Pentagon Uses Twitter to Announce Policy Change

Breaking with tradition, the Pentagon used Twitter Friday to announce major changes in its social media policy.

Under the new policy, military personnel can Tweet, blog, and update their Facebook pages on the U.S. military’s non-classified computer networks. More than a dozen social media sites the Pentagon blocked in May 2007 will now be unblocked.

Price Floyd, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, broke the news of the policy change on his Twitter feed (@pricefloyd), instead of issuing a press release to the media or holding a press conference as the Pentagon has typically done for major announcements in the past.

A few hours before the announcement, Floyd sent out a tweet: “Alert. New Social Media policy to be announced at 1pm. Will allow access to SM sites but balance it with the need to be secure.”  Afterwards, he used Twitter to seek feedback about the new policy and retweeted some positive comments he’d received. 

“As a soldier who served abroad, I think the new social media policy is awesome,” Twitter user @NickM84 commented. “What a great way for troops to stay connected.”

Twitter user @jessicadeva agreed: “Living 3000 miles away fm my family, I saw my niece’s 1st bike ride on FB – thrilled that military families can now do the same.”

The Pentagon’s social media policy change came after a seven-month review ended with senior officials concluding that the benefits of social media outweighed potential security risks. Under the policy, Commanders can also block access to social networking sites if necessary to protect a mission or protect sufficient bandwidth—but only on a temporary basis.

“We need to take advantage of these capabilities that are out there—this Web 2.0 phenomena,” said David M. Wennergren, deputy assistant secretary of defense for information technology in the press release Floyd released through his Twitter feed. “The idea is be responsible and use these tools to help get the job done.”

It’s interesting the seven-month review also apparently resulted in the new Pentagon tactic of using Twitter to communicate directly with the public—and bypass the media—to get the major announcement job done.  Journalists and public relations practitioners should take note!

What do you think this means for the future of journalism and public relations? Share your thought here.

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