The Air Force Guide to Effective Social Media Use

7/31/2019 The Air Force Guide to Effective Social Media Use

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Navigating theSocial Network

Air Force Public A airs Agency

AFPAA/PA2261 Hughes Ave, Ste 157

Lackland AFB, X 78236-9853(210) 395-1794a [email protected] .mil

http://www. acebook.com/USair orcehttp://www.youtube.com/a luetube

http://www. ickr.com/usair orcehttp://www. twitter.com/usair orcehttp://www.air orcelive.dodlive.mil

AIR FORCE PUBLIC AFFAIRS AGENCY

SOCIAL MEDIA DIVISION

The Air Force Guide to Effective Social Media Use

March 2012


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Social Media for Leaders Because social media allows in ormation to spread quickly through global audiences, itsunderstandable that some Airmen may be wary o its use in an o cial capacity. However,educating yoursel on the capabilities o social media plat orms will help your organiza-tion become more e ective in using them to communicate with key audiences.

How Can Social Media Help Leaders? Social media is a quick way to communicate to your Airmen, your stakeholders, themedia, amilies, the local community and the American public with in ormation on eventsand issues that a ect them. Using social media can help bridge the gap or people whoarent in close proximity to an installation or know very little about the military.

Social media is incredibly dynamic and engages people in a way that eels in ormal, realand transparent. It a ords leaders the opportunity to connect with others on a personallevel. By its very nature, social media allows everyone to have a role in shapingconversations.

Social media is only one o the tools in your public a airs communication toolbox, whichincludes your base website, base newspaper, email and commanders calls. Each toolshould provide unique, complementary in ormation to support your priorities. Identi y the audience you want to reach and the message you want to convey, and then determinewhich social media plat orm(s) will most e ectively reach that audience. See the Com-mon Social Media Plat orm section or more in-depth descriptions o social media plat-

orms or page 18 or a quick re erence chart. Regardless o which social media plat ormsare used to help communicate to key audiences, they should be supplemented by othertools to meet overall communication goals.

Consider scope. Te communication strategy and corresponding communication toolsa major command uses will be di erent rom wing-level units. Use a tailored approachto balance the needs o senior leaders with the needs o key audiences. Remember thatsocial media is not just or pushing in ormation share interesting content and engage

requently.

Social Media UseWhen using social media in an o cial capacity, its important to be honest about who isposting in ormation on behal o senior leaders.

I youre using social media to keep in touch with amily and riends, it might not makesense to allow subordinates access to your personal accounts. I your personal social me-dia accounts are publicly viewable and show your Air Force a liation, you must considerwhat your photos, videos, posts and comments say about you, your values and belie s andyour Air Force image.

As leaders, keep in mind that i your Airmen violate regulations, policy or the UCMJ,youll need to deal with the situation appropriately.

Dos and Donts of Social Media for Leaders

Do listen to your followers and engage as necessary. Do be honest about who is maintaining a social media site. Do keep your interactions conversational and informal, yet

pro essional. Do consider your public image when using social media

pro essionally and personally. Do pick the right communication tools for your audiences. Dont rely on social media alone to communicate your messag Dont sti e conversations. If a comment or post doesnt hurt

anyone and doesnt violate your comment policy, dont delete it. Dont be afraid of negative comments or opinions. Its just fe

back and a potential opportunity to educate people about a topic.


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Social Media Considerations Once its out there, its gone orever

Once you post something on social media, you cant get it back. Even deletingthe post doesnt mean its truly gone, so consider care ully be ore you hit enter.

No classifed in ormation Dont post classi ed or sensitive information (for example, troop movement,

orce size, weapons details, etc.). I in doubt, talk to your supervisor or security manager. Tink OPSEC!

Replace error with act, not argument When you see misrepresentations made about the Air Force in social media,you may certainly use your socia l media property or someone elses to correct theerror. Always do so with respect and with the acts. When you speak to someonewho has an adversarial position, make sure what you say is actual andrespect ul. No arguments, just correct the record.

Admit mistakes Be the rst to respond to your own mistakes. If you make an error, be up frontabout your mistake and correct it quickly. I you choose to modi y an earlierpost, make it clear you have done so (e.g., use the strikethrough unction).

Use your best judgment What you write may have serious consequences. If youre unsure about a post,discuss your proposed post with your supervisor. Ultimately, you bearsole responsibility or what you post.

Avoid the o ensive Dont post any defamatory, libelous, vulgar, obscene, abusive, profane, threatening,

racially and ethnically hate ul or otherwise o ensive or illegal in ormation ormaterial.

Dont violate copyright Dont post any information or other material protected by copyright without the

permission o the copyright owner.

Dont misuse trademarks Dont use any words, logos or other marks that would infringe upon the trademark, service mark, cer ti cation mark or other intellectual property rights o theowners o such marks without owner permission.

Dont violate privacy Dont post any information that would infringe upon the proprietary, privacy or

personal rights o others.No endorsements

Dont use the Air Force name to endorse or promote products, political positionsor religious ideologies.

No impersonations

Dont manipulate identi ers in your post in an attempt to disguise, impersonateor otherwise misrepresent your identity or a liation with any other person or entity.

Use disclaimers O cial Air Force social media properties must have a disclaimer such as: e

appearance o external links on this site doesnt constitute o cial endorsement onbehal o the U.S. Air Force or Department o De ense.

State that the views expressed are yours alone and dont necessarily re ect theo the Air Force. For example, Te postings on this site are my own and dontnecessarily represent Air Force positions, strategies or opinions.

Link You may provide a link to an Air Force website from your account.

Organizational pages may also link to external, non-military websites that arerelevant to the organization and mission. Again, include a disclaimer.Adhere to ederal law, Department o De ense directives and instruc-tions, Air Force instructions, and the UCMJ

You must keep federal law, Department of Defense directives and instructions, AForce instructions and the UCMJ in mind when using social media in o cial anduno cial capacities. As an Airman, you are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Be aware o the image you present Any time you engage in social media, youre representing the Air Force. Donanything that discredits you or our Service.

Stay in your lane Discussing issues related to your career eld or personal experiences are acceptand encouraged, but you shouldnt discuss areas o expertise where you have no

rsthand, direct experience or knowledge.Be cautious with the in ormation you share

Be careful about the personal details you share on the Internet. Maintain privasettings on your social media accounts, change your passwords regularly and dontgive out personally identi able in ormation. Also, be mind ul o who you allow toaccess your social media accounts.

