The subject of anonymous

Please note: The opinions expressed on this web site are mine and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, or Justice; the Coast Guard or any other office or agency of the U.S. Government; or any organization, corporation, company, or anyone else other than the author. Just reminding you.

The subject of anonymous bloggers and those who leave comments is not exactly a new controversy. Basically the moment you had a place where people could comment/speak without any major repercussions…here comes a whole lot of drama.

As much as I loathe the sociopathic, narcissistic personalities who think trolling is acceptable and flaming people worthy of wasting time on, the whole anon thing is a tough call for me…because while I see why it leaves the door open for idiots to be rude it is also the security that some people need to be honest or to protect their privacy.

An aside- follow up to Iran post

Remember how I mentioned Neda and posted her video a couple days ago talking about Iran and how they were reported to be building one of the most advanced internet firewalls yet? Seems a firewall isn’t enough as reports are now that Neda’s family has been kicked out of their home and her body was buried without their knowledge and the proper rights.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/24/neda-soltan-iran-family-forced-out

If Iran was trying to make the world forget about her, that was completely the wrong way to do it…if this story in the Guardian is true they just made her a bigger martyr.

Their actions are violent, their burial of Neda was disrespectful to her family, and their firewall might be mighty I still argue is too little too late…you can’t unspill the blood that has splashed in the eyes of millions around the world. When Iran suddenly goes silent, Neda and others killed in the conflict will still be dying over and over in full view of the world.

The AP, the social media policies they apply to their people…kind of surprising.

Armed service, military….major wire news service. Which do you think would be really restrictive on social media outlets? If just asked randomly I think most people would expect that the Coast Guard  as an armed service would probably have more strict rules than any media agency when it comes to regulating it’s personnel in the realm of social media. Yet from what I am reading and hearing, it looks like the AP wins on the strict social media rules. This kind of surprised me since, well, it is the AP…you know media? freedom of speech?

ThisMoment

So I am checking out a new social media site called ThisMoment.com, which I will be experimenting with during my roadtrip with my husband from New Orleans to the West Coast.

Mostly it is an excuse to play with a new site and so far I am really enjoying ThisMoment. It has a smooth easy to use interface that is seamless and very dynamic. It is like Twitter meets Livejournal with a dash of Flickr and Youtube.  I think I am going to have a lot of fun with this.

Coast Guard application wise,  I think ThisMoment.com would be really sweet for an underway blog to get a deckplate level view following a Coast Guard crewmember.  You know me always thinking about how social media tools can be used for the Coast Guard…this one could be pretty cool.  Of course there would be security concerns (on the site you can release your location for example) but really? I think it could be a really great way to show what it is like, and because of the way it is set up it would be fairly simple for someone underway to keep up with on a multimedia level that is missing from Twitter. Pick an enlisted crew member, a non rate or whoever wants to, that is on their first underway trip to the Arctic, or someone who is doing their first patrol to wherever and share that experience. Not something for constant use like the Compass, or the Commandant’s blog, but for shorter term story telling.

So I am on ThisMoment.com tinkering around. Yes I know, I am also on Twitter (Tweetdeck I ❤ you), Facebook,  this blog, etc…how will I keep up with it all. Luckily much of it is integrated together and really when you think about it they all serve different functions. Twitter is a quick and easy way to give people updates (so I can stop answering the pesky question of where in the country I am now 15 times a day) and to share links for information. Facebook is obvious, a place to talk to friends share pictures, etc.

More to follow as I get more time to play with the site.