capability currently. Remember most of what SM is and doing SMA is a big form of OSINT. So your not losing a ASAP, we are gaining another INTEL assist position and can also be very Operational in means. Goes back to the BCT / FSC methodology, keep it internal for better and fast support.
Or you say that is data is bad you get bad visualization? Shit in equals shit out thinking?
If this is your thinking? This has always been an issue with all disciplines of INTEL. You get what others put into the system. Analysis job is to shift through the data to find what you have and can use. Visualization software don't always make is easier, but IMO it really helps. This is where a good Commanders Intent plays in with a solid collection plans come in too.
If these are not what your looking at please fill in. Expand on what your thinking too. THANKs
Going along with a specific target audience I was thinking of this.
As most of you know AQ has schools they call madrases that they "sponsor" poor kids and put them in their boarding school then brain wash them into their belief and strapping on a suicide vest.
As a counter to this we could set up web pages, twitter accounts etc etc specifically targeting this age group in Muslim countries countering this belief system, spreading what really happens there ie man on boy rape etc. and general intrest to this generation. Part of the problem is we are not looking past the next election and they are looking and the next generation and beyond for their recruitment and spreading their revolution.
Part of the problem will be these kids will not have access to the internet, so we set up an internet cafe type thing for kids in those countries. When I was a kid long long ago we didn't have home video games so we went to the Arcade. Set something like that up in local villages with internet access and even sell cheap computers or notebooks so that the kids can access the SM sights we set up. It is better to sell them for next to noting than for free because if AQ confiscates it or destroys it they are making an enemy of that person by destroying something of theirs instead of something that was free. It might take a few free ones to get started or occasionally. The site we set up would of course have free internet access and computers to access the internet.
IMPO this would be VERY hard to do. You can make people use the internet when they never have used it before. Most countries where AQ set up madrases, the kids are already uneducated and never even seen a book let alone a computer or laptop. Even with mobile cell phones, you have to have 3/4G coverage.
A lot of factors in what you're talking about here. I see this more as you are looking for a sect of population that is currently engaged on some kind of SM platform. From those people you can study, analysis and social engineer them through your SM post, Tweets, etc.
Did anyone go to the CTTSO/TSWG end of the year Conference? Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, spoke during the conference over the impact SM has today.
Okay keeping with the INTEL CYCLE and the Collection Phase of the cycle. I had to go back and look through my history and search YouTube, got to love YouTube, but I think these explain a lot of what I'm saying.
YouTube. OSINT - SM Footprinting (http://youtu.be/_Hhn0LEYLnE)
So looking at what is going on within Twitter Tweets, you can start seeing what individuals, people and groups are interested in. Can they be apart of some kind of movement within the community or country? From this to can start building how you want to "market" these individuals, people and groups based off what they are interested in. Most people call this Social Engineering.
Looking at 9:99 to 10:00 and how Ray talks about username and the ID is very interesting. For everyone thinking you change your username on SM platforms is enough, need to go here and listen closely.
Elisatation, can it be done via SM? Can you motivate people based off their interests from what they are Tweeting, posting or talking about? Something to think about.
The "Echo Chamber" part at 13:00-15:00 is interesting bit of informations. The WORDLE.NET is just in example of . Resume machines have this feature for looking at text and seeming which word are used more. But goes back to trending and what one person is "talking" about. Then how Ray ties it into a kind of linkage analysis software. He used CaseFile, but you can really use any analysis software that imports Excel files then visualize the Excel data.
One thing to take away from this is the fact that at 38:00+ He talks about some interesting tools. All of these are tools that someone made, most are free and online. Yes this is something that is outside of SOF, for now. Yet, can be made for a propose. Only left up to your mind. It's like the AOL client (app) BRIZZLY being used and was developed for end users needs, yet dropped by AOL a year or so later. Can someone build a client based off users trending and operating systems or devices? Needs to user to results? Just like the Bing Twitter Map, if you click on a Tweet location, you get the username, tweet information or text and what the are using (device) along with operating system. You have many different information here to use for many different means.
If you look at the statistics and how many are there, this is where I was talking about Lean 6 Sigma for people that know how that works for business. Taking that model for fixing a "problem" and turning it into an another.. Hummmm format?!?? Possibilities??
Now this second video is about 50 mins long.
Using Social Networks To Profile, Find and 0wn Your Victims (http://youtu.be/Cmg5kyY2EE0)
It discussions basically different of free software, but mainly websites that someone can use to find someone or how a businesses uses it to drive up foot traffic, sales, and reTweets. The speaker discussions how SM is used to target people and how you can use many different SM platforms for this.
After watching it, think about what he is talking about and how it can be used to "follow" people. Great on the different websites and use of social engineering techniques. Goes back to the question I posed, with our training can you influence people? All of what you do face to face is being done online right now by some many different people.
I'm not breaking down this video, I'll leave that up to the discussion. But after watching it, think about what your using; your wife, friends, etc. Do you change you user name for some reason? Do you have a linkage even if you change it? Now think about that and discuss it. Discuss how to "reverse engineer" that whole process and what you can do. Like I said, this is open to non- 18 series guys. I know there is likely people with a AI background.
I would ask that if you are making comments on one of the videos, please list the video in the comments subject box at the top. This would make it easier to know which one you're talking about. Hopefully you enjoy the videos.
frostfire
12-09-2013, 23:06
IMPO this would be VERY hard to do. You can make people use the internet when they never have used it before. Most countries where AQ set up madrases, the kids are already uneducated and never even seen a book let alone a computer or laptop. Even with mobile cell phones, you have to have 3/4G coverage.
A lot of factors in what you're talking about here. I see this more as you are looking for a sect of population that is currently engaged on some kind of SM platform. From those people you can study, analysis and social engineer them through your SM post, Tweets, etc.