Dont promote yoursel or personal or fnancial gain Dont use your Air Force a liation, o cial title or position to promote, endorsebene t yoursel or any pro t-making group or agency. For details, re er to Code

o Federal Regulations, itle 5, Volume 3, sec. 2635.702,Use o Public O ce or Private Gain , in the Joint Ethics Regulation or Air Force Instruction 35-101, Public Afairs Responsibilities and Management.

Follow the terms o service set by each social media site Become familiar with each social media sites terms of service and follow them

For example, Facebook will not permit you to have more than one personal pro le.I a personal pro le is being used or your organization, it can be taken down without notice. Your unit needs to create a Facebook page or the organization, not apro le.

Dont be a bandwidth hog A er you nish working on a social media site, please log o . Help us presemilitary bandwidth usage.


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Security Operations Security Te primary concern or Airmen usingsocial media is maintaining operationssecurity. In ormation moves and evolvesquickly via social media, which means OPSECawareness is more important than ever be ore. Makesure you understand the risks and communicate themto other Airmen. In ormation about social media awareness isprovided in annual computer-based training.

Review all content (photos, videos, links to articles, etc.) or OPSEC violations prior toposting. Remember to take a holistic approach when evaluating whether or not yourcontent violates OPSEC. Dont provide adversaries any advantage by posting classi ed,controlled unclassi ed in ormation or sensitive in ormation ( or example, troop move-ments, orce size, weapons details, etc.). When compiled, such details can potentially costthe lives o your ellow Airmen or jeopardize missions.

TisChecklist Can HelpEnsureOPSEC Is Maintained

0 Ensure OPSEC training is current.0 Make sure social media content is reviewed and approved.0 Make sure your content ollows your organizations public

a airs guidance.0 Monitor your social media properties to make sure ans have

not posted OPSEC-violating material.0 Make sure your social media administrators are trained on

OPSEC.0 Help ellow Airmen and their amilies understand the dangers

o revealing OPSEC in ormation.

Geotagging I youre using smartphones or tablets to take pictures and access social networking sites,you or your amily could be inadvertently posting the exact geographic location o yourhome, workplace or even daily travel patterns. Tis technology is known as geotagging.

Many phones, tablets and digital cameras are set up to geotag by de ault. I deployed andusing your phone or digital media devices in this capacity, you must disable this unction.You may want to consider turning it o or home use.

Impersonations and Criminal Usage o Online In ormationTe Air Force O ce o Specia l Investigations has seen an uptick in the number o seniorleaders impersonated online. Tese individuals are particularly susceptible to onlineimpersonation. Teir leadership role in the military generally means personal and pro es-sional in ormation is abundant andreadily available. Teir institutional

and social stature also provides cy-bercriminals with the reputability andplausibility necessary to make theseonline scams appear credible.

Although impersonation can easily beused to acilitate cr iminal activity, themere act o online impersonation doesnot in itsel constitute a crime, andlaw en orcement authority is limited.Despite the act that they are seldom victims o scams themselves, senior

leaders should remain vigilant againstthese types o online activities and report any improprieties regarding their personalin ormation to appropriate authorities.

AFOSI provided the ollowing case studies. Speci c details were modi ed to protectongoing investigations and operations, but the in ormation can still help you use socia lmedia sites sa ely.

In 2010, a cybercriminal assumed the identity of a DoD general oin an e ort to perpetrate an online romance scam. Using ahigh-ranking Air Force o cers public online in ormation(including photograph, name and biographical in ormation),the perpetrator created ake social networking pro les to interact withpotential victims. One emale victim lost more than $5,000.

In 2010, a criminal network told its a liates to use open sourcein ormation ound online to target Air Force o cers and their

amilies. Te criminals recommended pulling geographic coordinatesrom the metadata o pictures posted online and using Google

Maps to nd the home addresses o the o cers, as well as socialnetworking site in ormation to gather personal in ormation about the victims. Te criminals then recommended their a liates use thein ormation to blackmail both the Air Force o cers and their amilies.

Several resources are available or victims o online impersonation such as the InternetCrime Complaint Center, www.ic3.gov, and the help pages o social networking sites.

When clicking on links to o cial military or government sites, double-check theURL is a .mil or .gov address and pay close attention to in ormation contained onthe site. I you aren't paying attention and visit a spoo ed site, you open yoursel up to phishing and malware set up by hackers.


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Common Social Media Plat ormsIt can be di cult to keep up with the social media realm because it seems that a newsocial media plat orm like Stori y or Pinterest is born every day. Tis section covers someo the most commonly used social media plat orms in the Air Force.

FACEBOOK Facebook is a ree social networking site that allows users to post updates about them-selves, commentaries on issues important to them and share links, photos and videos with

riends. Interacting with users is an important part o the plat orm.

Anatomy o an Efective Facebook Post

Photos, video or a link to content thats appropriate for the audience or ashort, relevant and interesting status message.

Shor t, professional and conversational text to accompany and teasecontent. No need or a long paragraph.

Eye-catching thumbnail. Relevant tag to another page if appropriate.

Organizational Facebook Page Considerations

1. Develop a strategy be ore creating your Facebook page.2. Identi y the types o content you will post.

3. Consider interests and pre erences or obtaining and retaining ollowers.4. Ensure in ormation posted is approved or public release; remember security (e.g., OPSEC), accuracy, propriety and policy (e.g., Privacy Act considerations).

5. Listen to your ans and plan or eedback.6. Have a legal contact on stand-by as situations arise.7. rack metrics and conduct analysis. Use this in ormation to modi y your strategy.

Organizational Facebook Page Security

Designate at least two administrators who will have to use theirpersonal Facebook pro les to become administrators o the organizationalpage. Dont create a ake pro le to create your page.

Create a comment policy and display it on your page. See the United StatesAir Force Facebook page or an example.

De ne the pages rules of engagement for Airmen. Consider remindinAirmen to use the chain o command or issues or problems, not theFacebook page.

Post an external links disclaimer. Review comments regularly, and delete comments if they violate your

comment policy or Facebooks terms o service. Will you allow posts from fans? Pictures? Videos? If so, youll have morecontent to review.

Will someone be responsible for reviewing comments a er hours?

What to Post on Your Facebook Page

Create a unique experience for your followers by o ering a mixture of conten Create online events to get more participation such as a Q&A session, factoid

o the day, tip o the day, etc. Ask people to send in content. Be as creative asyou want.

Occasionally, ask general questions of fans or o er a call-to-action in yourposts to encourage participation.

Tag related pages as appropriate. Send content to the AFPAA Social Media team for consideration. Use a URL shortener to track metrics. Some examples are tiny.cc, tinyurl.com

How to Interact on Facebook

Be conversational and informal. Most of all, be fun. Be authentic. Presentation, content, style and tone are important. Followers want to be in the know. We can provide people with the right

in ormation by communicating relevant material with edge and punch so itsmemorable. Te acts alone wont always cut it.

