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No links below constitute any endorsement of any kind. These links, as are all others on this site, are for educational purposes only. Some may be blocked for network security reasons.

"...with electricity and automation, the technology of fragmented processes suddenly fused with the human dialogue and the need for over-all considerations of human unity. Men are suddenly nomadic gatherers of knowledge, nomadic as never before, informed as never before, free from fragmentary specialization as never before - but also involved in the total social process as never before, since with electricity we extend our central nervous system globally, instantly interrelating every human experience."
--- Marshall McLuhan, in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, 1964



Social Media Guidance & PolicyBack to Top

  • see also Social Media handbooks and guidance at the USAF Public Affairs Center of Excellence (PACE)

  • Federal
  • DoD
    • Department of Defense Web Policies and Guidelines

    • The Chairman's 2010 Social Media Strategy (local copy), Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs, 23 Mar 2010 - excerpts below
      • With the internet being the primary source of information for individuals born after 1987, social media is quickly becoming mainstream media.
      • As the internet becomes the primary source of information and public communication, we should begin moving some of our legacy products online. We must begin writing and publishing our products with embedded links to other content, pictures, and videos to meet the expectations of our online audience (think iPad and Kindle friendly).
      • Achieving these goals will require continued promotion of the sites and posting of "viral" or "newsworthy" content. It will also require the Chairman to mention his online presence during All Hands Calls and incorporate them into appropriate speeches. Our PA Outreach section, Speech Writers, and Aides will also need to send these sites to units, organizations, and media when conducting initial planning and coordination. These em ails should identify the sites as the official source for information about the Chairman and request their distribution to audiences prior to the event.
      • Embedding "share" buttons on all stories, transcripts, and videos posted to JCS.mil will also fuel our expansion by facilitating the spread of our content on other social media platforms. We must also develop a mobile version of JCS.mil so that it will display properly on mobile devices like Blackberry and the iPhone. Finally, to maintain our current position as a leader in this field, the social media director will identify new or emerging platforms to create a presence for the Chairman and the Joint Staff.

    • DoD Web 2.0 Guidance Forum

    • USSTRATCOM Social Network Training

    • New Policy Authorizes Social Media Access, With Caveats, by Miles, American Forces Press Service, 26 Feb 2010
    • DoD Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-026 - Responsible and Effective Use of Internet-based Capabilities (local copy), 25 Feb 2010 (Change 2, 22 Feb 2011) - excerpts below
      • Purpose. This memorandum establishes DoD policy and assigns responsibilities for responsible and effective use of Internet-based capabilities, including social networking services (SNS). This policy recognizes that Internet-based capabilities are integral to operations across the Department of Defense. This DTM is effective immediately; it will be converted to a new DoD issuance. This DTM shall expire effective 1 January 2012.
      • Definitions. Unless otherwise stated, these terms and their definitions are for the purpose of this DTM.
        • Internet-based capabilities. All publicly accessible information capabilities and applications available across the Internet in locations not owned, operated, or controlled by the Department of Defense or the Federal Government. Internet-based capabilities include collaborative tools such as SNS, social media, user-generated content, social software, e-mail, instant messaging, and discussion forums (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Google Apps).
        • External official presences. Offical public affairs activities conducted on non-DoD sites on the Internet (e.g., Combatant Commands on Facebook, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Twitter).
      • Policy. It is DoD policy that:
        • The NIPRNET shall be configured to provide access to Internet-based capabilities across all DoD Components.
        • [full text also outlines duties of commanders to "defend against malicious activity" and "to deny access to sites with prohibited content and to prohibit users from engaging in prohibited activity via social media sites (e.g., pornography, gambling, hate-crime related activities)."]
      • Attachments list applicable regulations and responsibilities of various offices regarding implementation of the policy.

