2009 was a good year for Milblogs. Our community started the #milmonday hash tag on Twitter, Milblogging.com reached 2,500 Milblogs, and the leaders of the Department of Defense stopped ignoring social networking. The Army now advertises its use of social media on their own site. Heck, Admiral Mullen got a twitter account.
At the same time, the ups have been followed by downs. In December, Milbloggers went silent in support of CJ Grisham at A Soldier's Perspective after he received pressure from his chain of command to stop blogging. Milblogs have also failed to earn acclaim in the larger blogging community; the 2010 Bloggies awards did not nominate a single Milblog for an award.
My co-blogger and I have been blogging for seven months or so. I have learned an incredible amount in that time, and I thought I would share what we know. Hopefully I can provide some tips and tricks to help new (and old) Milbloggers improve their writing, avoid common mistakes, and join the community. Additionally, Milbloggers will confront dangers most bloggers will never have to face. I want to address these problems as well.
Part 1- Put the Blog in Milblog
1. Learn from the pros. I don't get paid to milblog and my Amazon Associates referrals definitely don't pay the bills. You may not want to blog professionally, but that's no reason not to learn from the pros. Make your blog better, specifically:
- Problogger.net - Darren Rowse has the premiere blog on blogging. If you're a beginner, check out this collection of links.
- Dailyblogtips.com - Daniel Scocco writes another very excellent blog on blogging. Check out his list of 101 tips to make your blog better.
- I also recommend Trent Hamm's Building a Better Blog series at thesimpledollar.com. It's a great primer on blogging.
2. Join the Milblog community. Obviously, register your blog with milblogging.com so that this resource continues to grow. Click here to register.
Next, befriend other milblogs on facebook and twitter, add them to your blog roll, and comment on their posts. One of the most rewarding aspects of milblogging has been the new connections I have made.
3. Let's Begin Guest Posting. For some reason, the milblogging niche doesn't guest post as commonly as personal finance, advice or other meta-blogs. Well, I think it is time we start. Share your voice on other blogs, and encourage others to post on your blog. For a new blog, guest posting is the single best way to get new readers. Guest posting on your own site introduces your readers to new voices.
4. Emphasize Your Niche. There are at least 2,500 milblogs out there, what separates you from them? Answer: your niche. Find out what makes you unique. Wings over Iraq is written by a pilot who just returned from Iraq. Blog Them Out of the Stone Age links military history and contemporary operations. Spousebuzz.com tells the story of Army wives. Figure out who you are, and write to that.
5. Choose a good name. Abu Muqawama, Army of Dude, The Best Defense, and Blog Them Out of the Stone Age are all names that stick in the head beautifully.
6. Expand you Interests. Let's be honest, you're probably going to do this anyways. We say go for it. Celebrate it. Blackfive does politics, A Soldier's Perspective discussed school uniforms (to his chagrin though), and Dan Drezner compares foreign policy and Avatar. Don't worry about staying on the military theme too much, we all like going off topic. And if you can relate your interests back to the military, your writing will be better for it.
7. Prepare Ahead of Time. We've all heard the phrase "Hurry up and wait." If you've been in the military for more than a week, then you know the military has busy times and down times. Prepare your blog for them. If you know you're going to be deployed, or going to a training program, write material ahead of time so your blog doesn't have a huge gap between posts.
8. Avoid Army Bureaucratic Language. The Army hates language. It chews it up and spits it out into some unrecognizable thing filled with too many adjectives (full spectrum operations) and acronyms (METT-TC). So do what you can to solve the problem. Avoid the stuffy language demanded during your day job when you go home at night to blog. If you have to use an acronym, remember to explain it to your readership.
9. Stick To It. The number one blog killer is apathy. Keep at it. A good tip is to write as many extra posts as you can. This way, on days when you don't feel like blogging, you can still stay current. When your energy picks up you can write new posts.
We hate watching Milblogs die. Liberal or conservative, happy or disgruntled, deployed or in garrison, the military perspective needs to get out there.
Part 2: Stay out of hot water on your milblog
10. Learn Opsec. Avoid Opsec. This is kind of obvious, but it needs to be said.
- A great rule of thumb: if it involves numbers avoid it. So the number of men on a patrol, the time an attack occurred, or how long units take to respond should never go on a blog.