Give both the bad and good news. Youll be respected more. Look at events through social media lenses. While youre looking at an even

rom the traditional public a airs perspective, also think about how youcan create a special experience or social media users.

Actively monitor comments and posts and respond to them. Most answers arealready on www.a .mil or www.air orce.com, so point ollowers to the right place.

Consider using your initials on posts. is not only enhances accountability, bit also helps ollowers connect with the way each person writes. Its a little detailthat adds extra personality.

ips or a Success ul Organizational Facebook Page

Choose the government category for your page. Your pro le photo should incorporate your unit shield to make your page look

o cial. Care ully consider choosing an interesting cover photo.

Update your pro le and cover photos periodical ly. Complete your timeline with appropriate milestones.


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TWITTER

Shoot for at least one post daily Mondays through Fridays at a minimum. Considerposting on weekends too. Space out your posts to allow ample time or yourcontent to get attention and to avoid annoying your ollowers. Only you will knowwhat your key audience needs.

Engage with followers on a timely basis.

witter is a microblogging site that revolves around 140-character long posts called tweets.witter users communicate status updates, share links to content and post photos and

videos or their ollowers. witter users who want to share another users tweet may retweet (commonly seen as R ) it to their ollowers, which makes it important to writetweets no longer than 120 characters, so they can be retweeted easily. witter users who

ollow one another may send direct messages (commonly seen as DM) to communicatemore privately.

Photos and videos are popular tweets, and hashtags and mentions are vital componentso witter. A hashtag is a word or phrase with the # sign in ront o it (e.g., #air orce or#Airman). Users can ollow speci c events, communities, topics or items by ollowing aspeci c hashtag. You can mention another witter account with an @ pre x (e.g.,@usair orce or @usa pressdesk).

witter is use ul or quickly sending out updates in crisis situations or sharing importantin ormation with ollowers. It doesnt work exactly like Facebook though. While only one

to a ew posts per day are recommended or Facebook, your witter handle should havemore tweets.

Te Anatomy o an Efective weet

Short, descriptive and conversational text Shortened URL A couple of relevant hashtags Appropriate mentions Properly identify the type of tweet (e.g.,

retweet, modi ed retweet)

Organizational witter Considerations

Have a short external links disclaimer posted. Plan to spend a couple of hours per day to tweet and follow activity. Follow relevant accounts (to your organization) and general news. Dont jus

ollow everyone who chooses to ollow you; be selective and choose those whoregularly tweet about you or provide you with use ul in ormation rather thansomeone who posts something once a year about you.

Customize the look of your page, but pick something that will look good ovarious monitors. Designs too close to the eed might be cut o depending onscreen resolution.

In your background description, be concise, yet descriptive with the limitedroom you have.

Choose hashtags wisely. You can use existing ones or create your own. Cunique hashtag or speci c events, so youll be able to ollow the chatter about it.

Tools like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck can help you track mentions, hashtags,retweets and other in ormation.

Keep OPSEC in mind.

What to Post on Your Organizational witter Page

It is generally preferred to have links in your tweets rather than just text. Lmake your tweets more interactive and less static. Share in ormation with

ollowers but also give them a link to check out more in ormation. Try to post relevant photos and videos when you can. Dont overwhelm your followers with tweets, but tweet enough to remind th

you exist. You have many more chances to post on witter than you do on othersocial media sites.

Dont drop names just because you can. Have a reason for all of your meSimilarly, do not use hashtags just to garner more attention. Make sure they arerelevant, and do not use too many hashtags per tweet (otherwise, your tweetwill look too busy and un ocused).

Use URL shortening services to save space in your tweets. Use one that pyou with metrics.

How to Interact on witter

ank people for retweets, mentions and following you as appropriate. Usetweet or direct message to thank them.

Although you can use up to 140 characters, try to go no longer than 120people an easier time retweeting your messages.

Become familiar with Twitter language. Not only will you look like a proalso communicate better. Social media books and online resources can help.

Be brief, but professional with your text.

Interact on Twitter. Avoid tweeting only your own news and information.what your ollowers and other relevant people have to say. Retweet andcomment on other peoples tweets and answer questions as appropriate.

While URL shortening servicesare valuable tools or sharing links on plat orms like witter,they are vulnerable to phishing and viruses. Servicesusing generic top-level domains(like those ending in .com, .net,

.org, etc.) are recommended or use rather than domains owned by oreign national governments.


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FLICKR

BLOGS

You ube is a video sharing website that allows users to upload, share and view videos.When posting a video, its important to include a description along with a short, descrip-tive title. Be sure to provide speci c tags as well. ags are keywords that apply to the video, such as objects and subjects in the video or words that help describe whats in the video. Te purpose o tags is to help your video appear during a Web search.

Anatomy o an Efective You ube Video

Interesting video with mass appeal ree minutes long is the ideal length, but extremely interesting videos can be

longer Good description, ti tle and tags

You ube Channel Considerations

Have a comment policy and external links disclaimer posted. Check your inbox daily. Respond to users as appropriate. Review and approve comments before posting. Customize the look of your channel. Upload videos regularly. Post short and interesting videos. Remember OPSEC.

Flickr is an image hosting and sharing website. Users can embed the images they hostinto other social media sites such as Facebook or blogs. Like with video, its extremely important to keep OPSEC in mind. Get in touch with your local PA o ce to ensure yourimages are releasable or ollow the guidelines laid out in AFI 35-109,Visual In ormation,

sections A5.2 and A5.3.Air Force imagery must ollow DoD standards. Users must also provide a caption and

tags. Photo captions require slightly more in ormation because the subjects in the photocant speak or themselves, unlike with a video. Captions require at least two sentences.Te rst sentence contains a who, what, when, where and why. Te second sentenceexpands on the rst, placing the image in a larger context.

Anatomy o a Good Flickr Photo

Action shot with mass appeal Relevant and descriptive tags that will help users nd the photo O cial photos must have captions that follow the DoD style Photo content must not show violations of regulations or compromise OPSEC Must be publ icly released

Flickr Considerations

Have a comment policy and external links disclaimer posted. Check your inbox daily. Respond to users as appropriate. Review comments. Upload photos regularly. Remember OPSEC.

Blogs are websites with regular entries o commentary, descriptions o events or othermaterial such as graphics or video, sel -published by bloggers. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. A typical blog combines text, images and links

to other blogs, websites and other media related to its topic. Te ability o readers to leavecomments in an interactive ormat is an important part o many blogs. Personality orvoice is what makes blog postings di erent rom standard news stories.