Did anyone go to the CTTSO/TSWG end of the year Conference? Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, spoke during the conference over the impact SM has today.
This might be over-enthusiastic optimism, but is it not probable the tech-savvy population segment can be polarized (shaped) to trickle down the message to the non-tech one?
We just have to put a convincing non-western narrative, appealing with "be good" Koran verses, and throw a massive tweet/retweet along with it. It's like Greg Mortenson reasoning to educate girls when in the culture, the boy needs to get blessing from the mothers to wage jihad.
This might be over-enthusiastic optimism, but is it not probable the tech-savvy population segment can be polarized (shaped) to trickle down the message to the non-tech one?
We just have to put a convincing non-western narrative, appealing with "be good" Koran verses, and throw a massive tweet/retweet along with it. It's like Greg Mortenson reasoning to educate girls when in the culture, the boy needs to get blessing from the mothers to wage jihad.
A bit off subject, but I think the key to the whole Madrassas issues with brainwashing and radicalization that goes on. One of the biggest boat we lost was the whole education of Afganistan. If NATO/US had built or set up more school is rural areas things would have been different after 10 years.
If you where wanting to study what was going in a country and looking at how a population is using, communicating and the role of unified communications in their actives. What would you want to know? If SM was motivating a sect of population, what parts of the communication platforms would you be looking at.
Then you have Palantir, where many 18Fs and MID people don't really know it we'll enough to use it effectively. This plays into one of the biggest issues with a lot of this.. User knowledge. This is where many say other people can do all of this. For me the people saying this aren't down at the tactical level, on the ODAs, CATs or MIST. So sending up a RFS to come MACOM or Nation level Agency takes time, typically over a week. Think about those CIOC RFS you submit online. How long do they take? This goes back to my thinking of adding the new cyber MOSs at the Battalion MIDs and even at some Company levels. Remove a ASAP or HUMINT position and add a heckler or cyber MOS there. We don't have this capability currently. Remember most of what SM is and doing SMA is a big form of OSINT. So your not losing a ASAP, we are gaining another INTEL assist position and can also be very Operational in means. Goes back to the BCT / FSC methodology, keep it internal for better and fast support.
Sorry for the late response! I first saw/used Palantir in OEF and LOVED it. Wish there was a tool that pushed the SIPR info up to high side for a complete picture.
Your TCAE and SOT-Bs currently have the capability (unsure about the training and accesses however) to answer your RFIs related to use of SM. The new 35Qs will be doing other stuff completely however.
Obviously you guys should not be waiting weeks for an answer to a request. Unfortunately, I can only affect a request that would be routed via your TCAE or SOT-A/Bs due to network connectivity. There is a HUGE disconnect at the National Level in that there is a widely held belief among senior leaders that highside information is being downgraded to SIPR and still useful to the end user. From my experience, support elements (both civ and mil) are still not sharing due to classification and simply do not understand how to properly sanitize information to protect sources and methods while still retaining its utility.
If you where wanting to study what was going in a country and looking at how a population is using, communicating and the role of unified communications in their actives. What would you want to know? If SM was motivating a sect of population, what parts of the communication platforms would you be looking at.
I've been holding off posting on this thread for a bit as I just finished Kilcullen's Out of the Mountains.
His book includes aspects of SM as it relates to mobilizing, protest, and revolution in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.
Here's an interesting slice from the book:
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3019039/how-hackers-and-violent-soccer-fans-helped-fuel-the-arab-spring
I'm guessing this is an example of offensive UW use of SM.
It identifies a group called "Takrizards" or "Taks" for short as a hacker group that had long opposed the Tunisian regime.
While their use of connectedness to better secure/defend their communication as well as attack the regime online was innovative, this "air war" as labeled by Kilcullen didn't gain traction until a "ground war" with boots on the ground could be established in the form of soccer/football team supporter hooligans called "Ultras".
So it would appear the Ultras had their political consciousness awakened by the Taks who leveraged their sports related violence and helped to shape them to direct that violence against the regime as well as to coordinate/focus their violence against the regime.
I like Kilcullen's labeling of "air war" for the online activity and "ground war" for the offline real world activity that relates to conventional military operations where seizing and holding ground is essential to victory.
Trusted online networks connected with and force multiplied trusted human networks. Which sounds strikingly like a near future SF mission.
But I wonder if the extreme difficulty in centrally coordinating such an offensive campaign voids such analogous "air war" and "ground war" labeling?
To me a contact/airborne virus in a healthy/unhealthy human body analogy or an analogy related to fire, dry/wet tinder, and accelerants feels more relevant.
While I am slowly starting to grasp the absolute enormity of SM and how many different facets, levels, and missions exist from both state and non-state actor perspectives, what interests me the most is:
W5H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How) is it possible for a group like the Taks to connect with the Ultras?
And can that be replicated/templated/trained/TTP'd both offensive/defensive? (NOT fishing for details)
It's that connection point between online trusted and existing human trusted network crossover that interests me the most.
The leap from online to human.......like virus transmission from contact to airborne(or vice versa) or smoldering ember hit with an accelerant maybe?
I don't want this to be the okie/goat thread so I will try not to post too much more, but one question I have is do you think this stuff should start being incorporated into Area Studies and Area Assessment that the SF teams use?
I say HELL YES. But will a 18F/35F even think about looking at SM. Most don't do a IPB now a days. IMO. So if they are not doing IPBs, I don't see them DOING a IPE/IPOE. I put it this way, SF Batts have EW NCOs and never think about having them look at EW "things".
Targeteer and Targeting is where the money is and that's what we have been doing for ten years. So we have guys that are dart board analysis and darts drive ops. Because ops drive intel.
