Posted:
09/04/2017
I know that I arrive too late for a complete discussion on this topic but I'd like to launch this element in the Innovation Hub. I agree with all the doubts about security and stupid things in the social media that could create problem to NATO. I also pay attention to the social media as a source of information for NATO. But for my field of specific research (Communication for Social Change that it is like to say "influence operations in a civilian environment") I'd like to focus on a specific element: narrative for social media. The key for "success" (event if we have also to discuss what success means in this context) in social media environment is the "power of sharing" http://www.webhostingbuzz.com/blog/2013/03/21/whos-sharing-what/ but to create a sharing power we have to use a specifi narrative for social media. As I have said in the Information operations Conference at London last years we must create an hashtag, a status, a videoclip, a pic or better a MEME that could be "fast as a slogan in order to widespread (I suggest you to read "It was like a fever" about this aspect) and could last as Dante's Divine Comedy".If you don't use social media in this way it is better not to use social media, or better you can use twitter as a press office without interacting and only counting re-tweeting.. but it is another thing. What is the risk in this? We can analyze the challenge in the experience of USA Embassy of Cairo Twitter channel (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/03/u-s-embassy-in-cairos-controversial-twitter-account-mysteriously-deleted/ ). I don't think they are absolutely wrong (in theory the use of twitter was correct, the opportunity no...), but I think that this is the perfect example of what could happen if we don't understand the role of narrative in Social Media...So my suggestion are, if we want to go deeper in this item (not for now but for the future) is to work on the human aspect of Social Media use:1. Role's awareness (we are talking as a public institution in a big context... who we are? where we are? who are looking at us? and so on...)2. Social media identity's awareness (it is no possible to be in a social media in an old style - unless we are creating a vintage style that we can support for all the management of the social media -, we have to understand our position in the social media)3. To develope specific social media communication strategy that include institutional narrative skills for social media, interacting capacity skills mediating between institutional language and social media discourse.To do this it could be useful to create a profile of the social media specialist enlisting the specific skills (a job description with communication - and not only - skils) and a short guide of style that could translate the institutional and burocratic language in a social media language (suggestions for hashtags, status, video and meme in general) without loosing credibility, authority...I hope to be clear in english writing as I am in my mind :)Giulia