Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
Internet use is prolific worldwide. There is a
constant stream of movement to new and
emerging media by the traditional media outlets,
the American public and the military. At the
same time, adversaries infiltrate these resources
to counter our messages, intelligence and
effective communications. Social media is a
networked means of communicating. What
follows is a primer for social media use and
consideration.
NOTE: Many of the "Social Media Handbook for
Navy PAOs" references are also found in the
remaining services' handbooks as well. Students
familiar with their respective service handbooks
should recognize the material.
To be successful at telling the DOD's story, you
must take full advantage of all the communication
tools at your disposal. People expect news to find
them through social media platforms, which can be
a valuable tool for your organizations. Effectively
using IbC can help organizations and commands
establish credibility, accessibility and authenticity.
Understanding social media can help you excel as a
DOD communicator.
NOTE: For this lesson, the doctrinal term "Internetbased Capabilities" or "IbC" is used synonymously
with social media, new media, digital media and
emerging media.
Click link below to see Social Media Is Revolutionary video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUCfFcchw1w
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Define IbC, to include current terminology
and jargon
One of the first things you need to realize is that
doctrinally within DOD, social media is defined as
"Internet-based Capabilities" or "IbC."
IbC consists of all public information capabilities
or applications available across the Internet from
locations not directly or indirectly controlled by the
Department of Defense or the federal government.
Internet-based capabilities include collaborative tools
such as social networking services (SNS), social
media, user-generated content, social software,
email, instant messaging and discussion forums.
Official uses of Internet-based capabilities unrelated
to public affairs are permitted. However, because
these interactions take place in a public venue,
personnel acting in their official capacity shall
maintain liaison with public affairs, recognizing the
importance of operations security. Use of Internetbased capabilities for official purposes shall:
Through social media, individuals or collaborations of
individuals create and organize Web content, edit or
comment on content, combine and share content and
conduct conversations.
Social media uses many technologies and formats,
including Web feeds, blogs, wikis, photo and
video sharing, podcasts, social networking, social
bookmarking, mashups, widgets, virtual worlds, microblogs and more.
NOTE: A one-stop resource for the latest guidance on
DOD IbC can be found at:
www.defense.gov/socialmedia/
● Comply with established OPSEC guidelines
● Be registered in the registration system hosted by
the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (PA)
via defense.gov (DODI 8550.01, pg. 26).
● Ensure the information posted is relevant and
accurate and provides no information not approved
for public release, including personally identifiable
information (PII)
● Provide links to official DOD content hosted on
DOD-owned, -operated, or -controlled sites where
applicable
● Include a disclaimer when personal opinions are
expressed (e.g., “This statement is my own and does
not constitute an endorsement by or opinion of the
Department of Defense”).
Social media is the umbrella term that defines
various activities that integrate technology, social
interaction, and the creation of words, pictures, video
and audio through the Internet. Social media uses
the opinions and wisdom of the online community
to connect people to information in a collaborative
manner online.
The DOD social media website is designed to help
the DOD community use social media and other
IbCs responsibly and effectively � both in official and
unofficial capacities. The site has links to IbC/social
media training videos and briefs, the latest official
policies governing DOD's IbC presence and usage, as
well as a compilation of all DOD-registered IbC official
use sites.
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Identify target audiences within IbC
Now that you understand what IbC is, let's
look at who your target audiences are in these
communication channels.
Your audiences can also include stakeholders,
politicians, community leaders, the general public and
adversaries.
Communicating with specified audiences in IbC
or social media channels is no different than
communicating in traditional public affairs channels:
you have to know with whom you're trying to
communicate. To remain relevant to our audiences,
we must communicate with them in the channels
and on the platforms where they get their information
-- mainstream and social media alike. Today we are
expected to be able to communicate on behalf of our
organizations in the near-real time environment of
social media, and be responsive to the comments
and feedback we receive from our audiences. If we
fail these expectations, our audiences will simply get
their information elsewhere.
It is not sufficient to merely have an understanding that
your audiences are both internal and external.
There are many social media platforms your command
can use to reach its target audiences, but to be effective
you should carefully consider a select few platforms that
will reach the largest percentage of your audiences and
enable you to accomplish your communication goals.
It is important to ensure our communications reach
all relevant audiences without bias toward any one
particular platform.