Te Anatomy o an Efective Blog Post

Catchy, descriptive headline 300+ words: informal and conversational rsthand account of an experience

this is not a news article At least one photo with a caption Embedded hyperlinks to relevant content

Use titles to separate sections as appropriate Ask a question to readers to spark conversation Keywords or tags

YOUTUBE


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Blog Considerations

Carefully consider your design. Have a comment policy and external links disclaimer posted. Review comments dai ly. Keep OPSEC in mind. Post regularly.

Social Media and Your PublicA airs ProgramOnly units with a compelling need to communicate with the public may have an o cialAir Force social media property. With ew exceptions and in concert with Air Forcepublic Web policy, this means only wings and higher may have an o cial Air Force socialmedia presence. O cial properties must adhere to quality assurance standards outlinedin AFI 35-107, Public Web Communications and register with the Social Media Directory.

I a unit below the wing has a compelling reason to communicate with the public, it mustsubmit a waiver request to AFPAA Social Media or approval o an exception to policy.

Calling it O cial

Eligible: Wing or higher (automatically approved) Compelling need to reach general public (below wing

requires waiver) Must be registered with the Social Media Directory

maintained by AFPAA Commanders are ultimately responsible for posted materials

Ineligible: Below wing

Intended for internal audiences (squadron members, spouseor booster clubs) Should be closed or private property

Registration o O cial Social Media PropertiesAccording to the Department o De ense Directive- ype Memorandum 09-026, Respon-sible and Efective Use o Internet-Based Capabilities,o cial social media properties mustbe registered. o register your o cial property, submit it to the Air Force Social MediaDirectory, http://www.a .mil/socialmedia.asp, which helps a .mil visitors nd and veri y the authenticity o o cial social media properties.

For any questions regarding social media plat orms or o cial social media properties,consult the AFPAA Social Media team.

Creating anO cial

Social MediaPresence

Include social media in your communication plan. Establish goaand audiences or each social media presence.

Obtain approval from your commander before establishing asocial media presence.

Set up your o cial presence as a government organization. Choose your account name wisely. It should be descriptive ye

succinct in order to remain memorable and easy to use in posts. Have an external links disclaimer and comment policy on your

social media property. Keep your social media properties current and free of spam,

o ensive material and items that violate your comment policy. Clearly state that your property is an o cial Air Force site in

in ormation or account section. Provide a link to your o cial AirForce website.

Submit your o cial Air Force social media property forregistration in a timely manner with the Air Force Social Media

Directory, http://www.a .mil/socialmedia.asp. Do not registerin ormal or internal social media accounts with the social mediadirectory.

Te organic nature o social media makes it easy to use; however, the basics o publica airs still apply. Have plans and processes in place and invest time in developing yourprogram. Some e ective ways to use social media are:

Use social media platforms only if you can fully commit. If necessary, picone social media plat orm and use it well rather than spreading your resourcestoo thin across multiple plat orms.

Make sure that youll have enough content to sustain a social media propert

a regular basis. Consider having your messages promoted through existing AirForce social media properties i you wont have enough regular content to sustainyour own social media presence.


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^ By selec ng privacy se ngs in the tool, informa on will not be available to thepublic or will be only available to some. You may also be able to create a private group.


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Friends--just so you know--yes, we are watching....

ropical Storm Katia is gradually strengtheningbut is still not orecast to impact CONUS at thistime.

Do not auto-feed post from one platform to others. Its not e ective and canactually con use your ollowers. In one case, an o cial unitFacebook page posted a tropical storm tracker and text in re erence to the storm:

Tis text was auto- ed to their witter account, and this is what witter ans saw:

Keep the spirit of social media. Be informal, conversational, transparent & fun. Research new tools. If you want your social media program to evolve, carve out

time to learn about new tools to help you communicate more e ciently. Get to know your audience. Social media is about sharing interesting and useful

in ormation with your ollowers and cultivating a community. Conduct onlineresearch and monitoring to more e ectively develop audience-centered content.

Find creative ways to engage followers. Social media sites shouldnt simply usebase website in ormation. Post unique content to your social media propertiesto generate interest. Dont ocus solely on driving tra c to your website youshould also share products rom external sources about your units and people.

Content SourceIdeas

Fact sheets on Air Force websites Highlight a little known fact Quiz followers

Historical information and trivia

Photos and videos on Air Force websites Pose general questions to the audience User-generated content

Special events Post speci c content requested by followers Spotlights on people A day in the life Guest blog posts from military family members Blogs from senior leaders and team members Find an Air Force tie to an event in the news

Caption, video or photo contest Host a tweetchat Highlight new technology Helpful tips Have a guest contributor answer questions on a speci c topic

Share posts from other Air Force social media sites

Measure your e ectiveness. Consider tracking metrics to see if you are meyour goals and tweak your strategy. aking the time to measure yourper ormance will allow you to better meet your commanders objectives.

ere are plenty of free tools and paid service providers to help you gthe raw numbers you will need. Some social media plat orms have built-inmetrics trackers.

Measurement Ideas Total fans, followers or subscribers Comments and likes Clicks Unique visitors and page views Mentions and retweets

Measurement and Analysis

Here are some possible ways to analyze your data:

1. Spike in unlikes => Possibly due to media events,too many posts, dull posts or lack o interaction with

ans.2. Click re errers => Do ollowers pre er external, unique

or Air Force website content? What types of contenperform better on Facebook, Twitter, etc.?

3. Retweets => What types o tweets are being retweetedand which ones are not?

Collaborate with other organizations daily. Your social media content will rmore people i you collaborate with other organizations such as your MAJCOMand/or AFPAA, who can help promote your content. For major events, involveother organizations early in the planning process.

Interact with followers. Social media is inherently conversational, and follow

expect to have conversations with you. Unlike your units o cial website, simply pushing out content is not acceptable. You will quickly lose your audience i you

ail to interact.


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Review comments and questions and respond accordingly. Takinginterest in your ollowers stories will increase their goodwill towardyou, while providing you an opportunity to gain invaluable insight intotheir needs and interests.

Moderate your social media sites. Consistently moderating activity on yoursocial media sites protects you and your ollowers. We recommend checkingyour sites at least once every 24 hours including weekends.

Moderating your sites includes removing spam, OPSEC violations,irrelevant content, oul or o ensive language and anything else thatviolates your comment policy. Te purpose o moderation is to maintaina pro essional and open exchange o ideas, not to sti e conversations.Negative comments are acceptable. Followers appreciate moderated socialmedia sites because it helps them eel com ortable. Banning or deleting

ollowers should only be done in extreme cases as a last resort.

Quick ip A site ull o spam demonstrates that administrators arent responsiveand dont maintain their page.

