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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 11-25-2013 22:01

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

Flagg 11-26-2013 00:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by MtnGoat (Post 531356)
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

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/archiv...ediaAndUW.html

MtnGoat 11-26-2013 04:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flagg (Post 531374)
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/archiv...ediaAndUW.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.

Flagg 11-27-2013 00:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peregrino (Post 531472)
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?

MtnGoat 11-27-2013 21:21

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:

Originally Posted by Peregrino (Post 531472)
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.

MtnGoat 11-27-2013 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flagg (Post 531495)
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?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flagg (Post 531495)
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

MtnGoat 11-28-2013 07:32

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.

Peregrino 11-28-2013 12:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by MtnGoat (Post 531611)
--- 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.

Flagg 11-28-2013 14:43

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brush Okie (Post 531671)
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/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.

Penn 11-29-2013 23:03

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

Flagg 11-30-2013 04:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penn (Post 531754)

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.

MtnGoat 11-30-2013 10:08

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?

MtnGoat 11-30-2013 10:41

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?

dualforces 11-30-2013 19:21

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"

Penn 12-01-2013 04:28

1 Attachment(s)
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.

MtnGoat 12-01-2013 10:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penn (Post 531816)
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.

MtnGoat 12-01-2013 10:25

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.

MR2 12-01-2013 13:20

I find the discussion stimulating and hope it continues.

Trapper John 12-01-2013 16:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by MR2 (Post 531844)
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.

MtnGoat 12-01-2013 21:33

Great points!! We are thinking the same I feel, just at different waves right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brush Okie (Post 531793)
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. 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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brush Okie (Post 531793)
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.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Brush Okie (Post 531793)
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?

MtnGoat 12-01-2013 21:37

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.

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.

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).


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