- Always avoid current or future operations. If it just happened, don't blog on it. If it might happen, definitely don't blog on it.
- It is not OPSEC but be cautious about breaking the news of wounded or killed soldiers. For courtesy to the family, please wait until the Department of Defense releases the information.
11. Practice Polite Politics - It is expressly against Army policy to disparage command. So don't do it. Whether it is about ex-President Bush, President Obama, or Nancy Pelosi, the chain of command is the chain of command. Polite commentary on policies is fair game; overly harsh criticism of officials could land you in hot water. The official Army blog has some good guidance on this. Definitely no disparaging remarks. If you wouldn't say it about your pastor, don't say it about the politicians in Washington.
12. Wait until you leave a unit to discuss that unit. The Kaboom blog is the best example of a blog shutting down because of outside pressure. Due to a variety of circumstances, Matt Gallacher's blog was ordered to close. I too worry about getting pressure to close down my blog. My solution is to wait until after I leave a unit before I write about it. This helped me on numerous occasions:
- Many times during deployment I felt frustrated, angry or just pissed. Posting in in these mindsets could have had a negative impact on my career and myblogging.
- I took over a job on a battalion staff a few months after we returned from Afghanistan. When things didn't go my way, I wrote blog posts about my frustration. When I read those posts now, I can choose the posts that actually offer my readers valuable information and throw out posts that are just rants.
I look forward to reading Milblogs as we move into 2010. We provide a valuable viewpoint that Americans want and need to hear. Hopefully this list of tips will help.
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Michael C writes for www.onviolence.com. He is an active duty military officer who deployed to Afghanistan in support of OEF VIII with the 173rd ABCT.
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After finishing my Basic Training at Indiantown Gap PA, and having settled into my new Quarters with the 301st Port Co., an event took place, that at the time, was very uplifting for my morale.
My Father, who had gone to work on the West Coast for Kaiser Shipyards, constructing Liberty Ships for the Maritime Commission as an overhead welder, impulsively dropped in to visit me. In an interval between Ships, on a train bound for New York from Washington State, my Father got off at the Harrisburg, PA. stop, some 20 odd miles from, Indiantown Gap. The Camp Service Bus gave him a lift from the Station to the Gap. He left after having Dinner in our mess hall but regretted being unable to stay because he was anxious to be on his way home to my Mother and 4 siblings.
Many, years later, waking from a Dream, I walked into my kitchen at Four A.M., sat down in my underwear at the kitchen table, and composed the following recollection of the dream and what it revealed to me, less it be lost forever....
My Father Loves Me!
On Feb. 14th 1995, I had an insight that was quite remarkable to me, that after 52 years I realized that My Father Loved Me ....Very Much!
I’ve written about Solomon several times including interviews (here, here, and here) and his vivid accounts of his war experiences dating back to WWII are simply amazing. How people can remember past events in such remarkable detail is beyond me.
I mean, Christ, my wife asked me this morning if I remember what movie we saw on our first date and I all I could answer with was, “You’re sooo beeauuuutiful…”.
Some times I throw in “my little snookums” or “cuddle muffin” at the end, to completely throw her off.
Check out Solomon's blog here.
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We are seeking volunteers to stuff attendee gift bags on Friday, April 9 (time/location TBA) and to man registration tables Friday evening from 6:00 - 6:30 pm and again from 7:30 - 8:30 pm. We'll also need volunteers to man registration tables on Saturday, April 10 from 8:00 - 9:15 am. If you're interested in volunteering, leave a comment in the comment section and someone will touch base with you as the conference date nears. Thanks in advance for those who can help, The MilBlog Conference truly is a group effort.
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The stress has also been intense on families stateside, who for nine months were glued to whatever media outlets carried the latest from the war.
Mary Edgecomb, 63, read a military blog every morning and every evening, tracking the movements of her son’s unit to the best of her ability. If there was a report of a downed helicopter, she was sleepless until word arrived that her son was OK.
