DoD: Social media and public affairs department are not at odds

Social networking isn't just entertainment, it's about better communication. That's the message Jack Holt, senior strategist for emerging media at the Defense Department, says he's spreading around the Pentagon.

"It's important for us...to add context to the things that are out there. Social media is an opportunity to build some context and understanding around events that people are hearing about," Holt told Federal News Radio.

"We can engage with a community of people who are interested in the topics and by that we were able to build some context and understanding around the entire picture of what was happening," he added.

At a March 23 FOSE session, Holt also described a world where people routinely get their information from varied sources. But with additional sources comes more noise, especially online, which threatens to interrupt the flow of accurate news, Holt said. "We need to be looking at how we can better self synchronize our own information throughout our agency," he added.

For Holt, that means not only relaying information through the public affairs office, but making trained staff available through social networking outlets. These representatives must be trained to distinguish the fine line between advise or opinion and official policy. For the most part, their goal is just to be accessible. "Often, first reports [on breaking news] are wrong. But if a big event happens, just being there, and being available offers leadership," Holt said.

In the military world, sometimes these online outlets aren't DoD public affairs personnel at all. They're troops on the ground and families on the home front using blogs and Twitter.

Holt said there is added value and credibility when agency higher-ups are able to communicate freely over Web 2.0 technologies, despite some reluctance from public affairs officials to let that happen. More and more, communication is not really something that can be governed, he said, it's about training and trust.

For more:
- listen to this Federal New Radio interview
- read this Federal Computer Week blog post

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