[MtnGoat]

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?