“A couple of times, you’d be shaking, so sick to your stomach. It’s horrible,” Mary Edgecomb said. “You just think about them a lot. You say a lot of prayers.”
For the younger Edgecomb and the other civilian soldiers, the days ahead could be challenging as well as they fit themselves back into society and tackle responsibilities such as family and career.
Read the entire story here.
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While the DoD continues to debate social media, they’ve turned out several new sites including their latest creation the milBook. The DoD also launched a social media information web site back in November in order to assist members of the DoD and the public, called the Social Media Hub. Since November the site has only published a handful of stories, with a total of one new story in January. Has the DoD given up on the Social Media Hub while they continue to debate social media’s place in the DoD?
Even though the site has been pretty inactive, they’ve increased the number of sites listed on their Social Media Registry (located on the Social Media Hub) with dozens of military related blogs, Delicious accounts, Facebook pages, flickr, MySpace, Twitter, iReport and more.
At this pace, I’m guessing the next blog entry could be posted sometime in July. But if anybody needs their Social Media fill before then, you can head over to FaceTube. According to the results of one of the DoD’s latest web polls, FaceTube is one of the most frequently used sites on the web for social media.
More of my coverage on DoD and social media as soon as I finish finding this FaceTube thingy.
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(Times Online) CARELESS tweets cost lives. Some military personnel are being disciplined after leaking secrets on Twitter and Facebook, the Ministry of Defence has admitted.
At least 16 potential security breaches have been spotted and 10 people disciplined in the past 18 months. The MoD refused to comment on whether the actions related to operations in Afghanistan or elsewhere. However, it is known that troops in Afghanistan have regular internet access.
The department’s latest guidelines require soldiers to seek permission before publishing any information relating to operations. Service personnel are also barred from giving opinions on armed forces activity or blogging on “controversial, sensitive or political” matters.
Read the entire story here.
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(The National Guard) The National Guard's top officer encouraged a "healthy debate" on the use of social media by the U.S. military today.
"Somewhere in the middle, I know there's a happy medium," said Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau. "And that's why it's important for groups like this to come together and discuss."
He spoke to nearly 50 government professionals, who met here for a Social Media for Defense and Government event.
Participants said social media's presence in the military can include a variety of online tools for personal, career and development goals.
Read the entire story here. Thanks to my pal Keith for the tip.
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A couple of years ago, we began choosing military charities to feature at The MilBlog Conference. This year, given it's the Fifth Anniversary Conference, we've chosen two charities to feature. They are:
Homes For Our Troops
We are Homes for Our Troops, a national non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2004. We are strongly committed to helping those who have selflessly given to our country and have returned home with serious disabilities and injuries since September 11, 2001. It is our duty and our honor to assist severely injured Servicemen and Servicewomen and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor and to coordinate the process of building a home that provides maximum freedom of movement and the ability to live more independently.
The homes provided by Homes for Our Troops are given at NO COST to the Veterans we serve.
Soldiers' Angels
Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and their families. Founded by the mother of two American soldiers, we are an international, volunteer-led organization supporting America's men and women in uniform. With over 30 different teams and projects, our nearly 200,000 volunteers assist veterans, wounded and deployed personnel and their families in a variety of unique and effective ways.
This year, we're bringing back the fun and highly successful Jail-N-Bail. We'll run the jailhouse for one hour during Friday's opening cocktail reception. All funds from the Jail-N-Bail will go to the featured charities. Attendees who issue arrest warrants and criminals who raise bail money will choose which organization will receive their donation. Both organizations will be presented with funds raised at Saturday night's dinner and party.
In the past, our attendees and sponsors have been very generous to our featured charities and we're grateful to all who have donated. There is no pressure on attendees to give to the charities. At a minimum, we want to spotlight organizations which are doing great things for the military community, and if we can raise some money to help them continue their great work in the process - all the better.
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Federal Computer Week and many news sites are covering the story about the launch of milblook - an initiative to connect people across the AKO/DKO community. According to the milSuite home page, milBook acts as a central hub for networking workforce professionals with others of similar interests, much like the popular social media sites Facebook and LinkedIn.
The milBook application joins an enclave of other federal social networking platforms modeled on popular mainstream sites, including the Navy Office of General Counsel’s internal Facebook or the Defense Intelligence Agency’s A-Space, also inspired by Facebook.