Noslack71
12-13-2013, 00:47
I sat in on a presentation by members of this group. They have a very large and skilled network of volunteer collectors, analysts and others that do a very impressive job of getting in, setting up comms (SM, computer networks etc) where governments and aid organizations cannot. Many of the volunteers are local "hackers" good sources of real time, information not "filtered" by any government. Their networks are in place in areas that may be of interest. I am guessing you folks already know about them but, just in case.
Noslack
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POST
Noslack,
I would love to attend a BLACKHAT, REDHAT, DOJOCON or DEF CON conference. I think SOF needs to start send people to them. We need to send people to different conferences. I have done more networking from a conference than a school. Gotten more R&D or equipment than from a school.
Jump onto YouTube is see what these conferences are about.
POST
FLAGG,
I think many parts of the Tunisian, Egyptian and Syrian Revolutions/Movements could differently be labeled as "offensive" use of SM.
The biggest issue with it is "selling" it as a means of employment. I differently think you could be using it as a form of analyzing what is happen inside a country.
I have pick up the book, thanks for the review.
Noslack71
12-13-2013, 22:53
MtnGoat:
RSA is another one that is worthwhile. I started attending BH, Defcon etc in 2009. You are absolutely correct, my learning curve looked like one of the Shuttle launches. There are a number of very worthwhile ones in Metro DC that are free to Govies and AD. AFCEA, and DOD has a very good Cyber Crime Conference in Atlanta ( or used to prior to budget issues) every year. DefCon has a monthly group meeting in several cities w/in driving distance of you. Very talented, interesring though a tad quirky lot. If you are interested PM me and I can get you some POC's. There was an interesting article in the NYT about a " suitcase sized" ISP that was being used by Arab Spring groups when the govts shut off the country's internet. It operated under the gov's isp and worked much like the old PRC 77' s in a relay mode. Individual ranges were limited but the protesters set them up to overlap each other and got good coverage countrywide.
Basi c problem with Cyber is that this time is similar to 1945-the 60's nuclear weapons development. No real policy, strategy or doctrine which means its wide open to creative thinkers and operators.
Noslack
Surf n Turf
12-14-2013, 08:26
I would love to attend a BLACKHAT, REDHAT, DOJOCON or DEF CON conference. I think SOF needs to start send people to them. We need to send people to different conferences. I have done more networking from a conference than a school. Gotten more R&D or equipment than from a school.
Jump onto YouTube is see what these conferences are about.
Mnt Goat,
There may be some assistance already available . My understanding is that MAJ T.J. O'Connor is/was a member of the SF community. I had viewed several YOU TUBE videos of his presentation at DEF CON, but can't seem to locate them now. Perhaps someone on the board has contact info
SnT
Previous thread where he is discussed
http://professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42311&highlight=stay+frost
[B]White Paper
http://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/attacking/jester-dynamic-lesson-asymmetric-unmanaged-cyber-warfare-33889?show=jester-dynamic-lesson-asymmetric-unmanaged-cyber-warfare-33889&cat=attacking
Mnt Goat,
There may be some assistance already available . My understanding is that MAJ T.J. O'Connor is/was a member of the SF community. I had viewed several YOU TUBE videos of his presentation at DEF CON, but can't seem to locate them now. Perhaps someone on the board has contact info
SnT
Previous thread where he is discussed
http://professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42311&highlight=stay+frost
[B]White Paper
http://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/attacking/jester-dynamic-lesson-asymmetric-unmanaged-cyber-warfare-33889?show=jester-dynamic-lesson-asymmetric-unmanaged-cyber-warfare-33889&cat=attacking
S&T
Thank you BIG TIME on the Whitepaper. I had this once and lost it due a laptop crash. This is a great read for many of us. I've been trying to find it again. I have a friend that needs it for a baseline, a bit different than what is discussed here. This paper is more of cyber-warfare attacks than analysis a populations and looking to see if it (SM) can be used to motivate a population in a countries social movement for change.
I will have to find out about MAJ T.J. O'Connor.
Here is something to think about and put your UW Goggles on for.
If you're a Facebook messenger app user and didn't read the term of service. Here are a few app permission you've accepted as reported in Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-fiorella/the-insidiousness-of-face_b_4365645.html):
Allows the app to change the state of network connectivity
Allows the app to call phone numbers without your intervention. This may result in unexpected charges or calls. Malicious apps may cost you money by making calls without your confirmation.
Allows the app to send SMS messages. This may result in unexpected charges. Malicious apps may cost you money by sending messages without your confirmation.
Allows the app to record audio with microphone. This permission allows the app to record audio at any time without your confirmation.
Allows the app to take pictures and videos with the camera. This permission allows the app to use the camera at any time without your confirmation.
Allows the app to read you phone's call log, including data about incoming and outgoing calls. This permission allows apps to save your call log data, and malicious apps may share call log data without your knowledge.
Allows the app to read data about your contacts stored on your phone, including the frequency with which you've called, emailed, or communicated in other ways with specific individuals.
Allows the app to read personal profile information stored on your device, such as your name and contact information. This means the app can identify you and may send your profile information to others.
Allows the app to access the phone features of the device. This permission allows the app to determine the phone number and device IDs, whether a call is active, and the remote number connected by a call.
Allows the app to get a list of accounts known by the phone. This may include any accounts created by applications you have installed.
Something else to think about in UW mindset is they way social media is using Facial recognition with every picture. Well to a point.
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/t/video/facebook-feature-cool-creepy-13817484
Yet we have a guy that makes a app for everyone to use to log into the DFAS MY PAY account which turned out to be what? Identity theft?!? BTW, that guy self taught how to do all of what he did by YouTube and some basic skills.