Use social media during a crisis. In a crisis, social media is a vital tool in thepublic a airs toolkit. Its a quick, direct way to communicate in ormationinstantaneously to mass audiences so they get accurate in ormation directly romthe Air Force.

JapanEarthquakeand

sunami

Social media served as a key communication tool during theJapan earthquake and tsunami in early 2011. On a global level,social media was the rst stop or general in ormation on thewel are o loved ones. Victims let riends and amily know they were sa e via Facebook, and others looked to social media or

rsthand accounts o conditions in Japan. Fans appreciated

having a central location or in ormation during a crisis. Socialmedia was used or base-wide internal announcements at a timewhen other orms o communication were down.

SuspiciousPackage

In August 2011, a suspicious package was ound on Scott AFB, andthe public a airs team used social media as its primary communica-tion channel to release in ormation and answer questions. Tey wereable to proactively control rumors and prevent panic.

ips or Using Social MediaDuring a Crisis

e traditional rules of crisis communication apply.

Earn the trust of your followers by posting both good and badnews. When you have a major crisis the audience is more likely to trust your in ormation and appreciate your openness.

Share accurate and approved information as quickly aspossible. Dont wait or an article or press release to beavailable.

Actively monitor conversations and questions on your socialmedia properties. Answer questions and direct themto credible, approved in ormation.

Establish a monitoring schedule and assign roles to teammembers. Be prepared to monitor outside o regular duty hours.

Monitor other social media and websites to help you decidewhat to post to your properties. You may address inaccuratein ormation or rumors.


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Collaborate with other Air Force units to help spread your message.Share in ormation with one another.

Complete an a er-action report, and use lessons learned to helpwhen the next crisis arises.

Promote your social media properties. e more people who know about them,the greater the chances you have o reaching key audiences with your messages.Ways to promote your properties include:

Interacting on sites other than your own. (Dont spam other sites orshame ully advertise your sites.)

Listing your properties in your email signature block or on your businesscard

Creating a quick response code with links to your sites and putting it onyour products

Discussing your sites with internal audiences

Quickip

Do not overwhelm your audience by posting too requently.

Manage social media records as appropriate. O cial Air Force social mediaproperties should be archived in some manner until an o cial recordsmanagement policy or social media is available. Content that resides on ano cial government site is already accounted or as a record, but new content orin ormation, such as non-government or third party, should be archived. Youshould archive any social media posts related to speci c missions oractivities that have their own records management requirements. Some waysto maintain records include:

Copying and pasting content into a document Saving screenshots Sending yourself emails Keeping RSS alerts from your social media sites Using backup/archiving so ware

Have a posting schedule. Consider your resources, the amount of contentavailable and workload, but also think about your audiences. Consider peak engagement times and requency when building your schedule. For instance,i the majority o your audience is at work or school all day, you could post

during lunch time, in the evening and on the weekend. Establish an editorial calendar to manage posts, plan for the future and reac

goals. Some days there will be an abundance o content to share, while at othertimes there wont be as much. Prioritize content and be prepared to switch gearswhen big events or crises occur.

Social Media Posting Checklist Consider the ollowing items and adjust this checklist to t your strategy:

0 Does it ful ll an Air Force priority? 0 Will the audiences care? Is it value-added info? ink attention-interest-desir

action.0 I the in ormation doesnt show the Air Force in a positive light, is it airly

reported? If posting an external piece, is it accurate? If its relevant, tiesinto Air Force goals/messages or shows transparency, its acceptable to considerposting.

0 Does it imply an endorsement o a certain political a liation, religious ideology or commercial enterprise? If so, do not use.

0 What angle are you taking with this story? Are you focusing on the rightmessage and the relevant and crucial information?

0 Have you created a shortened URL? Does it work? 0 Check or proper spelling, grammar and ormat (e.g., spacing, names).

0 Check or proper OPSEC. I in doubt, get higher review and approval be oreposting.

0 Remember security, accuracy, policy and propriety. 0 Have you chosen an appropriate thumbnail (for Flickr, YouTube and Facebook 0 Have you chosen the appropriate text to show alongside the thumbnail in

Facebook (especially for Flickr)? 0 Are the Airmen being eatured within regulation (e.g., using proper protective

equipment, in the correct uniforms, etc.)? 0 Is there anyone you should tag or mention? Have you used proper hashtags

0

Are your initials on the post? 0 Get a second pair o eyes to review be ore posting. You cant catch everything. 0 I youre not sure you should post it, channel it up or review! 0 Watch the post or at least 15 minutes afer publishing (to catch any errors and

interact with people commenting/sharing your content).0 I youve made a mistake, apologize and make a correction promptly afer

publishing a post.


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Social Media and the Air ForcePublic A airs Agency Airmen at all levels and grades are encouraged to tell the Air Force story and send contentto AFPAA or consideration. Content intended or Air Force socia l media must not violate OPSEC or security, accuracy, policy and propriety, and should be o interest to alarge audience across the U.S. and international community. For example, ollowers deemstories about Airmen and their experiences popular. AFPAA reserves the right to choose

what will be posted and edited to meet the needs o ollowers and strategic Air Forcethemes and messages.

Quick ips or Submitting Social Media Content to AFPAA

Content must have mass appeal. Anything too narrow in scope, for a very speci c and small audience or location-speci c is not appropriate.

Dont wait until the last minute! Include AFPAA in your planning process toallow adequate time or posts to be developed.

Send content to [email protected] for consideration. If possible,

submit the ollowing in ormation (but not required): Preferred posting date Message or angle Who to tag or mention Requested text

When submitting photos or video, include captions that cover the 5 Ws. Articles must be written clearly avoiding acronyms and jargon. Watch AFPAAs social media properties, particularly Facebook, for your content,

and jump in to interact with ollowers as appropriate. Tell friends and family to check out your content and share it.

While AFPAA runs several social media properties and tests new tools ofen, theollowing plat orms are actively used by AFPAA on a regular basis.

e Air Forces o cial Facebookaccount is www. acebook.com/usair orce.With this page, the Air Force posts links towritten, photo and video material that rep-resents the Air Force. Let AFPAA know i you have a Facebook page, so your page canbe tagged when content rom your orga-nization is posted. Also eel ree to tag theAir Force Facebook page, but i you have an

interesting story with broad appeal, contactAFPAA directly instead, so that AFPAA can post the content to its timeline directly. Yourcontent will be seen by more people.