    • DoD Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 08-037 - Policy for Department of Defense (DoD) Interactive Internet Activities (local copy), 8 Jun 2007

    • Web 2.0 Policy page on Intellipedia, including links to a policy development site, and a link to a DoD guidance forum

    • PLEASE READ spiffy DoD Social Media User Agreement - first lines included below
      • The following User Agreement (“Agreement”) governs the use of official Department of Defense social media sites and pages to include social networking pages, blogs and file sharing sites, along with all policies applicable to DoD information.
      • Please read the rules contained in this Agreement carefully. You can access this Agreement any time. Your use of any aspect of the websites will constitute your agreement to comply with these rules. If you cannot agree with these rules, please do not use the websites.
      • The Agreement may be modified from time to time; the date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page, so check back often. Continued access of the website by you will constitute your acceptance of any changes or revisions to the Agreement.
      • Your failure to follow these rules, whether listed below or in bulletins posted at various points in the website, may result in suspension or termination of your access to the website, without notice.

    • PLEASE READ spiffy Operations Security (OPSEC) and Internet Safety (local copy) - DoD brochure covering some basic cautions about content on personal web pages and blogs, to protect yourself and others

    • Web 2.0: Utilizing New Web Tools, US Navy
      • The Department endorses the secure use of Web 2.0 tools to enhance communication, collaboration, and information exchange: streamline processes; and foster productivity improvements. Use of these tools supports Department of Defense (DoD) and DON goals of achieving an interoperable, net-centric environment by improving the warfighter's effectiveness through seamless access to critical information. Web 2.0 tools are useful in a global enterprise, such as the DON, as they enable widely dispersed commands and personnel to more effectively collaborate and share information. The gains in productivity, efficiency, and innovation can be significant. Commands are encouraged to use Web 2.0 tools, consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and policies.
    • SECNAVINST 5720.47 DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY POLICY FOR CONTENT OF PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE WORLD WIDE WEB SITES

    • AFI 33-129 WEB MANAGEMENT AND INTERNET USE

  • UK
    • Ministry of Defence online engagement strategy
    • Social Media Guidance for UK Armed Forces and MOD personnel (includes general guidance, security guidance, guidance for commanders, and more)

      • UK Service and Ministry of Defence personnel are permitted to make full use of social media (such as social networking sites, blogs and other internet self-publishing), but must:
        • Follow the same high standards of conduct and behaviour online as would be expected elsewhere;
        • Always maintain personal, information and operational security, and be careful about the information you share online;
        • Get authorisation from your chain of command when appropriate, and seek advice from your chain of command if unsure.
      • Service and MOD civilian personnel can volunteer to operate "sponsored" online presences to help communicate their work, including as part of their official duties. Sponsored presences must be authorised by the chain of command.
      • Social media presences listed on the Defence Social Media Hub are sponsored and authorised by the UK Armed Forces or MOD. Social media presences not listed here have no official connection to the UK Armed Forces or MOD.

    • Template for Twitter strategy for UK Government Departments
      • includes Twitter usage statistics and demographics
      • includes tables of Twitter addresses for agencies throughout the UK government, as well as Twitter accounts for UK journalists and others

Service GuidesBack to Top

Lists of New Media - Social Media Sites & SourcesBack to Top

New Media - Social Media (overview and general info)Back to Top Adversarial Use of Social MediaBack to Top

New Media, Web 2.0, and Education & TrainingBack to Top

Professional ForumsBack to Top
  • Army
    • Battle Command Knowledge System (BCKS) - Professional Forum Facts
      • Virtual Community Types - graphic
      • Knowledge Networks Overlap - graphic
      • The Army calls its supported and structured communities of practice “professional forums.” BCKS provides a nested network of more than 60 facilitated professional forums and hundreds of knowledge networks that provide a foundation for knowledge creation and exchange. These professional forums differ slightly from communities of practice found in other professions and industry. Army professional forums focus on leader development. They intersect with other knowledge networks, communities of purpose, and knowledge centers through their members and facilitators. They maintain a secure place where candid conversations can occur.
      • Recently, one of the senior forum facilitators said, "the ultimate goal of Army Knowledge Management has always been crystal clear and is simply to facilitate experiential knowledge transfer between Soldiers. Everything else will be second and third order effects resulting from this transfer. We must provide the technical and human means for Soldiers to connect to other Soldiers both online and offline so they can learn from each other through a combination of social learning and social networking."
    • Platoon Leader - Building and Leading Combat-Effective Platoons
    • Company Command - Building Combat-Ready Teams