Surf n Turf
12-17-2013, 20:10
Palantir --How A 'Deviant' Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut
Read this in hard copy and thought I would share the electronic version. Sometimes the people managing the companies are as weird as their products are important :rolleyes:
SnT
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/08/14/agent-of-intelligence-how-a-deviant-philosopher-built-palantir-a-cia-funded-data-mining-juggernaut/
Palantir --How A 'Deviant' Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut
Read this in hard copy and thought I would share the electronic version. Sometimes the people managing the companies are as weird as their products are important :rolleyes:
SnT
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/08/14/agent-of-intelligence-how-a-deviant-philosopher-built-palantir-a-cia-funded-data-mining-juggernaut/
Interesting article, didn't know all the back ground of how "it" was made. I think most "big" Companies owners are all weird. Steve Jobs was to Bill Gates. We're all weird in our own wells. Haha
U.S. officials warn about "military attacks" on electric power facilities
http://complex.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/12/24/power-station-military-assault
For anyone that hasn't seen this floating around, it's a good read. More of an example of how CARVER works. I'm using this to make a point. For anyone that does know how the Chinese have "testing" our online world that the USA has migrated to with most of power plants, water treatment plants, etc.
So throw this out, if you are looking into a country and see on social media different trending topics. Now thinking with your UW hats or deceiveous thinking caps, if you see that a nation, sect of population is pissed about their Governments handling of a public service facility. So if you see a trending indicator could a hacker shutdown a said public service system, think CARVER, and then use SM to support the said group of trending topics?
Think of it this way. Could this be going on with what the Chinese has been doing here? Do our political parties do this? Can social media drive a change within a country?
FLAGG,
I think many parts of the Tunisian, Egyptian and Syrian Revolutions/Movements could differently be labeled as "offensive" use of SM.
The biggest issue with it is "selling" it as a means of employment. I differently think you could be using it as a form of analyzing what is happen inside a country.
I have pick up the book, thanks for the review.
No worries!
And I agree(from my amateur perspective).
Along the lines of the potential offensive role of SM, I've been reading about SM communication/transmission options that SM depend on in order to work.
Here's an interesting development from the "internet in a suitcase" crowd:
https://commotionwireless.net/blog
Their mesh network wireless router Commotion V1.0 "grumpy Cat" was just released.
And the warning label:
https://commotionwireless.net/understanding-commotions-warning-label
So I'm guessing this or something like it might be a potential tool for offensive UW, due to lack of anonymity in this version sounds like it comes with some potentially significant risks. But if used in a future urban slum that is semi-to-non permissive for the regime itself, it could have its uses if conventional/sanctioned networks are shut or present too high a risk of social movement compromise.
But I think some of the greatest opportunities might be for humanitarian response.
What I'd be interested in learning is:
Do cellular/wireless networks(which the vast majority of the planet rely on for communication) maintain resilience in the aftermath of major natural disasters?
If an area is leveled by natural disaster(and having been personally involved with the Christchurch Earthquakes where commercial coms were impacted heavily in the short-term), first response is to conduct recce and establish communication networks as well as other concurrent activity.
Military and law enforcement run their own robust and encrypted communications networks. At FOBs, Retrans stations, patrol bases, vehicle patrols, and foot patrols.
While I'm certainly no 18E, I wonder how hard it would be to parallel a separate public use(but state managed) mesh network capability such as a cellular/wireless mesh router(the battery burn on foot patrols may not make any sense).
Again, I'm not an 18E, but I would think it would be within reason to use robust "off the shelf" systems(language localized) to allow quick and easy viral dissemination.
It could include tools to collect disaster recovery intelligence as well as push disaster response communication disseminated to all cellular/wireless devices with the mesh network.
And throw in some universal device chargers partnered with potable water stations as well maybe like what was seen ad-hoc in response to Hurricane Sandy.
So I wonder if the "role of social media" discussion encompasses the role/use/abuse of the underlying network?
Same? Different? Somewhere in between?
So I wonder if the "role of social media" discussion encompasses the role/use/abuse of the underlying network?
Same? Different? Somewhere in between?
But In like this statement.
I have have a clear head. As far as the HA and natural Disaster side I'm hoping others will chime in. I can speak of what I saw during Katrina.
New article in latest Special Warfare issue "UW in Cyberspace, The Cyber UW Pilot Team Concept" p68:
http://static.dvidshub.net/media/pubs/pdf_14790.pdf
I particularly like the references to "digital natives" and "digital immigrants".
It's an interesting twist on the difference between learning a language/culture and being raised in a language/culture.
It also leaves me wondering if in the social media space this problem has the potential to be compounded in some circumstances?
Language/culture native filter requirement followed or preceded by a "digital native" filter requirement, assuming no team based combination of the two.
It also looks like it's worth keeping an eye on the IDF's integrated social media activity.
New article in latest Special Warfare issue "UW in Cyberspace, The Cyber UW Pilot Team Concept" p68:
http://static.dvidshub.net/media/pubs/pdf_14790.pdf
I particularly like the references to "digital natives" and "digital immigrants".
It's an interesting twist on the difference between learning a language/culture and being raised in a language/culture.
It also leaves me wondering if in the social media space this problem has the potential to be compounded in some circumstances?
Language/culture native filter requirement followed or preceded by a "digital native" filter requirement, assuming no team based combination of the two.
It also looks like it's worth keeping an eye on the IDF's integrated social media activity.
Yes computer and SM is it own unique language, but being a language/culture. The physical is hard enough to grasp for most. No conceptual thinking going on here now. :D
Heck IDF, let's look who else is doing it. We are playing catch up and in the slow lane.
