FORT CARSON, Colo. -- I love social media. I am totally an addict.
Personally, it has allowed me to be in contact with family and friends that, in my chosen nomadic lifestyle, I would have lost contact with years ago. We can share our lives with each other, even when we don't talk or see each other often.
Professionally, as a public affairs specialist, I have a love-hate relationship with social media.
I love it because it allows me the ability to get news out quickly, especially during times of crisis. I can tell the Army story through multiple avenues versus just traditional media outlets.
I hate it because we've become a society that overshares and, in some instances, that oversharing can lead to inappropriate release of information during crisis situations, investigations and so forth. Therefore, creating rumor and misinformation that is hard to recover from.
Many of the media queries my office receives are generated from a social media outlet -- either someone posted something about Fort Carson on a media outlet's social media page or members of the media see something on a social media site about Fort Carson or involving people on post. Some of the inquiries are valid news while others are rumor and misrepresentation. Each one takes valuable time to research and respond.
I'm not complaining. I'm stating the reality of our "new" world that involves instantaneous release of information, accurate or not.
However, there are many things that can be done to ensure that the Army policy on social media is not being violated and that people are not being misinformed by what is posted on social media sites. This includes:
Use the chain of command and Public Affairs to verify the information you heard.
Consider if you were the individual or involved in the situation; what would you want to be said about you or the situation?
What are the consequences to posting -- could someone be hurt by your comments or could it cause a situation to be worse than it already is?
Many times humor and sarcasm are not translated well when posting -- the comment or photo could be misÂconstrued and cause a lot of problems.
Would you be willing to say, face-to-face, what you are posting to the individual or organization? If not, you shouldn't post it.
Would your spouse, parent, child or boss be upset by what you posted? If so, don't post it.
We are an impatient society and want information fast. Movies, books and television give us the impression that investigations are quick and decisions are made in an instant. Social media has made face-to-face communication a rare entity.
As I said in the beginning, I love social media. However, it must be used smartly and within the guidance of Army policies and common decency.
Social Sharing