  • Air Force
    • Air Force Forums
      • Air Force Forums are sponsored by the Air University Spaatz Center for Officer Education. As such, they are currently restricted to officers, senior civilians, and officer candidates.
      • Currently includes Professional Forums below, and others
        • Commanders Connection - for Air Force Squadron Commanders
        • Air Force Field Grade Officer Forum
        • Flightleader.net - for Air Force Captains
        • "The Bar" - for Air Force Lieutenants

Blogs & Discussion GroupsBack to Top
  • see also counterpropaganda

  • See also open source intelligence on the AWC Gateway to the Internet

  • No links below constitute any endorsement of any kind, nor any confirmation of any information found at those sites. These links, as are all others on this site, are for educational purposes only. Some may be blocked for information security reasons.

  • PLEASE READ spiffy Operations Security (OPSEC) and Internet Safety (local copy) - DoD brochure covering some basic cautions about content on personal web pages and blogs, to protect yourself and others

  • Pentagon Keeps Wary Watch as Troops Blog, by Dao, New York Times, 8 Sep 09

  • New Media and the Air Force, pamphlet from the Air Force Public Affairs Agency, Emerging Technology Division - "should be used as an instructional guide. It is not to be construed as official guidance, endorsement of products or sites listed, nor is it policy."
    • includes Blogging Guidance for Airmen - some general guidelines

  • Blogs from the U.S. Government, listed at USA.gov

  • Open Government Blog

  • official blog of the White House
  • official blog of the State Department
  • official blog of the Library of Congress
  • official blog of NASA - including a passel of multimedia

  • DoD official blogs - based on www.dodlive.mil

  • Other DoD blogs

  • EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative

  • Pixels and Policy - "Studying how virtual worlds change our politics, policy, and culture"

  • Wounded Warrior Diaries
    • Welcome to the Wounded Warrior Diaries, where American servicemembers wounded in combat share stories of their service, including their hard-won battles on the road to recovery.

  • Flightlines - official Air Force Times blog for airmen
  • Scoop Deck - official Navy Times blog
  • The Fantail - Navy Times Navy-related blog
  • Line of Sight photo blog - Military Times

  • Arabic blogosphere begins to bloom, by Clark Boyd, The World, WGBH Boston

  • US Army Combined Arms Center Blog Library
    • The US Army Combined Arms Center Blog Library is intended to inform and educate readers while providing a medium for intellectual discussion and debate about important issues involving the US military in today's environment. The blogs contained in this library are intended to elicit comment. Our blog rules provide a wide degree of freedom. They are intended to allow individuals to express opinion and ideas in the interest of intellectual discourse and increased mutual understanding. We strongly encourage intellectual comments and debate. We do NOT allow vulgar language, personal attacks of any kind, offensive terms, the promotion of services or products, or political bias or discourse. Comments containing any of the above will be removed from the blog.

  • DoD Bloggers' Roundtable
    • "The Bloggers' Roundtable provides source material for stories in the blogosphere concerning the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Global War on Terrorism by bloggers and online journalists. Where available, this includes transcripts, biographies, related fact sheets and video."

  • Small Wars Journal blog

  • on the DEFENSE

  • Definition of "blogs"

  • Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents, from Reporters without Borders

  • New Metrics for Blog Mining (local copy), by Ulicny et al, released by Air Force Office of Scientific Research, 2007

  • Muddy Boots IO: The Rise of Soldier Blogs (local copy), by Robbins, in Military Review, Sep-Oct 2007

  • Blogs v. Freedom of Speech: A Commander’s Primer Regarding First Amendment Rights as They Apply to the Blogosphere, by Thaden, in The Reporter, Office of the Judge Advocate General, June 2006 [local copy of Apr 2006 ACSC paper of same name]

