Real Social Networking?

Agencies have been pretty much experimenting with social media for the past two years, writing blogs (that are mostly routine), Tweeting (mostly press releases) and conducting an occasional town hall meeting (that is typically very orderly). It's understandable that many of the attempts have been carefully orchestrated offerings, given the novelty of the technology and the risk-averse nature of bureaucracies.

Surprising, that was recognized by the Defense Department's Armed with Science blog, which announced on Thursday that the department had updated its Social Media Hub website. From the post:

With the unveiling of the updated Social Media Hub, we hope it will exist as more than just a website advertising DoD's latest Facebook posts or Twitter feed. Rather, our goal is to create a "hub" in every essence of the word--a place where anyone interested in learning more about social media practices amongst the services, as well helpful social media tips and tricks, could come to find everything they might need right at their fingertips.

The redesigned Social Media Hub is meant to serve as a resource, an online tool box for individuals who want to find out how to register their own page, voice social media-related questions, or just stay up to date on the latest DoD social media news.

The real performance test will be if the tool box will create more communities and interaction.