Surf n Turf
01-27-2014, 14:43
Social Media ---- sounds sort of 1984 on Steroids. "Mass Disturbance" could be defined as anything --- TEA party meeting, NRA dinner, afternoon at the range, Meeting your local congress critter.
SnT
the situation on the streets of Kiev, Ukraine, is much calmer today. Protesters are still out in force but now it appears that the government is ready to negotiate after violent clashes this week left at least three people dead.
Well, in the midst of all the protests, a strange thing happened earlier this week when protesters got text messages on their phone that said: Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.
---were you surprised by this at all, that a text message like this could go out to all these people who were gathered in one place?
I was a little surprised that the government would advertise that it could do such a thing to try to quell a protest,
There is something called a tower dump where you can just ask the phone company to pull down records from nearby cell towers to find out what's going on and what, you know, what subscribers connected to a particular tower at a particular time. You can get a bunch of data on the people who are nearby just by asking for that information at times. --- The U.S. law enforcement agencies made more than 9,000 requests for tower dumps in 2012. ----
But you don't need to do that because you could also put up something called a stingray, a rogue cell tower yourself if you were a government who wanted to find out what's going on in a given area.
Short of turning off your phone or not using a phone at all, is there anything that you can do to protect yourself from something like this, from a government, wherever it may be, tracking where you are and then sending you a text message to tell you that it knows where you are? --- I can't think of anything offhand
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/01/24/ukraine-metadata-lesson
Social Media ---- sounds sort of 1984 on Steroids. "Mass Disturbance" could be defined as anything --- TEA party meeting, NRA dinner, afternoon at the range, Meeting your local congress critter.
SnT
the situation on the streets of Kiev, Ukraine, is much calmer today. Protesters are still out in force but now it appears that the government is ready to negotiate after violent clashes this week left at least three people dead.
Well, in the midst of all the protests, a strange thing happened earlier this week when protesters got text messages on their phone that said: Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.
---were you surprised by this at all, that a text message like this could go out to all these people who were gathered in one place?
I was a little surprised that the government would advertise that it could do such a thing to try to quell a protest,
There is something called a tower dump where you can just ask the phone company to pull down records from nearby cell towers to find out what's going on and what, you know, what subscribers connected to a particular tower at a particular time. You can get a bunch of data on the people who are nearby just by asking for that information at times. --- The U.S. law enforcement agencies made more than 9,000 requests for tower dumps in 2012. ----
But you don't need to do that because you could also put up something called a stingray, a rogue cell tower yourself if you were a government who wanted to find out what's going on in a given area.
Short of turning off your phone or not using a phone at all, is there anything that you can do to protect yourself from something like this, from a government, wherever it may be, tracking where you are and then sending you a text message to tell you that it knows where you are? --- I can't think of anything offhand
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/01/24/ukraine-metadata-lesson
Outside of using new phones. But that doesn't help. Two words... Voice recognition.
I wondered how long this would pop up. Just never thought Angry Birds.. Haha
Jay Carney ducks Angry Birds surveillance question
Victoria Jones of Talk News Radio Service framed her question around the avian app.
The NSA is lurking in the background of your game of Angry Birds, waiting to scoop up all your personal data as you lob hapless creatures into the air,” she said. “This is the last bastion of American freedom has been breached. I mean, there seems to be something particularly egregious about going after leaky apps
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/angry-birds-nsa-surveillance-question-jay-carney-102671.html#ixzz2regwFgmm
Heck here I thought my Angry Birds Star Wars was a time killer at the doctors office, dang it's a surveillance app pulling all my mobile bonner and contacts. Dang. Like to know what they think on my three SIM card cell phone. Guess that Mac and mini numbers are tag.
Peregrino
01-27-2014, 22:17
Short of turning off your phone or not using a phone at all, is there anything that you can do to protect yourself from something like this, from a government, wherever it may be, tracking where you are and then sending you a text message to tell you that it knows where you are? --- I can't think of anything offhand
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/01/24/ukraine-metadata-lesson
SHIELDSAK, a product of the LOKSAK Corporation. Because just turning off your cellphone isn't enough. (Don't forget to turn your phone off before "bagging" it, otherwise it'll drain the battery as it searches fruitlessly for connectivity.)
SHIELDSAK, a product of the LOKSAK Corporation. Because just turning off your cellphone isn't enough. (Don't forget to turn your phone off before "bagging" it, otherwise it'll drain the battery as it searches fruitlessly for connectivity.)
Cool.
Does it come in a hat shape/sizes ? ;)
NSA has been logging you playing games on your cell phone at work and it WILL show up on your next NCOER. Now you know why your promotions are not coming as you expected. :p
I knew that years ago. Doesn't matter, I'm retiring this year. :p
Article on the social media TTPs and media manipulation of Leftist radical.
http://observer.com/2015/02/exclusive-how-this-left-wing-activist-manipulates-the-media-to-spread-his-message/
Article on the social media TTPs and media manipulation of Leftist radical.
Link is Missing Flagg!! :munchin
Are you talking about the one covering Peter Young (http://observer.com/2015/02/exclusive-how-this-left-wing-activist-manipulates-the-media-to-spread-his-message/)?
Link is Missing Flagg!! :munchin
Are you talking about the one covering Peter Young (http://observer.com/2015/02/exclusive-how-this-left-wing-activist-manipulates-the-media-to-spread-his-message/)?
That's the one!
Sorry for forgetting to add it to my post(edited now).
Good article.
On one hand, infuriating.
On the other, enlightening.
I couldn't help but think that it could represent a partial foundation for a digital generation's version of Alinsky's rules.
Seven years down the road, everything discussed in this thread was employed to undermine the Trump Administration. The assault harnessed the entire structure of SM and its communal relationship to the entire world. In my mind, it's the greatest domestic UW campaign ever undertaken. Even to the point, that blatant voter fraud as an accepted outcome is nothing less than a stunning achievement to goal.
