Military Blogs

Although the use of social media was discouraged prior to the publishing of The U.S. Army Social Media Handbook, military blogging was used by many soldiers. Daniel Bennett, a blogger on frontlineclub.com, wrote “Tracing the First Official U.S. Military Blogs” where he analyzed the first “official” U.S. military blogs.  From his research, he found that the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) wanted to create blogs to drive readers to their main site and to facilitate dialogue.   Capt. Steve Alvarez had official duties to create and maintain a blog.  He created the “first official U.S. military blog” on September 24, 2004.  In a Department of Defense article, “CENTCOM Team Engages ‘Bloggers’”, Alvarez explains the main factors of why CENTCOM was interested in blogging.  CENTCOM believes that blogging helps get correct information out in the blogosphere and it initiates conversations with readers and other bloggers.

Bennett just covers the Army officials’ military blogs in his post, but many military soldiers and personnel used blogs.  For instance, Jean-Paul Borda started blogging prior to 2005 while he was in Afghanistan with the Army National Guard.  During the month of September 2006, Borda became interested in other military-related blogs and started milblogging.com, an index of all military blogs. By October 2006, Milblogging indexed over 1,500 military blogs in over 25 countries.  This site gained attention from several media publications and was even used by Military.com, the largest military and veteran membership organization.

In the early days, blogs helped soldiers keep in touch with loved ones while they were deployed.  It helped soldiers tell their story to the world and let readers get perspectives from the frontlines.  This helped increase the Army’s credibility because it allowed readers and the media to get raw information coming straight from soldiers.  This is important because a majority of the public thought the information being presented through traditional media was inaccurate.

Ever since the social media handbooks were published, more U.S. officials have taken on blogging today. Military blogs keep readers informed of what is going on in the Army and reassures the reader that the information they are receiving is accurate.  Readers can also communicate through blogs and give feedback.  Many U.S. officials have their blogs on the Army Live site.  The site published Army Live Blog Strategy, which allows audiences to identify the site as an official account and source of information coming directly from the Army.

Blogging helps engage readers through soldiers’ stories but also disseminates accurate information. Additionally, helps personify the Army to the audience and shows a glimpse of military life.