When requesting the Air Force share information on its Twitter handle, www.twitter.com/usair orce, keep in mind the audience is very diverse. Events that are very limited in scope may not be e ective or the account but may work on a MAJCOM orwing account with a speci c group o ollowers. AFPAA is willing to help where possibleand has been able to post content speci cally intended or an area by using a regional ortopical hashtag (e.g., #DC). A witter handle will not work or all bases, so consider yourunits mission, surrounding community and the pros and cons o maintaining a content-hungry plat orm be ore jumping into this particular social media plat orm.

AFBlueTube is the Air Forces o cialYou ube account. With this channel, the Air Forceposts video material that represents the Air Force.Te ollowing settings are recommended or the bestresults:

Exported in H.264 format Frame resolution for high de nition

(HD) set at 1,280x720 or 16:9 and640x480 or 4:3. For video shot in standard display (SD) change display resolution to 640x360 or 16:9 and 640x480 or 4:3

Frame rate (fps) should be set at 29.97fps Field order is progressive or non progressive if shot on tape Maximum bitrate settings at 5,000 kbps (5 Mbps) with 2 pass encoding Audio settings for H.264 video set at Advance Audio Coding (AAC) wi

sample rate o 48 khz and bitrate set at 320 kbps Describe events in the video and provide a short, descriptive title Include speci c tags (keywords)

AFPAA has a Flickr photostream at www. ickr.com/usairforce. AFPAA focuon photos with mass appeal showing Airmen per orming the mission. Airmenat all levels o their organizations and units are encouraged to submitpictures that tell the Air Force story to AFPAA along with proper captions.

When writing a blogpost or potential submissionto the Air Force Live blog, thereare some things to keep in mind.Write rom a rst-person view.Your post shouldnt be toolengthy. We recommend 300-600words, but more is acceptable aslong as its an interesting personalstory. Include at least one photo or a short video i possible.

Blog posts typically have keyword tags associated with them, so send your blog in

with relevant keywords: category, content, job title, general location, topic, etc.Provide a ew sentences about yoursel as an introduction to your blog, such asin ormation about your job, where you work, how long youve been in the Air


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Stretching or distorting the symbol or the signature is prohibited. Other prohibited altera-tions include, but are not limited to: changing the symbols texture or color, varying the

symbols distinctive shape and adding shadows or special e ects. For more in ormation onthe approved symbol colors, visit http://www.trademark.a .mil/symbol/colors/index.asp.

Force and anything else interesting that sheds light on why you wrote your blogpost. Its important to provide photos or video with your blog submissions, but i this isnt possible, at the minimum provide a pro le picture.

Mobile applications (commonly referred to as apps) o er opportunities toeducate audiences or provide services to streamline unctions. Air Force policy does not prohibit organizations rom developing mobile apps relatedto their missions. However, potential creators must be aware o pit alls such asOPSEC vulnerabilities and costs associated with the development andmaintenance o apps.

Anyone looking into developing an app or o cial purposes must consult withthe AFPAA Social Media Division or guidance.

Air Force Symbol Te Air Force Symbol visually represents our services brand identity. Using the Air ForceSymbol on an o cial social media plat orm is authorized; however, maintain its integrity by using the guidelines below.

When using the Air Force Symbol, its not mandatory to use the logotype U.S. Air Force.I the logotype is used, the pre erred position is beneath the symbol. Its also acceptable toplace the logotype on the right or lef side o the symbol. Placing the logotype above thesymbol is not approved.

Stand-o space around the symbol or the symbol with logotype, known as the signature,is required at all times except when cradling approved emblems between the wings. Only MAJCOM, FOA or higher-level emblems approved and registered with the Air ForceHistorical Research Agency are permitted inside the wings o the Air Force Symbol. Only one emblem may be placed inside the wings. Cradling an approved emblem in the AirForce Symbol is or o cial use only and requires the emblem to be held in a set propor-

tion to the symbol.


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Te symbol may be used in a ag or header as long as the concept design is pre-approved

by the Air Force rademark and Licensing O ce. Te symbol should add to the overalldesign. For more in ormation on the symbol, visit www.trademark.a .mil. I you haveany questions regarding the Air Force Symbol or other trademarked logos, contact the AirForce Trademark & Licensing Program at [email protected].

Policy Te ollowing Department o De ense and Air Force publications contain in ormation toconsider when using social media:

1. D M 09-026, Responsible and Efective Use o Internet-Based Capabilities: Covers

applicability, de nitions, policy, responsibilities and releasability regarding Internet-based capabilities.

2. AFI 35-101, Public Afairs Mission : Covers the overall public a airs mission and howto correctly implement it.

3. AFI 35-107, Public Web Communications : Addresses the public Web program andsocial media.

4. AFI 35-113, Command In ormation: Section 15 covers social media.5. AFI 33-129, Web Management and Internet Use : Details proper and improper uses o

Internet-based capabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions1. Why does the Air Force use social media? Why should my organization use so

media?

Social media is a very in uential communication tool that many people use to ndand share news and in ormation.

Your organization should use socia l media because people who are interested in youare already using it. Social media allows you instant eedback rom your audienceand gives you a direct communication line to it. Dont underestimate the ability o your audience to share your news with an even larger audience by sharing it withtheir riends and amily online.

2. Does my organization need approval before using social media?

Yes, a commander must decide i his or her unit is going to have a social media site.Only organizations at the wing-level or above can have o cial social media sites. Seequestion 9 or more in ormation.

I you want to communicate to an internal audience, you may want to considersomething like a closed Facebook group or any other private social media site.Just keep in mind that privacy is not guaranteed on any social media site so youshould not post classi ed or sensitive material to them. Your wing public a airs o ceis a great resource to nd out more in ormation.

Regardless o the type o organization you are, you rst need to think about what youwant to accomplish with your social media program. O cial properties are theresponsibility o a public a airs o ce to ensure they meet commanderscommunication objectives and requirements.

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3. I want the o cial Air Force social media team to help promote my content. Wheredo I send it?

You can send requests to a [email protected] .mil or consideration. Requestswill be reviewed or relevance to audiences o AFPAA social media tools. Posts willbe edited as necessary or the audience.

4. Im afraid to use social media. What if people make negative comments?

Negative comments are acceptable. Allow your audience to openly communicatewith you, so you can address concerns. Tis osters an environment o opencommunication, which is essential to earning and maintaining public support o your people and mission. You have the ability to moderate comments by putting acomment policy in place and consistently en orcing it.

5. My unit wants to use social media, but we dont have enough time or resources.What can we do?

Dont eel like you have to use social media just because everyone else is using it. I you dont think that you can commit or you dont have enough content to sustaina social media property, there are other ways to get your content and message outthrough social media. AFPAA and your parent organizations public a airs o ce canpromote your content as appropriate.

