Fort Hood soldiers turn to social media

In the wake of the mass shooting that left 13 people dead and 30 wounded last week, soldiers and their families at Fort Hood turned to social networking to deal with the carnage that occurred in their backyard.

Social media gave people an opportunity to talk about what happened, and it allowed the military a chance to let people know that the base's media relations office was answering questions as quickly as possible.

It comes at an ironic time because DoD has not decided whether to buy into the idea that social networking is a good way to communicate. Although the Pentagon has given the green light to some social media sites, it is still examining the potential threats and benefits associated with social networking for the military.

Last week, though, it was a comfort to those at the base who were trying to sort out what happened and deal with the overwhelming emotions it unleashed. For example, a Facebook user created a page called "Prayers for Fort Hood" on Nov. 5; so far, nearly 19,000 users have signed up as members.

Thousands used Twitter to share information--such as safety status--and their feelings about the event, as well. "I was off Post here at Fort Hood when it happened. I am OK and uninvolved," one tweet said.

Scott Testa, a Cabrini College business professor with expertise in social media, told Federal Computer Week that it was natural to turn to social networking to communicate after the shotting attack. "You have a lot of people in the military that were raised on texting and now social media," Testa said. "They're not watching the network news; they're getting all their news electronically."

For more on Ft. Hood and social media:
- see this Federal Computer Week article

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