  • Blogs Study May Provide Credible Information, by Sharp, Air Force Office of Scientific Research Public Affairs, 29 June 2006
    • The Air Force Office of Scientific Research recently began funding a new research area that includes a study of blogs. Blog research may provide information analysts and warfighters with invaluable help in fighting the war on terrorism.
    • Within blogs, hyperlinks act like reference citations in research papers thereby allowing someone to discover the most important events bloggers are writing about in just the same way that one can discover the most important papers in a field by finding which ones are the most cited in research papers.
    • The blog study is part of Air Force Office of Scientific Research’s new Information Forensics and Process Integration research program recently launched at Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
    • “We are developing an automated tool to tell analysts what bloggers are most interested in at a point in time,” Ulicny said.
    • “What we’re doing is a sort of information retrieval,” Ulicny said. “The difference is that in order to find and analyze blog entries, you need to more adequately model how the blogs work on a global scale.”
    • To some degree blog interpretation, he said, involves understanding a different form of communication.
    • A good example, he said, is the recent furor in the Muslim world over the publication of cartoons of Mohammad in a Danish newspaper. The original publication wasn’t much noticed in the West, but bloggers discussed this event that possibly contributed to riots worldwide.
    • “The fact that the web is a vast source of information is sometimes overlooked by military analysts,” Kokar said. “Our research goal is to provide the warfighter with a kind of information radar to better understand the information battlespace.”

  • Open-Source Spying, by Clive Thompson, New York Times, 3 Dec 2006 - discusses need for intelligence community to use open sources and the communication techniques used on the global internet (such as instant mail and wikis and blogs)

  • Blogs and Military Information Strategy (local copy), by Kinniburgh and Denning, in IO Sphere, Summer 2006
  • Blogs and Military Information Strategy (local copy), by Kinniburgh and Denning, above article expanded into Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) Report 06-5, June 2006 - with additional material and endnotes

  • 2006 Milblog Conference, held 22 Apr 2006

  • Counterterrorism Blog

  • Engaging the Blogosphere: an Edelman/Technorati Study, by Richard Edelman, 6 Oct 2005 - survey of over 800 influential bloggers regarding why, how to approach them, etc.

  • Top 100 Military Blogs, according to MILblogging.com
  • Military Blogs listed by GlobalSecurity.org
  • other resources about military blogs

  • Google Blog Search - blog search engine
  • Google Groups Search - discussion group (formerly called UseNet) search engine

  • IceRocket blog search
  • Clusty blog search - combines a group of blog searching tools, including the following, into one search

  • The Power and Politics of Blogs, by Drezner and Farrell, Aug 2004

  • CENTCOM engagement of bloggers
    • CENTCOM Team Engages 'Bloggers' (local copy), 2 Mar 2006 news article by Alvarez, for American Forces Information Service
      • The team engages bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information. They extend a friendly invitation to all bloggers to visit the command's Web site.
      • The team's motto is "Engage," and Flowers and others work with more than 250 bloggers to try to disseminate news about the good work being done by U.S. forces in the global war on terror. The effort, officials here said, has reached more than 17 million online readers.
      • In another blog contact, the team wrote a blogger who had written untrue information about U.S. military tactics. The blogger stated that the U.S. military routinely used children in Iraq and Afghanistan as human shields during their operations by using candy to entice and lure kids near them. The team posted a comment on the writer's blog stating that the U.S. military did not use human shield tactics and explained the full circumstances of the incident where Iraqi children died in 2004 when insurgents attacked U.S. forces in Baghdad.
      • "We don't go in there and get into a debate," he said. And officials here are quick to point out that they are not policing Web sites. They are simply offering bloggers the opportunity to get raw information directly from the source.
    • U.S. Military Targets Blogs To Shape Opinions On Iraq, Afghanistan Operations, by Sherman, Inside Defense, 1 Mar 06
      • Since last July, the Florida-based U.S. Central Command’s public affairs staff -- in an effort recently praised by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for its innovation -- has been initiating contact with editors of Web sites that cover operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, offering the same news releases and stories written by military officials that are made available to journalists affiliated with traditional media outlets.
      • CENTCOM’s Web site now gets more visitors through these linked blogs than it does from search engines like Google and Yahoo. Since the outreach effort began, online subscriptions to the command’s weekly newsletter have tripled, and the command has observed that items it sends to bloggers ripple across the Internet, directly reaching thousands of viewers, McNorton said.
      • McNorton, the CENTCOM spokesman, said the command has reached out to blogs edited by people who support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as to those who oppose it. To date, the vast majority of the blogs that regularly post CENTCOM content and provide a direct link are run by what he calls “supporters.”
      • Fewer than 10 blogs written by those who oppose U.S. operations, which CENTCOM calls “determined detractors,” have established links, he said.
      • All CENTCOM-generated content provided to blogs is in English. A real counter-propaganda campaign, McNorton said, would require engaging in other languages, particularly Arabic and Farsi.