Seven years down the road, everything discussed in this thread was employed to undermine the Trump Administration. The assault harnessed the entire structure of SM and its communal relationship to the entire world. In my mind, it's the greatest domestic UW campaign ever undertaken. Even to the point, that blatant voter fraud as an accepted outcome is nothing less than a stunning achievement to goal.
One of my favourite threads here.
Thanks for resurrecting it.
Sadly, it reads like an exact copy of strategy, doctrine, and operational execution for:
DNC
Antica
BLM
Black Bloc
1)Mixed with “Left-Tech” social media platform capacity and capability “mass” with relevant lessons learned and dusted off from the Arab Spring, particularly Libya/Egypt.
2)DNC portraying the role of Sinn Fein’s offset political wing to the above’s IRA.
3)Application of Saul Alinksy’s Rules for Radicals to portray assault groups as victims
4)Mimic the pre--ultra-violence Baader-Meinhoff Red Army Faction “Robin Hood/Honeymoon”phase of strong public support
It looks and feels like a plug-and-play Lego set of classic and contemporary best practices for a UW campaign.
What does a successful C-UW campaign look like here?
One of my favourite threads here.
What does a successful C-UW campaign look like here?
Have them Fight each other because they love to break shit and posting it on social media.
Surf n Turf
11-09-2020, 15:04
Seven years down the road, everything discussed in this thread was employed to undermine the Trump Administration. The assault harnessed the entire structure of SM and its communal relationship to the entire world. In my mind, it's the greatest domestic UW campaign ever undertaken. Even to the point, that blatant voter fraud as an accepted outcome is nothing less than a stunning achievement to goal.
Penn,
You are spot on that this was almost a blueprint of the “attempted” take-down of President Trump.
I remembered reading this information, but could not recollect the source.
Thanks for reviving this thread.
SnT
tom kelly
11-10-2020, 14:25
President Trump should have responded to the attacks on him & his presidency by DETAINING everyone associated with the ongoing coup attempt. Now he can declare martial law and take into protective custody EVERYONE who may be in danger from enemies foreign & domestic.
Noslack71
12-17-2020, 12:29
The New York Post reported that Facebook hired 6 Chinese from the PRC to create
Censorship algorithms to use against Americans, the lies, propaganda, etc put out by
Social and Corporate media a couple of us decided Enough! The only way to get their attention is a Boycott. The only things that get their attention are money and power.
There are approximately fifty folks, who have joined in since Monday, business owners, etc. are reaching out to their friends to join them. A Grass Roots Boycott can
get their attention. If just half of Trump voters join the Boycott, that will create financial pain for the stockholders and stakeholders. Tough to censor financial failure.
A Grass Roots Boycott will get a bit of attention. While an election might cause fraud, failure, etc. loss of money equals loss of power and pain. Let's make them hurt like like our small businesses and restaurants are.
Thank you
NoSlack71
Very insightful interview with the former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt how the MSM used emotion to generate clicks, which impacts bottom line. To change SM, don't be a poster responding to baited content.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/joe-rogan-gettr-twitter-bans-dr-robert-malone-rep-marjorie-taylor-greene
Very insightful interview with the former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt how the MSM used emotion to generate clicks, which impacts bottom line. To change SM, don't be a poster responding to baited content.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/joe-rogan-gettr-twitter-bans-dr-robert-malone-rep-marjorie-taylor-greene
Joe Rogan is a strange animal.
It's great that he has opened his eyes to the evils of the "thought police" but don't forget - he is still just a dope smoking hippy that would love to see Michelle Obama in the white house.
...and those are the people he votes for. These are the people guys like him have ALWAYS voted for - these are the people they will CONTINUE to vote for in spite of failed social policies. The only reasons thee people are suddenly worried about freedom of speech is because it is THEIR speech that is suddenly in danger.
The shit going on "today" with social media is just a 20 year old "I told you so" from people that have been saying this was where we were going all along.
-The same way that people who thought DADT was a bad idea that would lead to the military paying for trannies to get boob jobs and fabricated penises.
-The same ones that said legalizing weed as a recreational drug would lead to more problems.
-The same ones that are now referred to as irredeemable and deplorable.
Back in the 90's it was funny for people to call me a conspiracy nut. Now I'm just an asshole who doesn't understand why a man with gender dysphoria and sagging titties can be the Assistant Secretary of Health. Incrementalism mother fuckers - lets not act like we weren't warned this was coming. People are marrying trees now - and it's only going to get worse.
Eye told ewe sew.
Badger52
01-03-2022, 19:18
Joe Rogan is a strange animal.
It's great that he has opened his eyes to the evils of the "thought police" but don't forget - he is still just a dope smoking hippy that would love to see Michelle Obama in the white house.
...and those are the people he votes for. These are the people guys like him have ALWAYS voted for - these are the people they will CONTINUE to vote for in spite of failed social policies. The only reasons thee people are suddenly worried about freedom of speech is because it is THEIR speech that is suddenly in danger.
The shit going on "today" with social media is just a 20 year old "I told you so" from people that have been saying this was where we were going all along.
-The same way that people who thought DADT was a bad idea that would lead to the military paying for trannies to get boob jobs and fabricated penises.
-The same ones that said legalizing weed as a recreational drug would lead to more problems.
-The same ones that are now referred to as irredeemable and deplorable.
Back in the 90's it was funny for people to call me a conspiracy nut. Now I'm just an asshole who doesn't understand why a man with gender dysphoria and sagging titties can be the Assistant Secretary of Health. Incrementalism mother fuckers - lets not act like we weren't warned this was coming. People are marrying trees now - and it's only going to get worse.