As part of the milBook program, several military and government programs have implemented professionally-based and social Web presences for their internal communities, using popular or familiar sites in the public domain as a model, Filler said.
“We are actively engaged across the DOD with social media and Web 2.0 projects and are always looking to integrate where possible if the audience is appropriate,” he added.
The military is even planning to develop SmartPhone apps for its milSuite. But as of now, the milSuite is only accessible by military members and others within in the AKO/DKO community.
This is great news and all with the blog and wiki and now the ‘book’, but honestly, I don’t think there is five people on Earth I know who use any of these sites for social networking.
Seriously, ask me to name five people who use milSuite to blog about stuff, and I’d have a better chance of knowing the answer to why the sky is blue or what is the secret of the universe.
Read the entire story here.
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Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
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Admiral Harvey to Speak at The MilBlog Conference
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It's Official: The "Fifth Annual Milblog Conference and Party" Scheduled for April 9 and 10, 2010, Going to Be the Best Yet!
More here
"The Charitable Landscape" Panel Announced
More here
Official Milblog Conference Banner: Now Available for Download
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Registration for Fifth Annual MilBlog Conference & Party NOW OPEN!
More here
2010 Milblog Conference and Party, Sponsorship Packages
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Jake Wood who blogged from the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan, while dealing with sniper fire and hunting I.E.Ds, is now blogging about the relief efforts in Haiti. On January 17th, Jake and his 4 man team began taking medicine and much-needed supplies to the people of Haiti. His web site Jake’s Life, has now become Team Rubicon. You can stay updated on all the good they’re doing by visiting Jake’s blog. Military Blog Blackfive has also been covering their journey since the beginning, posting daily updates including photos and dispatches. Team Rubicon’s efforts have also received attention in the news – including a story by Catholic Online, a Catholic news site that reaches over 100 thousand users per day.
Jake Wood, a remarkable young US Marine military blooger (milblogger) and former University of Wisconsin Badgers football player, has established Team Rubicon for a joint medical relief operation with Jesuits in Port au Prince.
The operation is able to move more swiftly than larger, established aid organizations because it is privately-funded and overcomes three critical blocks in the flow of aid: security, lack of water, and organizational cumbersomeness.
Wood blogged his recent combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan as Badger Jake at Jake's Life, which has now become the home of Team Rubicon. He also served as a volunteer in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
According to Jake’s blog, Team Rubicon is assembling a second team to go to Haiti and they’re in need of: ER doctors, EMTs with pediatric skills. Rally point will be Fayetteville, NC. Click here for more info.
Read the entire Catholic Online story here.
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Admiral Mullen was sworn in as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2007. He serves as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council.
A native of Los Angeles, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968.
He commanded three ships: the gasoline tanker USS Noxubee (AOG 56), the guided missile destroyer USS Goldsborough (DDG 20), and the guided missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG 48).
As a Flag Officer, Admiral Mullen commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Group 2, the George Washington Battle Group, and the U.S. 2nd Fleet/NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic.
Ashore he has served in leadership positions at the Naval Academy, in the Navy's Bureau of Personnel, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on the Navy Staff. He was the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to October 2004.
His last operational assignment was as Commander, NATO Joint Force Command Naples/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe.
Admiral Mullen is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School and earned a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Prior to becoming Chairman, Admiral Mullen served as the 28th Chief of Naval Operations.
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General Electric
Vets4Vets
VA Mortgage Center
USACares
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U.S. Naval Institute
Readeo
Pin-Ups for Vets
Military.com
Key Edition Inc, for Senator's Son: An Iraq War Novel by Luke S Larson
Hillsdale College
AAFES
Without their support, the conference wouldn't be possible. We greatly appreciate all of our sponsors!
We have a variety of sponsorships available, several options can be mixed and matched. Our packages can accommodate the smallest of budgets and are constructed so that both large and small organizations can participate. For more information on sponsorships, click here.