Identify and prioritize the audiences with which you
intend to communicate -- both internal and external.
DOD's targeted IbC audiences include service
members, veterans, DOD civilians and DOD families.
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Identify IbC outlets
Remember the importance of knowing your audience
in all communication efforts. Let's dive into the
different kinds of social media platforms and the main
categories that fall under social media.
Here are the most commonly-used types of social
media in government:
the act of writing extremely short blog posts, kind of
like text messages, which are characterized as short
conversations about listening to and sharing ideas.
Users can read these messages online or have them
sent as a text message to a mobile device.
● Blogs (e.g., WordPress) - A blog is an easy-toupdate website or webpage where authors write
regular entries in a diary-like format. The most
effective and interesting blogs allow readers to
engage in conversations with the author and other
readers.
NOTE: Twitter is currently the most popular microblog
service and lets users post entries up to 140 characters
long.
NOTE: http://www.digitalgov.gov/category/
socialmedia/ offers advice on how to manage a
government blog.
● Social Networks (e.g., Facebook) - Social
networking sites are online communities where
people can join (usually for free) and, at a minimum,
establish a page with their profile, making it easy
for members to connect with others who have
similar interests or affiliations and establish contact
networks. The most popular sites, like Facebook,
also have groups, which are feature-rich chat boards
for members where they can share comments, links,
photos, videos, etc. LinkedIn offers sections for jobs,
recommendations and questions.
NOTE: Many Web 2.0 tools such as photo-sharing
(e.g., Flickr) or location-based services (e.g.,
FourSquare) now incorporate social networking
features.
● Microblogs (e.g., Twitter) - Microblogging is
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Identify IbC outlets (continued)
● Wikis (e.g., Wikipedia) - A wiki is a type of
collaborative work space � a collection of web pages
that encourages users to contribute or modify the
content and can help a community collaboratively
develop a document or web page from anywhere.
Wikis can be public facing (anyone can see the
content), open to only a defined community within or
across organizations, open or closed. An open wiki
allows anybody to make changes and view content.
A closed wiki allows only community members to
make changes and view its content. Some wikis
allow anyone to view content, but only members can
edit the content.
NOTE: Wikipedia is one of the most well-known
public wikis.
http://www.digitalgov.gov/category/socialmedia/
offers information about why wikis are important in
government (knowledge sharing, collaboration across
boundaries, engagement, transparency and efficient
use of information).
Video - Short videos are used to communicate all kinds
of information by way of websites and popular online
video-sharing services. Short videos can be produced
inexpensively and played on computers and many
mobile devices.
“Podcasting” is a word that combines the words
"broadcasting" and "iPod" and is a way of publishing
MP3 audio files on the web so they can be downloaded
onto computers or portable listening devices (iPods or
other MP3 players).
NOTE: The term can be misleading since neither
podcasting nor listening to podcasts requires an iPod
or any portable music player. It’s another way to
increase awareness of government information and
more government agencies are using podcasts as a
quick and easy way to distribute audio as an addition to
existing text.
● Discussion forums � Discussion forums are
places for online communities to discuss topics of
common interest. Posts are organized into related
threads around questions and answers or community
discussions. These forums work like a bulletin board:
you post a message and return later to see if people
have responded. A forum helps create communities
around shared interests. In a discussion forum, you can
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Identify IbC outlets (continued)
search or browse through messages to learn more
about a topic, post a question or answer a question.
NOTE: Discussion forums are also known as
discussion groups, community boards, message
boards and online forums. Agencies use forums for
a variety of reasons, including sharing tips or asking
questions, finding people who deal with similar types
of issues and creating a centralized place to answer
questions, also called a Help Forum.
● RSS feeds - RSS stands for Really Simple
Syndication. It is a web content format which,
when used with an RSS aggregator, can allow you
to alert users to new or exciting content on your
website. These news feeds enable users to avoid
the conventional methods of browsing or searching
for information on websites. The content they want is
delivered directly to them. RSS feeds are commonly
used on blogs, news websites and other places with
frequently updated content. Once users subscribe
to an RSS feed, they can gather material from
websites of their choosing. It’s a very convenient
format because it allows users to view all the new
content from multiple sources in one location on their
desktop. RSS can allow government agencies to
more easily track updates to each other’s content.