    • stories about it on the full web
    • stories about it on gov/mil web

  • spiffy The Blogs of War, by Hockenberry, in Wired magazine, August 2005
      • "Never before has a war been so immediately documented, never before have sentiments from the front scurried their way to the home front with such ease and precision. Here I sit, in the desert, staring daily at the electric fence, the deep trenches and the concertina wire that separates the border of Iraq and Kuwait, and write home and upload my daily reflections and opinions on the war and my circumstances here, as well as some of the pictures I have taken along the way. It is amazing, and empowering, and yet the question remains, should I as a lower enlisted soldier have such power to express my opinion and broadcast to the world a singular soldier's point of view? To those outside the uniform who have never lived the military life, the question may seem absurd, and yet, as an example of what exists even in the small following of readers I have here, the implications of thought expressed by soldiers daily could be explosive." - quote from Chris Missick, in the blog A Line in the Sand

    • Milbloggers constitute a rich subculture with a refreshing candor about the war, expressing views ranging from far right to far left. They also offer helpful tips about tearing down an M16, recipes for beef stew (hint: lots of red wine), reviews of the latest episode of 24, extremely technical discussions of Humvee armor configurations, and exceptionally raw accounts of field hospital chaos, gore, and heroism.

  • Diving the Digital Dumpster: The Impact of the Internet on Collecting Open-Source Intelligence, by Umphress, in Air & Space Power Journal, Winter 2005

  • Rise of the Milblogs, by Hewitt, in The Daily Standard, 12 Mar 2004
    • The ability of the civilian world to access the news and views of the military directly is a sea-change in media.

  • We Need Spy Blogs: An Army officer calls for better information gathering, by Alexander, in Wired, Mar 2005
    • The first step toward reform: Encourage blogging on Intelink. When I Google "Afghanistan blog" on the public Internet, I find 1.1 million entries and tons of useful information. But on Intelink there are no blogs. Imagine if the experts in every intelligence field were turned loose - all that's needed is some cheap software. It's not far-fetched to picture a top-secret CIA blog about al Qaeda, with postings from Navy Intelligence and the FBI, among others. Leave the bureaucratic infighting to the agency heads. Give good analysts good tools, and they'll deliver outstanding results.

    • And why not tap the brainpower of the blogosphere as well? The intelligence community does a terrible job of looking outside itself for information. From journalists to academics and even educated amateurs - there are thousands of people who would be interested and willing to help. Imagine how much traffic an official CIA Iraq blog would attract. If intelligence organizations built a collaborative environment through blogs, they could quickly identify credible sources, develop a deep backfield of contributing analysts, and engage the world as a whole. How cool would it be to gain "trusted user" status on a CIA blog?

WikisBack to Top
  • Wikis page on WebContent.gov

  • Why Wikis at NASA? (local copy), by Verville et al, in NASA's ASK magazine, issue 44, Fall 2011
    • Wikis are used across NASA for collaboration
    • Some of the critical practices and principles for successful wikis are listed below.
      • Wikis work best when they solve a problem that is evident to most of a group.
      • Wiki use needs to replace an existing work process, not add to work.
      • Wikis need advocates and advertising.
      • Seeding the wiki with valuable content helps jump-start the process; with a blank page, no one knows where to start.
      • Gradual growth is fine, and starting small helps a core group of users become accustomed to the wiki (think pilot study).
      • A wiki that serves a niche need is okay; it does not need to be all things to all people.

