Blog Problems

I apologize for the inconveince some readers may have had today here on the blog site. Only the latest posting has been available because of a code problem. I had been adding a script to place a Digg(R) tool at the bottom of each post. Apparently Digg.com did there much anticipated update today and that tool no longer worked. Unfortunately, the code at the end of each post prevented the remainder of the page from loading.

I have removed that script from the latest links allowing readers to load the starting page for the blog as usual. It will take some time to go back and remove the script from past posts so there may continue to be problems when you link to an older post. You may not be able to post comments to some of those posts.

I will get this corrected as soon as possible. Again, I apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.

Social Networking for Security

Yesterday on Twitter I ran across reference to an interesting blog on StrategicSocial.com that looks at social networking as a tool to further the security interests of the United States. They have a posting on General Caldwell, Commander of the Combined Arms Center at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, a school for senior Army officers. Gen Caldwell has apparently taken to encouraging the military to blog and become involved in social networking; this in an organization that as recently in 2006 banned blogging. The original ban on military blogging came about because of a number of instances where bloggers described current operations or included other classified information in their blogs. This is one of the reasons that the school at Ft. Leavenworth has adopted 7 rules for military bloggers. As would be expected those rules include prohibitions against disclosing classified information and talking about on-going operations. DHS Blogging DHS has a number of blogs periodically updated by upper management. This is a good start to social networking, but I’m not sure how wide spread the coverage of these blogs is. I would be willing to bet that there are few outside of those of us that cover DHS that routinely read these current blogs. It would be interesting to see some program directors have blogs that address day-to-day issues with their program. For instance we could have a CFATS blog that looked at issues related to the administration of that program; more in depth explanations of frequently asked questions for instance. A blog limited to registered CFATS users (and maybe professional CFATS bloggers. No? Oh well) could provide a forum for discussing more detailed and sensitive information (though actual CVI would be severely restricted). The idea of limited distribution blogs may seem kind of an odd application of social networking tools until you realize that social systems come in all sizes. Routine communications between members of a distinct group of people would go a long way to changing that group of people into a real community. If DHS wanted to bring the disparate Focus Centers into a coherent group that shares information they could establish blogs that would allow for informal communication between DHS Intelligence operations and the Focus Centers. Creative use of social networking tools will make DHS and its State and local counterparts more of a cohesive unit. Sharing information and sharing ideas will make it easier for these professionals to work together.