Former Defense social media expert says don't resist

Price Floyd, the principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs who specialized in social media, left his post in August after spending more than a year working with Defense Department officials on a policy for how commanders and soldiers could use social media.

Floyd, now vice president for digital media strategy at BAE Systems, sat down with Nextgov Reporter Brian Kalish to discuss what he learned while working at Defense and why departments should wholeheartedly embrace social media.

On what he had to do when he arrived at Defense.

When Floyd started working at Defense in June 2009, he found no guidelines that instructed commanders and soldiers what was and was not permissible when participating in social media. Floyd, now vice president for digital media strategy at BAE Systems, said Defense encourages troops to use the sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.

The Pentagon released a new social media policy in February that opened up social media sites to its staff. The previous policy was disjointed. For example, Floyd said individuals in public affairs on one base may have had some access to the sites, while those in another part of the country had none at all. Now everyone has access.

People are allowed and encouraged to use the tools in their work, he said, "but you need to be responsible. . . . Operational security concerns needs to be taken into account."

On why social media matters for Defense.

There's "nothing more credible than someone on the front lines posting something on Facebook or Twitter," Floyd said. Besides, 17 percent of newly enlisted Marines use Twitter, for example, and he says they won't stop when they arrive overseas. At that point Tweeting and blogging become national security issues and troops must follow guidelines and rules.

"It's not about getting the right messages to them," he said. Instead, Defense must make sure "they have the right teaching to know what is OK and make sure [they don't] put information out there that they shouldn't. . . . Any video on YouTube is there forever.

"It's not trying to control the message," he added. "It's recognizing that we can't control it."

On why people shouldn't be surprised that Defense allows soldiers to use social media.

The department prides itself on using social media. "People usually think of Defense as something that doesn't change, that's not flexible. That's false," Floyd said.

"DoD's online presence went from an only inward-looking website to a robust, dynamic organization that embraced Internet-based capacity, including social media sites," he added. On Friday, Defense launched a new website. The previous site had a list of social media tools on the left side, but Floyd said many people did not click on them, preferring to go directly to sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The new Defense website is user-focused, he noted. Visitors can identify themselves as being part of the general public or as part of the Defense community. Depending on which the user chooses, the site customizes the information it receives.

On what Defense could be considering for the future.

At Defense, they are ready for whatever comes next, according to Floyd. "It's impressive that in the midst of an ongoing conflict, [Defense] changed the way it communicates and embraced new technology," he said.

Part of the culture change includes involving senior leadership on technological changes. Floyd said while at Defense he told top executives they had arrived at the digital future, whether they were aware of that, or not. He told them to search for their name on Google, and "it's not if you want to be there ... [it's] do you want to have any role in what's said about you."