  • Enabling Collaboration Through the Use of Wikis at the Library of Congress, 28 Aug 2007 report from Wikis and Blogs IOG Task Group

  • Intellipedia - the U.S. Government's unclassified wiki

  • COLAB - Collaborative Work Environment - wiki hosted by GSA Intergovernmental Solutions

  • Diplopedia
    • Diplopedia, billed as the Encyclopedia of the United States Department of State, is a wiki running on the State internal Intranet, called "OpenNet." [from the Wikipedia entry]
    • Diplopedia guidelines (local copy) - good start for others to follow
    • U.S. Department of State and Rice University Release Joint Study of Diplopedia, 21 May 2010
      • The paper, “Diplopedia Imagined: Building State’s Diplomacy Wiki,” is being presented at the 2010 International Symposium on Collaborative Technologies and Systems in Chicago by its coauthors Tiffany Smith, a State Department employee in its Bureau of Information Resource Management and Chris Bronk, a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute Public Policy and lecturer in Rice's Department of Computer Science.
      • In the paper, Smith and Bronk explain how the project allowed the State Department to make its first adoption of open source software and employ that software to capture, catalog and disseminate the job knowledge expertise required for working diplomats.
      • Diplopedia launched in September 2006 as a clean slate with only a dozen or so articles. In just over three years it has grown to more than 11,000 articles written and edited by State Department employees. One of the few differences that Diplopedia has with Wikipedia is that within Diplopedia, the employee must be a registered user and the employee’s page creations and edits are identified back to that person.

  • Bureaupedia
    • FBI officials see Bureaupedia as a knowledge management tool that will let agents and analysts share their experiences to ensure that their accumulated insight remains after they retire. The project is a collaborative effort between the FBI's chief knowledge officer and chief technology officer.

  • Wikipedia

  • Wikipedia Film Portal

  • Wiki in support of ACSC, created by AU Library (aka MS.FRIC)

  • Wikis for Supporting Distributed Collaborative Writing, by Wei et al, 2005

  • The Hive, by Poe, in The Atlantic Monthly - the development of wiki concept

  • What is Wiki? - at Wiki.org

  • National Intelligence Estimate On Infectious And Chronic Disease - National Intelligence Council wiki, administered by Mercyhurst College, 2006-2007

  • Shift Happens wiki

YouTube & TroopTubeBack to Top VimeoBack to Top FlickrBack to Top FaceBookBack to Top MySpaceBack to Top TwitterBack to Top Podcasts, Podcasting, Webcasting, and Web RadioBack to Top
  • Podcasting - as explained at Wikipedia

  • Pentagon Channel
    • Podcasting - Podcasting is a method of publishing audio broadcasts via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed of new files (usually MP3s). Many content providers offer podcast feeds at no cost. These feeds deliver audio broadcasts to your desktop. You can listen to these files on your computer or load them on to your MP3 player and take them with you. The word "podcasting" combines the words "broadcasting" and "iPod." The term can be misleading since neither podcasting nor listening to podcasts requires an iPod or any portable music player.

    • Armed with Science, Pentagon Channel podcast

    • Pentagon Channel podcast widget - click on desired podcast, then click on arrowhead pointing right to start playing

  • Pentagon Web Radio, including
    • Dot Mil Docs
      • You’re listening to Dot Mil Docs, a product of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Military Health System. This show is designed to discuss the topics that concern you most when it comes to military health. We welcome your input, your questions, and your thoughts.

  • Wounded Warrior Diaries
    • Welcome to the Wounded Warrior Diaries, where American servicemembers wounded in combat share stories of their service, including their hard-won battles on the road to recovery.

  • DODvClips - DoD video clips/news

  • Air Force Podcasting

  • NASAcast

  • Podcasts from the Federal Government, as listed by FirstGov

  • Science and Technology Podcasts from the U.S. Government

  • NOAA Podcast

Games as Message Bearers and Influence AgentsBack to Top
  • Public Diplomacy and Virtual Worlds, USC Center on Public Diplomacy,
    • Reinventing Public Diplomacy Through Games Competition
    • New Technology and Public Diplomacy: "Public Diplomacy and Virtual Worlds"
      • The Public Diplomacy and Virtual Worlds project is a research project examining one aspect of new technology and public diplomacy: the role of video games, specifically Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), in public diplomacy.
      • Early research has confirmed that within these spaces, there is a unique opportunity to create, foster and sustain intercultural dialogue and that perception of national values, ideals, and character are both reinforced and altered by the real time interactions that occur in these spaces.

