- The launch of the Defence White Paper was a hot mess of hashtags: Prime Minister Turnbull (#DWP2016), Defence Minister Payne (#2016DWP), the Department of Defence (#defencewhitepaper) and Chief of Defence Force (#WhitePaper) all used different ones.
- As a result, defence commentators also fractured. Defence, which commissioned a 360-page social media review in 2011, would have benefited from one coordinated hashtag to avoid social media splinter and help measure impact.
- More online coordination is evident in the government's response to Cyclone Winston in Fiji, with Defence and DFAT giving the public timely updates including good cross-promotion of each other's roles.
- The top ten best military apps for the battlefield.
- India's Army, which has a 3.7 million Facebook friends, monitors and attempts to counter negative messaging on WhatsApp (interesting to note India's Army Chief reads a daily social media report).
- 19 incredible photos from the Australian Navy (and more on their Instagram account).
- A debate on why US military officers don't write. This response argues a problem of time and top cover.
- Government blogs often fall into the trap of hosting little more than puff pieces, but the Australian Army's Land Power Forum blog, designed to generate new ideas, is different. Last month, Captain Rob Morris used the blog to argue the ADF should embrace collaboration app Slack.
- Major Mick Cook hosts a new podcast about war and warfare.
- Grounded Curiosity, founded by Major Clare O'Neill, aims to engage junior commanders about the future of warfare. It also hosts a blog to which military professionals can submit posts.
- The NZ Army admits to making a slow start on social media and learning some tough lessons. Lesson 1? Those who 'like' you on social media don't necessarily like you.
- A warning for India's military personnel: if you're receiving unusual attention from female admirers online, you may be the target of a social media honeytrap.
- Brigadier Mick Ryan on why military leaders should fully exploit the potential of social media.
- The People's Liberation Army newspaper, the PLA Daily, is the most popular Weibo account run by China's military, with 9 million followers. So it's unsurprising President Xi Jinping recently chose the PLA Daily to publish his first Weibo post, captured here:
Digital diplomacy links (defence special): White Paper, Army blogging, honeytraps and more
Published 4 Mar 2016
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