I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I’ve last posted! I will get back to regular blogging, I promise! Until then…I am heading to Louisiana State University next week to guest lecture at the Manas School of Communication. If you had the chance to talk to young undergards about social media, what would you want them to know? Would love to start a discussion with you all on this topic, as it is one worth discussing in my opinion since there isn’t much in the way of standardization when it comes to social media in the classroom. 

 

I was honored to be invited to a conference call featuring Mrs. Obama and Joining Forces where a big announcement was made that over 15,000 jobs have been created for military spouses and veterans.

Mrs. Obama called military spouses talented, resilient and employable and expressed her gratitude for their flexibility and adaptability when it comes to employment. She commended them on all their unique sacrifice to our nation.

11 companies have stepped up to create over 15,000 jobs in the customer service, healthcare and telecomm industries, specifically designed for military spouses and veterans, jobs that can be done from anywhere in the country.  These jobs bring flexibility and portability necessary to the military spouse lifestyle, said the First Lady.

Mrs. Obama recognized these employers as supporting military families not just by their words by also through their actions by creating jobs.  She said this was just the beginning and she hopes more companies will follow suit.

The discussion centered on the need to create more flexible employment options and meet the needs of the evolving modern American family.  Mrs. Obama praised military spouses for leading the way in that arena and their ability to stay flexible.

A military spouse from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri joined the call and discussed how beneficial this type of program is from a perspective of someone that is living through it. She shared her experience with telework and expressed how this type of work is helpful in balancing family and multiple moves military families go through.

Mrs. Obama closed with saying how proud she is of military spouses and pledged to continue working on getting them the support they deserve and need, as we all ask so much of them.

This is very exciting news and hopefully a continued effort in hiring of military spouses, individuals who are often forgotten when we think about the sacrifices our military members make each and every day.

The First Lady says it best below: 

Just to put this in context so that people understand what these spouses go through, these men and women take on so much.  Just think of it — every couple of years they are packing up and they’re moving from state to state; oftentimes, they’re doing the work of two parents when their spouse is deployed for months at a time.  And like so many civilian families, they’re doing this all while balancing the demands of family, community, and trying to keep their own jobs together, all while hoping and praying that their loved one comes home safe.

Dear readers, as you’ve probably noticed, entries have been far few and between. As grad school has taken precedence, I am looking forward to getting back into regular blogging when this wonderful journey is over at the end of this year. Until then, I’ll post a few entries, but look for me to be back in December after my thesis has been turned in! Thanks for coming by and checking out my blog! 

 

 

Army new Ad campaign

Army social media efforts, predominantly used to inform the public on all things Army have been getting praises from countless sources, including this blog on more than one occasion.

Army is looking to leverage their social media successes into their recruiting efforts.

Army top recruiting General, Lt. Gen. Freakly comments on his desire to share more of the experiences in an online platform.

“Describing rappelling and other activities that recruits go through in boot camp, is exciting stuff. Would I love to have those young people tweeting about that.”
Why can’t they? Well, “in the first three weeks of basic training, we take away your smartphone,” General Freakley said. “You don’t even get mail from home.”

Those policies may one day be changed, he said, in that “as digital natives join us” in larger numbers, “we’ll get the balance of that right.”

Continuing to leverage existing assets such as the armystrongstories.com blog, the Army is trying to add more interaction with potential recruits and sharing of content to the way they approach recruiting.

The new social media push is a result of the new ad campaign you can view here:

Using your own people as ambassadors is not a new concept, social media just allows us to make those ambassadors readily available. Plenty of other corporations are following suit and are using alternate ways to entice potential new employees. The new question becomes, how will the Army or anyone that employs a similar strategy keep their audience engaged over an extended period of time?

To read the full New York Times article where most of the info in this post is referenced from, follow the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/business/media/25adco.html?_r=1

The issues women face as leaders continues to be a fascinating topic with dedicated research many publications emerging both in print and online.

It is no surprise that the military, an institution that prides itself in developing some of the finest leaders continues to extend opportunities to women.

A symposium dedicated to connecting women in the military will be held in San Diego this year, March 15 and 16. The theme of the Joint Women’s Leadership Symposium will be “Connect. Empower. Succeed,” Geared towards all the military branches, the women will have the opportunity to focus on their leadership development while also highlighting the achievements of women leaders on the front lines around the globe.

The opportunity for leadership development is a much coveted opportunity both men and women look for in potential employers. With women still not being equally represented in the top leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies it is an encouraging sign that the military puts emphasis on creating leadership opportunities for women as this symposium is an example of many other similar initiatives.

The chance for self improvement and life long learning are both very important and the military doesn’t fall short on either.

To learn more about the March symposium visit this Air Force story: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123242665

NFL is one entertainment entity that never falls short on supporting the troops and highlighting their accomplishments to the American public. This Super Bowl will be no different as the Air Force elite performance group, Tops in Blue will be performing during the pre-game festivities.

For one of the most important events in the country’s pop culture and sports world, it is a good thing that the military is getting representation.