Eye told ewe sew.Thank you. I was beginning to wonder if there was a threshold & suspected there wasn't one. I've been told I'm an asshole a time or too.
Given current course, speed (and fuel on-board) what do you think the average hang-time is for conspiracy theory before it becomes policy? Or last week's fishwrap? That window has to be shortening up.
...what do you think the average hang-time is for conspiracy theory before it becomes policy?.
Ponder this - how big does the Arkancide list need to be before it stops being a coincidence?
Joe Rogan is a strange animal.
It's great that he has opened his eyes to the evils of the "thought police" but don't forget - he is still just a dope smoking hippy that would love to see Michelle Obama in the white house.
...and those are the people he votes for. These are the people guys like him have ALWAYS voted for - these are the people they will CONTINUE to vote for in spite of failed social policies. The only reasons thee people are suddenly worried about freedom of speech is because it is THEIR speech that is suddenly in danger.
Bill Marr and Jon Stewart are two more strange animals to add in with Joe Rogan. They are all coming off as voices of reason, growing their base and at least in Rogans case infiltrating the new social media platforms like Gettr. And they are all Obama and Clinton acolytes.
I view them as Trojan horses, then again they may just be opportunists.
Bill Marr and Jon Stewart are two more strange animals to add in with Joe Rogan. They are all coming off as voices of reason, growing their base and at least in Rogans case infiltrating the new social media platforms like Gettr. And they are all Obama and Clinton acolytes.
I view them as Trojan horses, then again they may just be opportunists.
The unfortunate state of current day aMErican society is that even liberal extremists from the 1990's and early 2000's are starting to seem sane.
Joe Rogan first came to fame by sensationalizing desperate attention whores that were willing to eat raw pig brains and let people put them in a big fish tank full of spiders in hopes that they would get some money and some public exposure.
...now he gets pissed off and attacks the establishment because the establishment ridiculed his health care choices. Otherwise, he has spent the last 20 years using social media to "pretend bash" the same establishment that he has helped repeatedly vote into office so they could legalize his recreational drug use and allow illegal aliens to flood across our southern border.
Jon Stewart is a Jewish guy that once reminded us that people from Hamas view themselves as freedom fighters - and when you can say such a thing and even Hillary Clinton does a double take at what you just said...
...well, make your own judgements about who Jon Stewart "really" is.
Bill Mahr?
Bro - I can't even begin to imagine were I would begin to start a diatribe about the shit he says.
Now - here we are - a culture poisoned by corrupt politicians and self serving celebrities posting videos from their 50 acre mansion letting us know "we are all in this together" and all one of them has to say in order to fool people into thinking they are moral benevolent souls is is "hey mother fucker - my body my choice" referring to their preferred COVID treatment modalities - or they finally suggest that MAYBE now that the cancel culture is attacking fellow LIBERALs that MAYBE we should back off the woke a few notches - or that we should take some of our squandered tax money and start spending it to care for the injured and ill Police and Fireman that survived the attack on the World Trade Center.
Forget all of the other ludicrous shit these jokers have spouted on social media for the last 20 years and suddenly the aMErican public starts to look at these jackasses like they are some sort of modern day Mark Twain.
Fuck that - they are all part of the same club.
I don't hate them for being hypocrites - hypocrisy is my FAVORITE flavor of social kool-aid.
I just hate them for their particular strains of hypocrisy.
Old Dog New Trick
01-04-2022, 09:45
Fuck that - they are all part of the same club.
I don't hate them for being hypocrites - hypocrisy is my FAVORITE flavor of social kool-aid.
I just hate them for their particular strains of hypocrisy.
That’s the “Omnicon” strain.
rsdengler
01-04-2022, 11:29
Back in the 90's it was funny for people to call me a conspiracy nut. Now I'm just an asshole who doesn't understand why a man with gender dysphoria and sagging titties can be the Assistant Secretary of Health. Incrementalism mother fuckers - lets not act like we weren't warned this was coming. People are marrying trees now - and it's only going to get worse.
Eye told ewe sew.
Underrated comment...You go guy...:D
I'll tell you what's really, really, REALLY, an underrated comment: The level of embarrassment I'd feel if a creature from outer space landed their ship in my yard...
...climbed out of his spaceship
...brandished a super technological death ray
...showed me a device that allowed extraterrestrials to monitor earth social media platforms
...looked me right in the eye
...spoke to me in a language I understood and said:
"Take me to your leader"
For fuck sake - the thought of that happening in 2022 America causes me a level of anxiety that most of you will never understand.
Trapper John
01-05-2022, 09:32
I'll tell you what's really, really, REALLY, an underrated comment: The level of embarrassment I'd feel if a creature from outer space landed their ship in my yard...
...climbed out of his spaceship
...brandished a super technological death ray
...showed me a device that allowed extraterrestrials to monitor earth social media platforms
...looked me right in the eye
...spoke to me in a language I understood and said:
"Take me to your leader"
For fuck sake - the thought of that happening in 2022 America causes me a level of anxiety that most of you will never understand.
A modest half-bow followed by "At your service" seems appropriate to me. :D
Can you just imagine telling a sentient being from outer space that our planet is led by people with names like Biden, Harris, Trudeau, Jong-Un, Jinping, Cuomo, Pelosi - for fuck sake the list of morally and ethically corrupt degenerates and Ne'er-do-wells that make up this planets governing class just goes on and on and on and on and on annnnd on.
...I'd be so ashamed of telling them the truth about who we have selected to manage our planets day to day operations that I'd probably just pass out from the stress.