  • Serious Games Initiative
      "The Serious Games Initiative is focused on uses for games in exploring management and leadership challenges facing the public sector. Part of its overall charter is to help forge productive links between the electronic game industry and projects involving the use of games in education, training, health, and public policy."
  • Games for Change
      "The Serious Games Initiative presents Games For Change An organization dedicated to bringing together non-profits and their partners to explore the use of digital games to advance organizational missions and societal change."

  • "Darfur Is Dying" game
    • Game home site
    • In 'Darfur Is Dying,' the Game That's Anything But, by Vargas, Washington Post, 1 May 2006
      • In the online game "Darfur Is Dying," launched at yesterday's Save Darfur rally on the Mall, atrocity is a click of a mouse away. A player can be a 14-year-old girl in a blue dress with white polka dots named Elham, in search of water for her camp, chased by gun-carrying Janjaweed militiamen. Run, Elham, run!
      • Sponsored by Reebok and MTVu, the college-oriented TV network, and designed by a group of students at University of Southern California, "Darfur Is Dying" is part of a growing but still nascent "games for change" movement within video games.
    • other articles, blogs, comments on the game and its effect

Collaboration Technology and MethodsBack to Top
  • NASA CoLab
  • USDA CoLab
  • The Collaboration Project - "an independent community powered by the national academy of public administration"

  • Enabling Collaboration Through the Use of Wikis at the Library of Congress, 28 Aug 2007 report from Wikis and Blogs IOG Task Group

  • Center for Intergovernmental Solutions
  • COLAB - Collaborative Work Environment - wiki hosted by GSA Intergovernmental Solutions

  • Collaborative Network Evolution: The Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning Group (local copy), by Rust, Naval Postgraduate School, Mar 2006
    • This study bridges the narrow divide between collaboration theory and networking and views organizations as a source of collaborative processes. Social network analysis is applied to determine how the Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning Group (TEW) evolved from a small group of actors to a diverse, county-wide network bridging public-private, local-state-federal, and functional divides. The TEW demonstrates an example of organizational problem solving where a network facilitated collaboration in a wickedly complex and uncertain environment. The network’s consensus-based innovation, collaborative processes, and meta-leadership helped the network evolve. These factors strengthened the collaborative ethos of the network and set the stage for success as the network meets current and future challenges. The TEW’s bottom-up, consensus-based network expansion contrasts sharply with top-down collaborative approaches, such as the creation of the National Counterterrorism Center and Department of Homeland Security. Lessons from the TEW’s well-paced evolution provide insight into how to facilitate collaborative action and build collaborative capacity for the future.

WidgetsBack to Top
  • Web page code that enables a web page to draw continually updated info from another site/source

  • Examples from DoD and AF
           

AppsBack to Top
  • apps.gov -- includes section on social media apps
    • Social media apps make it easier to create and distribute content and discuss the things we care about and help us get the job done. Social media includes various online technology tools that enable people to communicate easily and share information. Social media includes text, audio, video, images, podcasts, and other multimedia communications.

  • DoD Storefront - for sharing apps, widgets, and other Web 2.0 resources, across the services