This offers potential for increased collaboration and
information sharing between agencies that could
reduce duplication and inconsistencies across
government websites.
● Social media releases - A social media release
(SMR) is an extension of a traditional print press
release. Posted online, it includes links to the content
about which the release has been written. You can
also incorporate multimedia features including, but not
limited to: photographs, videos, podcasts, RSS feeds,
and social bookmarking.
NOTE: Social media releases allow your readers to
not only learn about the topic, but experience it through
other channels. Add interactivity by allowing readers
to offer their feedback directly on the release. An SMR
can also include a "comment" field where readers can
post their thoughts about the content.
● Photo sharing (i.e. Flickr and Instagram) - Photo
sharing has become a key part of the social media
landscape, since photos can now be so easily shared
on sites like Flickr, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Explain tactics, techniques and procedures
Armed with an understanding of the different social
media categories, let's examine what to do when
operating in those channels.
● Positive attitude: Just like in interpersonal
relationships, people using social media want to interact
with others who help create solutions, not problems.
You will execute specific social media tactics,
techniques and procedures (TTPs) in future blocks
of instruction. What we will discuss now are common
approaches, or TTPs, that your respective services
recommend and employ across the spectrum of IbC
platforms.
● Sincerity: Be yourself and be genuine. Social media
is conversational, and it is appropriate to show some
personality, even in an official capacity. You do not
need to be a disembodied voice of the organization.
Social media principles (Army/Navy/Marine Corps
social media handbooks) � No matter which platform
you use in social media, the basic principles of
transparency and authenticity should apply to your
communication. Powerful advantages of social media
include that it is unmediated, it provides feedback,
and it promotes trust. These are only achieved by
applying the following principles:
● Authenticity: It is critical that people know who
you are in social media. If they can’t be sure who
you are, then they won’t trust you and won’t form a
relationship with you.
● Humor: While we take what we do seriously, don’t
take yourself, your content or others’ criticism too
seriously. Social media users expect and approve
of levity and humor. Know where the line is between
appropriate and inappropriate, and use humor when
warranted, but never lose your professionalism.
● Respect: Social media is a flat environment. You
and your organization are not above the collective or
individuals. Respect others’ opinions, even when you
don’t agree with them.
● Transparency: In social media, there is more than
an expectation of transparency � there is a demand
for it. Attempts to hide embarrassing information or
avoid unpleasant topics will not only be ineffective,
they will likely be counterproductive and draw more
attention.
● Consistency: Your stakeholders using social
media will quickly go elsewhere to meet their
information needs if you are erratic with your
participation. Decide how much time you will dedicate
to your social media effort and stick to it. A burst of
activity will be wasted if it is followed by a long period
of absence. Make a plan.
Photo courtesy of www.nationalguard.mil
● Responsiveness: Social media, even more so
than traditional media, requires responsiveness
on the part of the organization. Answer questions.
Acknowledge concerns. Thank people who offer
suggestions. This is a two-way medium, and you are
talking with your stakeholders to build understanding.
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Discuss differences between personal and
professional IbC engagements
Applying those basic TTPs is important, but an
area that has given many military PAOs issues as
social media has grown in popularity is knowing
the difference between personal and professional
conduct.
When considering the differences between personal
and professional IbC engagements, remember your
job as a DOD spokesperson does NOT end when you
go home at close of business.
The people you associate with and connect to already
know or can quickly find out about you.
When communicating publicly in any manner, you
always represent the military to some degree because
the people you are communicating with are your
family, your friends or your coworkers, and they
already know about your affiliation with the military.
As the DOD's corps of professional communicators,
the public affairs community has a distinct
responsibility to the DOD, our commanders, the public
and ourselves. As the communicators, spokespersons
and storytellers of the military, you have a privileged
role within your service. You are privy to information
that is often available only to the most senior levels
of command and must be able to represent your
commanders and the DOD to a global audience.
As such, you are held to a higher standard than your
peers and must be vigilant that what you say and
do online and in social media not only follows the
previously stated guidelines but also does not interfere
with your ability to serve as the spokesperson for and
adviser to the commander.
with people who know of your affiliation with DOD, the
probability you’ll be discovered is high.