Lord knows, if I was an emissary from another planet and picked up the social media feed coming from this third rock from the sun - well - lets just say I'd put the Illudium PU-36 explosive space modulator into action and get rid of this ridiculous experiment in civilized life forms faster than you can say "Illudium PU-36 explosive space modulator"
The collective behavior of earth inhabitants as they interact with one another on social media makes me very angry, very angry indeed.
rsdengler
01-05-2022, 10:50
I'll tell you what's really, really, REALLY, an underrated comment: The level of embarrassment I'd feel if a creature from outer space landed their ship in my yard...
...climbed out of his spaceship
...brandished a super technological death ray
...showed me a device that allowed extraterrestrials to monitor earth social media platforms
...looked me right in the eye
...spoke to me in a language I understood and said:
"Take me to your leader"
For fuck sake - the thought of that happening in 2022 America causes me a level of anxiety that most of you will never understand.
Hahahaha....And if it's going to happen, you most likely will be first contact...:D
Hahahaha....And if it's going to happen, you most likely will be first contact...:D
Mankind had better hope that I am not the first contact - it will not turn out the way people think it should.
Social media as a platform to mobilize political protest and activism would be the nothing compared to the new era that will be ushered in if I ever become the Dark Overlord of the Known Universe.
I would move my base of operations to planet Nibiru and every time something stupid went out on social media, every puny earthling would get zapped simultaneously with my Galactic Space-Tazer.
...two or seven zaps from my Galactic Space-Tazer and these puny earth dwellers would finally start to police themselves.
Or they wouldn't.
Eventually - if the noncompliance on social media continued - I would simply doom everyone to a lifetime inside of a rubber Mark Suckerberg suit and the only thing on TV would be reruns of RuPauls Drag Race.
...and the only meal choices will be Vegan BBQ ribs made out of Seitan and Jackfruit for earth's meat eaters and rare cooked select grade ground beef patties for earth's vegans.
I will not be denied!
rsdengler
01-05-2022, 12:31
Just transport me to another planet....Please? :D
Social media as a platform to mobilize political protest and activism would be the nothing compared to the new era that will be ushered in if I ever become the Dark Overlord of the Known Universe.
!
Wait a minute ....is this you???:D .....going into hiding now!
Wait a minute ....is this you???:D .....going into hiding now!
While it may be true that he draws his power from the downside of the Schwartz - he is no match for my skill with a double-edged Wokesaber. He is weak in the ways of social media and is no match for me.
I will fuck him right up without missing a beat and still be home in time to bugger his mom before social media can ban me for derailing their narrative.
I will take his dolls and sell them on eBay and then use the money to buy ammo for my cowboy guns.
Savage. I almost pity your adversaries... Almost.:D
Box, if you ever find yourself in Jersey, dinner is on me.
Box, if you ever find yourself in Jersey, dinner is on me.
Penn, I'd bet good money that we'll see a Richard Simmons "Jr" before we ever see Box in New Jersey.
tom kelly
01-12-2022, 15:03
We have NO LEADER....
We have NO LEADER....
We have POT LUCK !
Trapper John
01-13-2022, 09:46
We have POT LUCK !
And his communist half-brother Pol Pot, his Vietnamese cousins, Ngyen Ngo Luc, and Wu Wen Bad Luc. :D
rsdengler
01-13-2022, 13:29
While it may be true that he draws his power from the downside of the Schwartz - he is no match for my skill with a double-edged Wokesaber. He is weak in the ways of social media and is no match for me.
I will fuck him right up without missing a beat and still be home in time to bugger his mom before social media can ban me for derailing their narrative.
I will take his dolls and sell them on eBay and then use the money to buy ammo for my cowboy guns.
I'm F'ing Deceased.....LMAO :D
Trapper John
01-19-2022, 12:09
Box, if you ever find yourself in Jersey, dinner is on me.
Box, That offer is definitely worth a trip to NJ! Let me know when you're in the AO.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbc-tiffany-cross-war
Why isn't anyone reacting to this continual narrative? Again, imo, this affords BLM the right/opportunity to press their assault on law enforcement, within societal standards, due to MSM blessing and without condemnation from the political class, MSM, and the populace, which has been edit out of the conversation.
In my mind, the criminals that have been released, are the lefts brown shirts, firing the first shots. Without social support, law enforcement will continue to erode and society will implode.
The extreme left, is actually the main stream Democratic Party. They have no intention of pulling the radical left in, as the narrative that is slowly being presented in the election will be compromised/illegitimate, giving those brown shirts full authority to attack all who oppose them.
With law enforcement in decline, an active social native terrorist group, organized around released criminals as their core, harboring deep seated hate against law officer and society, with the blessing of MSM. The next 9 months will be hell.
A side question: Why isn't anyone, including all the talking heads on Fox News asking this question: Who is the far left group dunning the government? I ask because they, whoever they are, are not subject to federal protection, and if ID, should be exposed.
Badger52
01-25-2022, 21:01
A side question: Why isn't anyone, including all the talking heads on Fox News asking this question: Who is the far left group dunning the government? I ask because they, whoever they are, are not subject to federal protection, and if ID, should be exposed.I'm not sure if they're smart enough (Fox et al) but (being generous here) they may view this as a "don't interrupt your enemy while they're making a mistake" situation. Again, that's a stretch for their talents perhaps. But 2022-accelerationism is getting ramped up pretty steeply.
I won't dispute you at all that the people you mention constitute the DNC's street-thug element. Just as the suit & tie element are the agencies weaponized by another piece of their setup.
Meanwhile, what the hell are you doing paying attention to this anyway? Didn't you get Psaki's email telling you to keep your eye on our fleet in the Med and trying to figure out which 8,500 head of 2-legged cattle are gonna be getting on C-17's headed for Ukraine border countries? You'd almost think there was inflation too...
:cool: