I became  a fan of the US Army fan page on Facebook after the shootings at Fort Hood last year.  Today I noticed an interesting status up from their page. (See below). I think this is a fascinating use of a government agency connecting with every day people  but it was also an interesting commentary on just how far social media has come and is now ingrained in our every day lives.

After seeing this update, I went over the Army’s Facebook page to see just what was going on and it seems as though the Army’s fans were posting their opinions on the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. Obviously, this is a highly charged and highly emotional issue for many people on both sides of the issue.  The parts that particularly caught my interest was:

1. The response from the Army’s admins for page who were actively engaging with their fans and letting them know they were being heard. It also appears Admins are actively watching the page to delete any completely derogatory and profane messages. But the ones that are on there seem to be posted by people on there who are willing to post their opinions without resorting to name calling or hurtful words.

2. That this issue was being so openly discussed at all on their fan page.

While fan opinions on Facebook may not change whether the policy continues, it does seem entirely feasible that at the very least, these comments will be forwarded to those in the higher ranks and quite possibly to congressmen and women and other policy/decision makers.

I believe this speaks to power of social media today. Not only is the US Army using Facebook to connect with people but those people are using the platform as a way to make themselves heard and they’re doing it without a second thought. Just a few short years ago, (heck, even just a year ago), the ability of the public to get their opinions directly to an agency like the Army would have been limited to poll or survey agencies or to sending a letter directly to your congress person…something that only small percentage of people would actually do. Additionally, it also shows how much more comfortable people have gotten with discussing such highly charged issues in a very public forms.

Is it a good thing? I think so. You need to remain objective though about whether the majority of opinions on the Army’s Facebook page are in support of the policy or if they oppose it. They currently have over 148,000 fans and one would venture to guess that a significant portion of those fans support the Army and it’s principles so opinions may be skewed in one direction or another. You also have to consider that the Admins may be removing the most inflammatory posts.  However, a good portion of the comments that I read seemed to mostly support not discriminating against any of our service men or women based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

I think its an example of a good use of social media.