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ArtDaily, an online fine art newspaper, has a story about a war photography exhibition being held at the Stellam Holm Gallery in New York. The works being showcased, have also been published in a book called I.E.D.: War in Afghanistan and Iraq and it includes military blogger stories from Doonesbury’s Sandbox. It’s another testimony to military blogs – as the article states, “This 'boots-on-the-ground' testimony adds a powerful voice to the compelling and harrowing photographs constructed by Levinthal.” The photographs aren't of real people, but of tiny miniature Soldiers and figurines.
I.E.D.: War in Afghanistan and Iraq features eighteen color photographs by renowned photographer, David Levinthal, which seek to examine the way in which our society looks at war. The idea for this series was conceived when Levinthal recognized a flood of figurines and models available to the American consumer, depicting the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan...
Released by powerHouse Books, the publication, I.E.D.: War in Afghanistan and Iraq, compiles the entirety of Mr. Levinthal's series of photographs. The book features seventy color photographs along with an introduction by the artist. It is accompanied by a series of writings culled by David Stanford, editor of The Sandbox, an online military blog that posts writings from troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Though the photographs look stunning, I was slightly disappointed. It doesn't appear as though David Levinthal consulted any military action figure experts (like my 3-year old) before publishing the book.
I mean because, when I glanced at the book online, I didn't see any "Pew! Pew! Pew!...Pew! Pew! Pew!" balloons photoshopped on top of the photos...
Read the entire story here.
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By Andi
Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr. is no stranger to blogging. In addition to authoring his own blog, he's also a contributor at the USNI blog. We're pleased to announce that ADM Harvey will be a featured speaker at the 2010 MilBlog Conference. ADM Harvey will join contemporaries from other branches to address the use of social media by senior military leadership. More on this panel soon.
Our Generals and Admirals are busy folks these days. They have pesky little things to deal with, like wars and natural disasters.... Confirmed speakers on this panel are tentative. They plan to appear unless duty dictates otherwise.
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It’s part of an ongoing distinguished visitor embark program that has been reaching out to community bloggers as a way to communicate U.S. military missions to a whole new audience.
“The Navy recognizes the importance and the reach of social media,” said Capt. Brett Genoble. “Taking out this group of San Diego-based bloggers is a great communications opportunity.”
Read the entire story here.
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It's Official: The "Fifth Annual Milblog Conference and Party" Scheduled for April 9 and 10, 2010, Going to Be the Best Yet!
More here
"The Charitable Landscape" Panel Announced
More here
Official Milblog Conference Banner: Now Available for Download
More here
Registration for Fifth Annual MilBlog Conference & Party NOW OPEN!
More here
2010 Milblog Conference and Party, Sponsorship Packages
More here
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Ever wonder what Civil War buffs do for fun? A Curator for the National Civil War Museum, based in Harrisburg PA, will live the life of a Civil War soldier on picket duty for 2 weeks starting February 6 at 10:00am through February 20 until 5:00pm. Picket Duty basically means maintaining watch for the enemy. The story is getting press, and Brett Kelly the curator who will be pulling duty, is also going to be tweeting updates according to the news.
Brett Kelley's plans for two weeks in the Union Army include picket duty, 10-mile marches, improving defensive position and taking care of Twitter and YouTube.
It is not the Civil War of the 1860s.
Kelley, curator of collections at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, will serve two full weeks standing guard at the museum in a fund-raising and consciousness-raising activity,
"People say I'm crazy for doing this in February," he says. But then he talks about wearing a wool uniform being produced by a manufacturer of period clothes in Gettysburg. He does not want to emulate the slow-cooking process that drained Civil War combatants in the summer campaigns.
"I'd really be nuts to do this in July," he says.
Kelley will be on duty Feb. 6 to 20 outside the museum, trying to experience life as a Civil War soldier. He will be housed in a wood-floored tent and cook meals in a cast-iron stove.
It’s actually pretty interesting, although, I could think of better things to do for 2 weeks. Normally when I’m really into something I watch a movie or read a book about the subject. But truthfully, that’s only because dressing up like an enchanted mythical creature outside of my apartment, would likely end up in a phone call to the Police by my neighbors.
I anxiously wait the day unicorns are accepted as people, too.
Read the entire story here. You can check out the museum’s web site here.
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