Troopideas.com, web 2.0 vanaf de frontlinie

Information is power and so it seems to be very logical that the principles of web 2.0 also find ground in the army. And so they do. Allthough it appears to be strange that soldiers share information via a worldwide public network like th internet. But this is happening and it saves lives. Just have for example a look at the website troopideas.com. Here soldiers who serve in Iraq share tips and tricks which can save your live (see also the Youtube movie).

So the army uses also new media. For example the force behind Iraqi Freedom has it's own Youtube channel. And of course are the soldiers able to share their thoughts online. FlickR and Del.icio.us are of course in the new media strategy of the army .

So we see a trend in the usage of new media for the troops. Ever heard of PatrolNet where you can follow the movements of patrols via Google Maps, a database, wiki and GPS. Transparency in warfare. Of course with it's limits because it is all about human life and saving them.

Another trend is the rise of milibloggers. Soldiers who post their experiences on their blogs (example). In the battle to get more people to join the army the American Army has develloped a realistic online game named America's Army. And of course it has a blog. After a succesfull first part their is a second part. More then 2 million people have already registered for this game. So it is a huge succes.

I think it is good that the army uses new media for their soldiers. The soldiers have a very important voice and they must be able to speak to the world about what is happening.

More information: Washinton Post, and an interesting overview of Milblogs on Blackfive.

EXTRA FIELD-5:milibloggers, web 2.0, leger, militair, trends, toekomst