Defense Secretary Robert Gates has his own Facebook page, as do a number of general and flag officers, while Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a regular tweeter and blog participant. The use of social media networks to report news from media-challenged areas, like the recent unrests in Iran, Moldova and China, proved their importance at a grassroots level to thrust information out across the globe. Despite numerous government efforts to shut down the avenues of distribution for those networks, innovation allowed new lanes to open almost as soon as one was shut down.

The lessons of these networks and their applications have not been lost as a means of information distribution on the U.S. military. However, information is always a two-way street, and without a doubt what is used as a tool today can be used as a weapon tomorrow—or maybe even that same day! Without verification, as with much of the social network, information is just as easily defined as noise and is therefore of dubious value.

I would be curious to hear from the logistician—both in the military and industry communities— and see how, if at all, social networking is a part of your resource tool kit. What do you see as potential benefits, and what are the obstacles to its use? Perhaps as important, do you see it as a threat? Please throw your two cents at me on social networks and the logistics world—regular e-mail will do!

As always, please feel free to contact me with any comments or suggestions.

All the best.