Social software connects people and information via online,
informal Internet networks. Social software can be used by
governments for content creation, external collaboration, community
building, and other applications. The proliferation of social
software has ramifications for U.S. national security, spanning
future operating challenges of a traditional, irregular,
catastrophic, or disruptive nature. Failure to adopt these tools
may reduce an organization's relative capabilities over time.
Globally, social software is being used effectively by businesses,
individuals, activists, criminals, and terrorists. Governments that
harness its potential power can interact better with citizens and
anticipate emerging issues. Security, accountability, privacy, and
other concerns often drive national security institutions to limit
the use of open tools such as social software, whether on the open
web or behind government information system firewalls. Information
security concerns are very serious and must be addressed, but to
the extent that our adversaries make effective use of such
innovations, our restrictions may diminish our national security.
This analysis looks at both sides of what once might have been
called a "blue-red" balance to investigate how social software is
being used (or could be used) by not only the United States and its
allies, but also by adversaries and other counterparties. We have
considered how incorporation of social software into U.S.
Government (USG) missions is likely to be affected by different
agencies, layers of bureaucracy within agencies, and various laws,
policies, rules, and regulations. Finally, we take a preliminary
look at questions like: How should the Department of Defense (DOD)
use social software in all aspects of day-to-day operations? How
will the evolution of using social software by nations and other
entities within the global political, social, cultural, and
ideological ecosystem influence the use of it by DOD? How might DOD
be affected if it does not adopt social software into operations?
In the process, we describe four broad government functions of
social software that contribute to the national security missions
of defense, diplomacy, and development: Inward Sharing, or sharing
information within agencies; Outward Sharing, or sharing internal
agency information with entities beyond agency boundaries; Inbound
Sharing, which allows government to obtain input from citizens and
other persons outside the government more easily; and Outbound
Sharing, whose purpose is to communicate with and/or empower people
outside the government. Social software, if deployed, trained on,
monitored, managed, and utilized properly, is expected to yield
numerous advantages: improve understanding of how others use the
software, unlock self-organizing capabilities within the
government, promote networking and collaboration with groups
outside the government, speed decision making, and increase agility
and adaptability. Along with the accrual of positive benefits,
incorporating social software into day-to-day work practices should
also decrease the probability of being shocked, surprised, or
outmaneuvered. Whether it is misinformation about U.S. actions
overseas being spread through new media channels, or new forms of
terrorist self-organization on emerging social networks,
experimenting with and understanding social software will increase
USG abilities to deal with complex, new challenges. Because social
software can add significant value to many ongoing missions, and
because citizens, allies, and opponents will use it regardless,
this paper recommends that national security institutions,
particularly DOD, embrace its responsible usage.
General
Imprint: |
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
July 2012 |
First published: |
July 2012 |
Authors: |
Linton Wells II
• National Defense University
• Mark Drapeau
|
Dimensions: |
280 x 216 x 2mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
44 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4781-9533-7 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-4781-9533-9 |
Barcode: |
9781478195337 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!