Army turns to social networks to meet new generation

Change often comes slowly, particularly in hierarchical organizations like the military that operates "by the book." But the times are changing quite rapidly when it comes to technology, and the Army, like other organizations, is adopting to meet the needs of its customers.

The reality is that the new generation of recruits is connected, and has come of age using social networks like Facebook and MySpace to share information and communicate with their peers.

"That really challenges us to get similar capabilities to collaborate, but within a small circle and a secure environment," Robert Neilson, knowledge management advisor to the U.S. Army CIO, told Computerworld. Neilson said the real benefit of social networking is the openness and the ability to gather information. But he said making these tools available must be done in the context of security.

Aside from catering to the new generation, Col. Rose Favors--the chief defense counsel of the U.S. Marine Corps.--said she is using collaboration tools to improve the operation of her office. Speaking at a Digital Government Institute conference last week, she said she has 40 attorneys and 20 enlisted Marines in offices around the world who need to be connected. After relying for years on faxes, email and telephone, Favors has adopted Microsoft SharePoint to share legal briefs and other documents to enable closer collaboration.

For more on the Army and social networks:
- see this Computerworld article

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