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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 |
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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/archiv...ediaAndUW.html |
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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. |
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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. Quote:
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. |
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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? Quote:
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. |
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/20...secret-nuke-s/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...orted/3625929/ Social media opportunities and challenges for open source information. http://www.trajectorymagazine.com/de...307-OSINT.html http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-...-u-s-military/ http://resources.infosecinstitute.co...litary-sector/ http://www.csoonline.com/article/734...other-channels http://academics.utep.edu/Portals/18...%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-t...rist-messages/ http://www.securityaffairs.org/issue...08/weimann.php http://www.pixelsandpolicy.com/pixel...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...MR1382.ch8.pdf http://arxiv.org/pdf/1208.4568.pdf Tanzania Green Revolution: http://content.time.com/time/world/a...905125,00.html Iranian Green Movement http://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...olution/58337/ http://www.scmagazine.com/iran-elect...rticle/138545/ Haitian Earthquake Relief: http://mashable.com/2010/01/20/socia...lessons-haiti/ http://www2012.wwwconference.org/pro...anion/p713.pdf Kosovo Conflict http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...BS1COhNYszLKrA OODA Loop used to analyze Social Media http://fabiusmaximus.com/2012/10/26/ooda-loops-44522/ http://www.researchgate.net/publicat...c2965a1d73.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. |
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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. |
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The first one that caught my eye was: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ctive/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. t 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 |
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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. |
Gaming Industry and the social ENVIRONMENT
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?
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Civil Affairs Information Operation (OI)
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? |
Radicalisation in the Digital Era
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" |
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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. |
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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.
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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.
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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. Quote:
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? |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. Quote:
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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). |
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