Conduct yourself online with the understanding that
what you say and do doesn’t just reflect on you but also
reflects on DOD.
It's equally important to ensure all members of the
command engage in IbC appropriately. PAOs should
seek their commander's support to proactively train the
members of the command.
You must also be disciplined in keeping your opinions
to yourselves when there is a possibility that they could
be used in a different context to discredit your role as
spokesperson and adviser.
● Watch what you say. Do not post anything that can
be seen as defamatory, libelous, obscene, abusive,
threatening, racially or ethnically hateful, or otherwise
offensive or illegal.
● Correct the record professionally and respectfully.
If you see something written about the military online
that you know is inaccurate, then you should engage
with that person and correct the misstatement or
misunderstanding professionally and respectfully.
Fewer and fewer people in the U.S. have a direct
connection with the military, and when you correct this
person in public, this may be the only reflection some
people have of the military. If you choose to correct
someone, do so courteously.
To do less is to jeopardize your ability to effectively
communicate on behalf of your command and the DOD.
This means that you must be judicious in what you
say online and where you say it.
You are responsible for your actions online. There
is no free pass to your conduct online. If you say or
do something online that violates the law, the UCMJ,
and/or DOD policy, you can be held accountable
when it is discovered. And since you are connected
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The Center of Excellence for Visual Information and Public Affairs
Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Identify various IbC measurement tools
Most of our discussion so far has been on big picture
challenges in social media channels. Let's take a
look at some specific practices from DOD commands
that work.
Why measure? By measuring the success of a
social media presence and by listening to the online
conversation, your organization can effectively
determine how organizational messages are
received. Measurement is about more than just
numbers. It’s about social media trends and human
feedback.
NOTE: All information in the measurement section
of this lesson is attributable to the Army Office of
the Chief of Public Affairs Online and Social Media
Division, although there is complementary/additional
measurement guidance in the other services' social
media handbooks.
Determining what to measure
● Specifying organization objectives, drafting themes
and preparing messages help determine the metrics
an organization will focus on and analyze.
Consider the organizational objectives related
to stakeholders and their priorities. Social media
objectives consider such factors as information
distribution, community building, sentiment,
conversation and family connections. AFTER
considering organizational IbC objectives, then set
metrics to measure success.
Using organic analytics tools
● Nearly all of the most popular social media
platforms offer analytics tools for users. Using
the analytics tools of each platform can help
an organization measure and demonstrate the
usefulness of a social media platform or highlight the
success of a specific social media campaign.
In Facebook’s insights tab, an administrator can
review total interactions, impressions, number of
“likes,” number of comments and a wide variety
of other valuable metrics. These numbers help
administrators view what messages are resonating
and how the page following is growing.
Flickr provides metrics that help administrators evaluate
what photos are performing well. These numbers help
administrators get a better feel for what photo subjects
pull in views.
NOTE: Social Media Fact: Flickr is a great resource for
gaining new visitors who are intrigued by a compelling
photo and want to learn more. A good way to capitalize
on this curiosity is to provide a link to a related Army
story on the organization website or the Army.mil
website.
YouTube’s “insight” function helps show more than
just how many views a video receives. It shows what
days the video received the most views, and it can also
illustrate where in the world the video was viewed.
Twitter performs a more basic function compared to
other social media platforms, so its metric tools are
limited. With each tweet, administrators can determine
how many people retweeted the content. But to truly
evaluate the reach of a tweet, one should use URL
shorteners or other external measurement programs.
Other analytics programs
Social media teams are not required to rely primarily
on organic analytics tools provided by social media
platforms.
Dozens of sites are dedicated to helping users find out
what people are talking about. These sites can help
administrators gauge the success and reach of their
social media message.
Some examples include SocialMention, TweetReach,
Google Trends, Klout and Twitalyzer.
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Identify various IbC measurement tools
(continued)
Researching trends and determining how often
your organization’s message is repurposed can be
incredibly valuable when measuring the success
of a team’s social media presence.
There are both free and paid measurement
services out there. Some measurement sites
help determine how far a tweet travels, because
it’s not about how many retweets a tweet gets,
it’s about how many people follow the user who
retweeted the content. If a tweet is retweeted by
someone with 10 followers, its impact is minimal,
but if a tweet is retweeted by someone with 30,000
followers, the reach is substantial. Others sites
can help users determine which topics are gaining
the most traction online.
