The US Army officially announced its launch of its 2011 Social Media Handbook. This handbook is a follow up to the 2010 Handbook which according to Army Life, the official US Army blog, “only scratched the surface of Army social media use.” This document discusses the guidelines for social media usage for soldiers, families and employees. Some of the security tips include not revealing schedule information and event locations, making sure family members understand what type of information can and cannot be posted on social networks and reviewing photos and videos before they’re posted online to make sure they don’t give away “sensitive” information.
The handbook was created by the Army’s Online and Social Media Division (who knew!). Since the US Marines lifted their ban on social media last year, all five divisions of the military are now on Facebook and Twitter. With social media being widely accepted and used in the military, keeping in touch with family and friends is probably a lot easier and more convenient. I for one think that this is a very smart move by the military seeing that if their soldiers are going to be using social media, they might as well teach them safer ways to use it.
Congrats social media, you have infiltrated the United States Armed Forces!
To learn more about this handbook click here.