  • Apps for the Army (A4A) challenge issued 1 Mar 2010 by Army A6
    • from CIO/G-6 Public Affairs
      • WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 1, 2010) -- Today, the Army announced its first internal applications-development challenge. The program, called "Apps for the Army," or A4A, gives Army personnel the opportunity to demonstrate their software- development skills.
      • Open to all Soldiers and Army civilians, the challenge's top submissions will be recognized at the LandWarNet Conference in August. Winners will receive monetary awards from a cash pool totaling $30,000.
      • Marvin Wages, program manager for A4A, said "making Apps for the Army a challenge with cash awards provides participants additional incentive to create an application. It also creates more interest" in the competition.
      • The Army's G-6, which is coordinating the A4A challenge, hopes the contest will improve current service capabilities or add new ones - all through the ingenuity of Soldiers and Army employees.
      • "We're building a culture of collaboration among our Army community to encourage smarter, better and faster technical solutions to meet operational needs," said Army chief information officer and G-6 Lt. Gen. Jeff Sorenson.
      • "Soldiers and Army civilians will be creating new mobile and Web applications of value for their peers - tools that enhance warfighting effectiveness and business productivity today," Sorenson said. "And, we're rewarding their innovation with recognition and cash."
      • Participation in A4A is limited to the first 100 Army personnel, to include active-duty Soldiers, Army Reserve and Army National Guard on active duty, and Army civilians who enroll. Only Army personnel can participate. Teamwork is encouraged, but not required, officials said, and participants can submit multiple entries.
      • A4A applications may tackle any aspect of Army information technology - distributed training, battle command, career management, continuing education, or news and information distribution, for example. A4A will use the latest in collaborative development media, G-6 officials said.
      • "Apps for the Army features an innovative cloud computing service for participants to use during software creation," Sorenson noted. "This is key because it eliminates the constraints of hardware provisioning prior to prototype evaluation."
      • The service, provided by the Defense Information Systems Agency and known as the Rapid Access Computing Environment, or RACE, offers access to on-demand virtual Windows and Linux development environments. Participants will be able to use all available programming languages supported by Windows Server and the Linux, Apache, MYSQL and PHP (LAMP) frameworks. They also will be able to build emulated Blackberry, iPhone and Android applications.
      • Forge.mil will serve as the collaborative software repository for competitors. The tools inherent in milBook and AKO will facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas, problems and solutions relevant to the Apps for the Army initiative.

  • Top winners of Apps for the Army contest which yielded 53 apps in 75 days

  • Rapid Access Computing Environment (RACE)

  • Request for Information (RFI) DARPA-SN-10-27 Mobile Apps for the Military, March 2010
    • The primary purpose of this RFI is to discover sources of commercial and non-commercial apps with potential relevance to the military specifically and the national security community more generally. These apps may be used in situations such as the tactical battlefield, for humanitarian assistance, and in disaster recovery efforts. DARPA’s initial interest will focus on apps developed on the iPhone or Android platforms that can be used today with little or no additional research and development expenses. Application providers may already have offerings in the commercial marketplace that could be adapted to meet these needs.

Net Generation/Next GenerationBack to Top

  • Why Affective Learning in a Situated Place Matters for the Millennial Generation, by Stricker, Air University, June 2009
    • This paper offers an interpretation of the generational divide associated with new media and learning.

  • Educating the Net Generation: A Handbook of Findings for Practice and Policy, from the University of Melbourne - including guidance on using emerging technologies

  • Web 2.0 and Warfighter Training (local copy), slides by Smith, Chief Technology Officer, US Army PEO STRI, June 2008 - includes life-cycle of media matched with stages of training development/delivery cycle

  • Net Generation - Preparing for Change in the Federal Information Technology Workforce (local copy), by CIO Council
    • THE NET GENERATION TOP 20 “TO DO” LIST
      1. Show that the organization understands their world.
      2. Rethink authority and hierarchy within the organization.
      3. Include Net-Geners in re-designing work practices.
      4. Design jobs and work spaces to support collaboration.
      5. Become social media savvy
      6. Invest in technology to power high performance, creativity, and collaboration.
      7. Examine how new technology is deployed within the organization.
      8. Refresh organization websites and their capabilities.
      9. Re-examine career paths for all generations.
      10. Customize training programs for individual workers.
      11. Encourage and incentivize Boomer and Net-Gen mentors.
      12. Examine current and future supervisory bench strength.
      13. Measure performance by productivity, not physical presence.
      14. Retool performance recognition programs and provide more continuous feedback.
      15. Create dynamic recruiting programs that employ a cross section of media.
      16. Be authentic when recruiting; emphasize organization values and strengths.
      17. Create a dynamic onboarding program.
      18. Fund and use hiring flexibilities strategically.
      19. Create a more flexible and fun working environment.
      20. Craft lasting networking relationships with employees who leave the organization.

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