I you have a compelling reason to use social media, its possible to be e ective onlittle to no budget. You dont need to use every plat orm available. Pick the bestplat orm or your situation. You might need only one person to manage a simplesocial media program.

Its di cult to say how much time you need or your program because it depends onhow many plat orms youre using and what your goals are. For a simple program thatconsists o only Facebook, you might need only two hours per day.

6. How do I set up social media accounts for my organization?

Setting up social media accounts is very simple as most sites have step-by-stepinstructions. We recommend that you play around with your personal social media

accounts rst be ore creating them or your organization. I you have speci cquestions, you can per orm a quick Internet search or your answer, or you cancontact your local public a airs o ce or AFPAA.

7. What should my units social media comment policy look like?

See the Air Force comment policy in the about section here: http://www. acebook.com/USair orce. You can customize it or your own units page.

8. What follower comments may I delete? Can I remove followers?

In general, you shouldnt sti e conversations or eedback. Let people expressthemselves even i their comments are negative as long as they dont violate yourcomment policy. Youll use your policy to determine whether or not to deletecomments or posts rom your ollowers. We recommend taking screenshots o content be ore deletion. You can also remind ollowers to adhere to yourcomment policy i you see a conversation heading toward the wrong direction. I someone posts a good comment, but only a small portion o the comment violatesyour comment policy, you can tell him or her to edit and repost it. Banning

ollowers should be a last resort. Give people opportunities to correct their mistakes,and i they continue to violate the comment policy, you might consider removingthem.

9. My squadron or group wants to use social media. What do I tell them?

Organizations below the wing-level may not have o cial properties and will notbe registered with the Social Media Directory. Uno cial presences should be closedor private in order to limit exposure just to an internal audience. I a unit below thewing-level has a compelling reason or communicating with the general public itmust apply or a waiver rom AFPAA. Unit commanders willbe ultimately responsible or all content posted to their social media properties.

10. What do I do if someone creates a false o cial social media presence?

Organizations do not have the right to remove uno cial presences unless they alsely portray themselves as an o cial presence. I there is a alse account, you may reportit to the social media plat orms help section, or you can contact AFPAA or helpat a [email protected] .mil.

11. How can I set up a blog for my unit?

Contact the AFPAA Social Media team at a [email protected] .mil to discuss

options and begin your request. Maintaining a blog requires a lot o time, dedicationand preparation. I your unit is interested in having its own blog, rst considerbecoming a guest blogger on the Air Forces blog to get the eel or it.


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Glossary ADMINISTRATOR

A person with login, publishing and account management rights for a socialmedia property. Commonly called an admin.

AUTHENTICITY e sense that something or someone is real. Social media enables people

to publish content and engage in conversations that show their interests and values while communicating in an authentic human voice. Airmen shouldalways be transparent and authentic while online.

AVATARS Graphical images representing people within the social media arena. You canbuild a visual character with the body, clothes, behaviors, gender and name o your choice. Tis may or may not be an authentic representation o you.

BACK CHANNEL COMMUNICATION Private emails or other messages sent by the facilitator or between

individuals during public con erencing. Tey can have a signi cant e ect onpublic conversations.

BANDWIDTH e capacity of an electronic line, such as a communications network or

computer channel, to transmit bits per second (bps). BLOGS

An abbreviation of Web log, blogs are websites with dated items of contentin reverse chronological order, sel -published by an individual. Posts aretypically about a particular subject, are usually available as eeds and ofenallow commenting.

BLOGOSPHERE A term used to describe the totality of blogs on the Internet and theconversations taking place within that sphere.

G BLOGROLL A list of sites displayed in the sidebar of a blog, showing who the bloggreads regularly. BOOKMARKING Saving the address of a website or item of content, either in your browseon a social bookmarking site like Del.icio.us. I you add tags, others can easily nd your research too, and the social bookmarking site becomes an enormouspublic library. BROWSER A tool used to view websites and access all the content available onscreedownloading. Microsof Explorer, Fire ox, Sa ari, Silk and Chrome are a ew o the many Internet browsers available.

CATEGORIES Pre-speci ed ways to organize content (e.g., a set of keywords that you c

but not add to when posting on a site). COLLABORATION Social media tools from email lists to virtual worlds o er enormous scopecollaboration. Low-risk activities like commenting, social bookmarking,chatting and blogging help develop the trust necessary or collaboration.

COMMENT POLICY Guidelines for followers behavior on social media platforms. Created bypropertys owner.

COMMENTS Feedback le by readers under posts. Social media sites may provide acomments as well as or main entries.

COMMUNITY BUILDING e process of recruiting potential community or network participants,helping them to nd shared interests and goals, use the technology anddevelop use ul conversations.

CONTENT Text, pictures, video and any other meaningful material that is on the Inte

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM So ware suites o ering the ability to create static Web pages, document sblogs, wikis and other tools.

CONVERSATION Blogging, commenting, posting or contributing to forums is the currency osocial networking, which puts the social in this orm o media.

COPYRIGHT

A set of exclusive rights given to the creator of a piece of work. eseofen include copying, distributing, altering and displaying the work.


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CROWDSOURCING Crowdsourcing refers to harnessing the skills and enthusiasm of those outsidean organization who are prepared to volunteer their time contributing contentand solving problems.

DEMOCRACY A system of government controlled by the whole population or by a majority

o the population. Social networking and media are potentially attractive tothose who want to revive representative democracy, and those whopromote participative approaches or both. Social media o ers politicians andtheir constituents another communication channel. It also o ers a widerange o methods or people to discuss, deliberate and take action.

EMAIL ALERTS Noti cations set up to be sent to a users email inbox about activity on a social

network or new items in a search result.

EMAIL LISTS Important networking tools o ering the ability to starburst a message from acentral postbox to any number o subscribers and or them to respond.

EMBEDDING e act of inserting a link, video or photos to a website or email.

EXTERNAL LINK DISCLAIMER A disclaimer states that neither the Air Force nor the unit endorses the

product(s) or organizational entity at the hyperlink destination. Tedisclaimer must also state that the Air Force does not exercise any responsibility or oversight o the content at destination. Required by AFI 35-107, Public Web Communications .

FACE-TO-FACE Used to describe people meeting o ine.

FACILITATOR Someone who helps people in an online group or forum manage their

conversations. FEEDS

e means by which you can read, view or listen to items from blogs and otherRSS-enabled sites without visiting the site by subscribing and usingan aggregator or newsreader.

FLASH Animation so ware used to develop interactive graphics for websites as well as

desktop presentations and games.

FORUMS

Discussion areas on websites, where people can post messages or comment onexisting messages asynchronouslythat is, independently o time or place.

