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-   -   The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Political Protest, Movement, and Revolution. (http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44131)

MtnGoat 12-01-2013 21:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by dualforces (Post 531854)
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.

Flagg 12-02-2013 01:50

1 Attachment(s)
Quote:

Originally Posted by Penn (Post 531754)
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

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brush Okie (Post 531942)
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.../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.

MtnGoat 12-02-2013 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brush Okie (Post 531942)
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.../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.

Penn 12-02-2013 22:58

Flagg
Quote:

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by MtnGoat (Post 531997)
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/we...hs-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.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Trapper John (Post 531852)
: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

MtnGoat 12-03-2013 05:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brush Okie (Post 532002)
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).

MtnGoat 12-04-2013 21:47

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

MtnGoat 12-05-2013 16:59

Collection
 
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/introd...ization-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

MtnGoat 12-06-2013 17:30

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?


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