Sosiaaliset mediaoperaatiot

Kirjoittajat

• Heikki Siltala

Abstrakti

Social media operations This paper considers the social media as one of the information technology phenomena and analyzes how it changes our idea of information warfare, military leadership and authority. The traditional media is playing smaller and smaller role in the information war fare. The tools and weapons of today’s and future’s media operations are means of social media. Social media is a joint term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meanings among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.The whole idea of open social networking transforms the authority and power from formal management to the users of social media. The same phenomenon is happening with open source in the field of innovation processes in the information technology business. That is why everybody is a potential information warfare warrior; everybody has the ability to use the social media. The battle environment is going to be web 3.0 and web 4.0 and the psychological arm arsenal contains wikis, blogs, YouTube, social networking websites as Facebook, LinkedIn and Myspace. A wiki is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language. Wikipedia as the best known wiki is an excellent psychological weapon to manipulate anonymously formal information. Blogs are more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. There are examples when the blogs of the enlisted men during a conflict or a war has become even more popular than the formal media or news channels on TV and the NCO’s and officer has been part of the blog’s social network. This phenomena has a great influence to leadership culture. YouTube is an identical weapon with the blogs in a military and security environment. As a video sharing website where everybody can upload, view and share video clips it is taking the power from the traditional “screen culture” -media. In postmodern wars and conflicts YouTube is very efficiently used by both sides from the national level to the enlisted men. Another effect is how war has become entertainment in YouTube: both sides of the enlisted men can view the video almost real time just after the ba"le and shared it with rest of the world. A social network (for example Facebook, LinkedIn and Myspace) is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchange, friendship, kindship, dislike, conflict or trade. They are tempting opportunities and on the other hand networks complex enough to manipulate people as well as professional decision-makers. The crucial question – what is our a"itude towards social media – should be asked in every defense forces and security services. The first step is to establish internet strategy that directs and helps to choose the right path. Defence behind the firewalls – mental or technical – do not work anymore. You have to start to lead social media with the help of its users. Leading people is leading the social media. “The human mind has no firewall.” Artikkelin teksti on suomeksi.