GEOTAGGING Providing geographical location information to photos, videos and other le

In ormation appears as a les metadata. People may also geotag theirwhereabouts.

GROUPS Collections of individuals with some sense of unity through their

activities, interests or values. Tey di er rom networks, which are dispersed,and de ned by nodes and connections.

HASHTAG Words or phrases pre xed with a # symbol. Used in Twitter to track simtweets and conversations.

HYPERLINK Text, images or graphics that when clicked with a mouse (or activated by

keystrokes) will connect the user to a new website. Te link is usually obvious,such as underlined text or a button o some type.

KEYWORDS Captures the essence of the topic of a document, video or photo. Provideretrieval o a piece o content rom a search engine.

LOGOTYPE Text in a particular typeface creating an identi able mark.

LURKERS People who read but dont contribute or add comments to forums. e on

percent rule-o -thumb suggests that one percent o people contribute newcontent to an online community, another nine percent comment, and therest lurk.

MASHUPS Mixes of technology, audio, video and maps. Involves combining several

to create a new Web service. METRICS

Raw numbers or statistics that track a communication campaigns e ectiven METADATA

Data that provides information about one or more aspects of content. MICROBLOG

Social media site, such as Twitter, that allows users to share small elemeno in ormation such as short sentences, individual images, video andwebsite links.

MOBILE APPLICATION OR APP Program designed to run on a mobile device, like a smartphone. Designequickly access in ormation, games, tools and other help ul programs.

MOBILE WEBSITE A website version designed & formatted speci cally for use by mobile d


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MODERATING Act of patrolling a social media property. Involves interacting with followersand ensuring appropriate use o the property by ollowers.

NETWORKS Structures de ned by nodes and the connections between them. In socialnetworks, the nodes are people, and the connections are the relationships they have. Networking is the process by which you develop and strengthenthose relationships.

ONLINE COMMUNITIES Online communities are groups of people communicating through theInternet, mainly through the use o online orums, or other social media sites(e.g., Facebook).

OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE So ware available under a license permitting users to study, change and

improve the sofware, and to redistribute it in modi ed or unmodi ed orm. Itis ofen developed in a public, collaborative manner.

PEER-TO-PEER Refers to direct interaction between two people in a network. In thatnetwork, each peer will be connected to other peers, opening the opportunity

or urther sharing and learning. PERMALINK

e address (URL) of an item of content, for example a blog post, rather thanthe address o a Web page with lots o di erent items. You will ofen nd it atthe end o a blog post.

PHOTO SHARING Uploading images to a website like Flickr, adding tags and o ering people theopportunity to comment or even re-use your photos i you add an appropriatecopyright license.

PODCAST Audio or video content that can be downloaded automatically through a

subscription to a website so you can view or listen o ine. POST

Item on a forum or social media site. PROFILES

Information that users provide about themselves when signing up for a socialnetworking site as well as a picture and basic in ormation. Tis may includepersonal and business interests, a blurb and tags to help people search orlike-minded people.

PROPERTY

e proper term for a social media presence, platform or site. ese are yoursocial media accounts. (e.g., www. acebook.com/usair orce is the o cialFacebook property o the United States Air Force.)

QUICK RESPONSE (QR) CODE A type of barcode that can be read by mobile phones by using a QR coreading application. QR codes contain a URL and are used to direct users toan online destination.

RSS Short for Really Simple Syndication. is allows subscribers to receive co

rom blogs, websites and other social media sites and have it delivered througha eed.

SOCIAL MEDIA ADVOCACY Using social media networks to create a movement of net- uencers to

in uence conversation, actions or motives in support o ones objective. SOCIAL MEDIA

Tools and platforms people use to publish, converse and share content onli SOCIAL NETWORK AGGREGATION

Gathering content from blogs and websites through RSS feeds. Typicallydisplayed in an aggregator like Google Reader, Digg, Reddit and Yelp,among others, or directly on your desktop using sofware. Bene cial or

breaking news and gathering content about speci c topics or keywords. SOCIAL NETWORKING Online places where users can create pro les, and then socialize with othe

using a range o social media tools including blogs, video, images, tags, lists o riends, orums and messages.

STREAMING MEDIA Video or audio that is intended to be listened to online but not stored

permanently. TAGS

Keywords added to a blog post, photo or video to help users nd peoplerelated topics or media.

TRACKBACK A facility for other bloggers to leave a calling card automatically, instead

o commenting. Blogger A may write on blog A about an item on blogger Bssite, and through the trackback acility leave a link on Bs site back to A. Tecollection o comments and trackbacks on a site acilitates conversations.

TRANSPARENCY A state in which all information is freely available implying openness and accountability.

TROLL A hurtful, but possibly valuable, person who, for whatever reason, is both

obsessed by and constantly annoyed with, and deeply o ended by everything you write on your site. One may not be able to stop the

commenting o trolls on your site. You cant ban them rom commentingon other sites and pointing back to the page, and they cant be banned romposting things on their own page that point back to your site.


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TWEET UP Event where Twitter followers agree to meet. Like a meet-up, but Twitter is

used to se t up the meeting, normally using hashtags like #tweetup. URL

Uniform Resource Locator is the technical term for a Web address like http://www.a .mil.

URL SHORTENER Site that generates a shortened form of a URL link. Best used in microblogs,such as witter, to save space. May also provide click statistics.

VIRTUAL WORLDS Online places like Second Life, where you can create a representation of

yoursel (an avatar) and socialize with other residents. WEB 2.0

A term coined by OReilly Media in 2004 to describe blogs, wikis, social networking sites and other Internet-based services that emphasize collaborationand sharing, rather than less interactive publishing (Web 1.0). Itsassociated with the idea o the Internet as a plat orm.

WIDGETS Stand-alone applications that can be embedded in other applications, like awebsite or a desktop.

WHITEBOARDS Online equivalents of glossy surfaces where one can write with an appropriatemarker pen and wipe o later. Teyre tools that enable one to write or sketchon a Web page, and as such are use ul in collaboration online.

WIKI A Web page, or set of pages, that can be edited collaboratively. e best

known example is Wikipedia, an encyclopedia created by thousands o

contributors across the world. Once people have appropriate permissions, setby the wiki owner, they can create pages and/or add to and alter existingpages.

Acronyms AFB

Air Force Base

AFI Air Force Instruction AFPAA

Air Force Public A airs Agency DM

Direct message DoD

Department of Defense FOA

Field Operating Agency MAJCOM

Major Command MB

Megabyte OPSEC

Operations Security PA

Public A airs RSS

Real Simple Syndication RT

Retweet UCMJ

Uniform Code of Military Justice URL Uniform Resource Locator

A

Documents

The Air Force Guide to Effective Social Media Use