For a complete list of military participating in this year’s Super Bowl take a look at this article: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123241190

The topic of ROTC being brought back to ivy league schools and other elite universities is back to being a popular topic of discussion in military news circles. For those that aren’t familiar with military issues this doesn’t seem to matter much. This topic is however very important and more so now than ever.

Defense secretary gates and Chief of the Joint Staff, Admiral Mullen warn of the dangers of an American society that is so far removed from the military community. This gap seems to get bigger over time and it especially noticeable in big cities or places that don’t have any sort of military community near. It is a scary notion to think about that 1% of Americans are fighting all our wars and for the rest of us, outside the winter holidays period we don’t put much thought about those serving. If it wasn’t for the USO and other entities vying for time on our entertainment networks during this time, most probably wouldn’t think of those serving even during the holidays. Once the month of December is over we are back to hearing about the wars or those serving but in a very removed sense as it doesn’t seem to affect our daily lives.

There are many reasons for this disconnect. Most of it stems from the lack of exposure and knowledge about those serving. One part can be attributed
to the lack of military presence at some of the most elite universities in the country. What kind of message is that sending to high caliber youth? With endless opportunities to learn and grow, these students don’t have an exposure to the military, which is not good on multiple levels.

While the military as a whole has recently enjoyed meeting and exceeding recruiting goals, the lack of military presence on ivy league campuses is much more than a recruiting issue. It is important for the military career path to be available to all that wish to go that route and the presence of military at places that typically aren’t very much connected to this community can benefit everyone involved.

Washington Post published an interesting article about ROTC recently that talks about revamping the program, making it more relevant and possibly offering some cost savings. Some of the ideas are compelling http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/27/AR2011012706168.html

Agree or disagree with the above article, one point is clear and that is that some sort of ROTC program needs to be brought back to elite universities across the country. Both Harvard and Columbia have made claims that now that DADT has been put to rest they are looking forward to welcoming the military back on their campuses. This will be an important first step in restoring a connection between the military and youth that may not be exposed to this community otherwise.

Forbes released their annual “Best Colleges” list and it is no surprise that all of the federal service academies have made the list. The United States Military Academy (West Point) ranked number 4 on the list, the U.S. Air Force Academy was ranked 11, while the U.S. Naval Academy came in at number 29, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy ranked number 105 and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy earned the number 165 ranking. While West Point was #1 last year, their slight slip to #4 is still impressive.

Receiving a stellar education (for free) while being able to serve one’s country are all factors that make these schools highly competitive and desired amongst college applicants.

The acceptance rates at the academies are low, which leave a lot of applicants that don’t secure a slot. While recruiting is exceeding its numbers it is interesting to think about what happens to all those individuals that don’t get into one of the academies? There are hundreds of ROTC and NROTC programs throughout the country that could be the perfect fit for those that have not obtained their dream slot. Does the military have an active program that focuses on those high level recruits that keeps their interest in the military going? Those that don’t make it into the federal academies between 80%- 90% of those that apply, are an attractive segment that shouldn’t be left out.

Most of the academies have social media outlets and are utilizing the tool to continue garnering interest and communicating with the public that finds itself spending quite a bit of time on social networks. While there is no worry that interest in the academies will ever weaken, it is important to preserve the tradition they stand for and educate those that may not have the background on what it means to attend one of them.

The concept of “personal branding” has gained a lot of popularity and individuals are taking the time to align their social networks to tell their story and put them in the best possible light. The question becomes, how much information should truly be personal vs. professional? Do personal anecdotes and interests outside the professional realm add value or hinder one’s credibility?

On the other hand, what if an individual wants to purely use social media for personal purposes. Is that even possible? The saying that one’s occupation indentifies them and makes them who they are can make social networking difficult if that job is not to be discussed. This is a question that can especially be of interest and of value to individuals in the military. The National Guard recently released their social media policy, which at first glance makes it very difficult to even be on a social network as a member of the Guard due to all the stipulations of can and can’t be posted. Or, is it simply common sense and what one wouldn’t say or discuss in public applies to social media and these guidelines are just simple reminders?

We hear stories of individuals losing jobs over social media posts or never even being hired to begin with. While this has become a reality, it hasn’t stopped individuals from making the same mistakes over and over. The members of the military, however, can’t afford to make too many social media mistakes as they can cause more severe problems than lost jobs, it can cost lost lives if the wrong information gets out.

The new environment we are operating in has social networks embedded in our daily operations and almost ingrained in our DNA. Since this medium doesn’t seem to be going away, it raises the real question–should these guidelines look more like training manuals rather than what can be perceived as confusing rules and regulations?

To take a look at the National Guard policy, go to this article:

http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/08/16/43818-guard-bureau-offers-social-media-guidelines-for-guardsmen/index.html?ref=home-headline-title7

Marriage to service members presents unique obstacles; military-to-military marriages can pose even more challenges, but service members find the upsides.

The Air Force recently released a story about a marriage that took place while both service members were deployed. Very interesting story you can find here: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123216930

While most of us don’t have a reason to think about the types of sacrifices service members make, it is humbling to think about having to even compromise on one of the biggest days, such as the wedding day. Missed holidays, birthdays and anniversaries are common in the military community and while we may never be able to understand the sacrifices we can appreciate all that service members do.