Using URL Shorteners
URL shorteners serve multiple purposes. URL
shortener applications shrink a URL so it’s less
cumbersome and more visually appealing.
Shortened URLs provide for more space in a post
and also help Twitter users to fit commentary
within the 140 character limit of a tweet.
In addition to leaving more space on a tweet or a
post, websites that offer URL shorteners provide
valuable metrics. URL shorteners like
Bit.ly and goo.gl provide detailed analytics that can
complement the metrics collected on social media
platforms.
Listening to the public through social media platforms can
assist administrators in determining what the public is
most interested in.
Organizational social media posts should be a balance
between “fun” posts and command message posts, but all
should contain key organizational themes.
Keep in mind that not all feedback will be favorable.
Sometimes, if a message is pushed too hard, the public
will kick back with negative feedback. This indicates that
it’s time to change a social media approach.
Presenting data
Collecting data helps social media managers evaluate the
success of their social media efforts, but the real challenge
is presenting this data in a digestible and visually
stimulating manner.
The social media movement is already generating leader
buy-in, but leaders want to see results. Creating an
effective social media measurement slide is critical in
explaining the results of a social media campaign.
When creating a social media measurement slide, it’s
important to include numbers, but it’s equally as important
to explain what the numbers mean. Not everyone digests
information the same way, so it’s important to present
social media analytics in a clear and concise manner.
With all the measurement tools at the disposal of social
media managers, it’s possible to create a comprehensive
overview of all social media efforts.
Measuring sentiment
While measuring site traffic or photo views is
easy, measuring sentiment can be slightly more
difficult. Sentiment is more about user feedback
than numbers. If properly executed, organizational
messages and themes will appear in all posts,
tweets, video posts and photo posts.
When measuring sentiment, administrators need
to post content that reflects unit messages and
then watch user comments and posts to determine
how the messages are resonating with the online
population.
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The Center of Excellence for Visual Information and Public Affairs
Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Identify various IbC measurement tools
(continued)
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Final Review
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Instructions: From the information in this lesson, you should be able to answer the following
questions.
Q: How does DOD define "Internet-based Capabilities?"
Q: What are specific examples of audiences you will communicate with through IbC?
Q: Identify and explain one of the eight principles PAOs should apply to achieve the advantages
unique to IbCs?
Q: When does a PAO’s role as an official spokesperson end?
Q: Why is it important to be able to effectively present measurement data?
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The Center of Excellence for Visual Information and Public Affairs
Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
TPFN: DINFOS-PAQC-ADL-001-001-001
Conclusion
Using IbC does not advocate a major shift in
resources from traditional media. Rather, it endorses
the belief that digital communication provides a
new toolset that commanders can use to achieve
military objectives. PA is encountering a new world
of communication. Because troops are the voice
of the organization, PA has the responsibility to tell
the military story in a thoughtful, engaging manner
to enhance DOD's ability to engage the public in
discussion across many audiences. Imploring troops to
use social media with guidelines accomplishes just that.
The use of social media, along with the continued use
of traditional media, represents a revolutionary change
to the way commanders can communicate with target
audiences.
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Public Affairs Qualification Course
Introduction to Internet-Based Capabilities
References and Additional Resources
DODI 8550.01 -- DOD Internet Services and Internet-Based Capabilities (Sept. 11, 2012)
DOD Website Administration Policies and Procedures (http://www.defense.gov/webmasters/policy/dod_web_
policy_12071998_with_amendments_and_corrections.aspx#part1)
Social Media Handbook for Navy PAOs, August 2011.
The Social Corps, Oct 2011, USMC Social Media Principles.
United States Army Social Media Handbook, August 2011.
Navigating the Social Network, March 2012, The Air Force Guide to Effective Social Media Use.
U.S. Coast Guard Social Media Handbook, May 2012.
Army Office of the Chief of Public Affairs Online and Social Media Division Resources for understanding and
implementing Section 508 (section508.gov).
HowTo.gov -- Social Media -- http://www.howto.gov/social-media; June 2012.
Editors Course Textbook. Fort George G. Meade, Md.: Defense Information School (2008).
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