Bridging the Divide: A Social Media Reading List for Senior Leaders
Joe Byerly
Today, there is a large generational divide in the military. While our younger Soldiers and leaders were raised on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, our senior leadership was not. Many senior military leaders struggle with understanding this medium of communication that comes with its own language, culture, and norms. When they were company commanders, they did not have to worry about a misstep at the company level being posted on Army WTF Moments. They did not have to worry about maintaining a unit level Facebook page. They did not have to worry about someone “tweeting” away their position in war. The digital age has brought with it, it’s own set of leadership challenges.
I hope to help bridge this gap, by providing leaders with a professional reading list of books, articles/blogs, and podcasts. While there are several dangers lurking on the social media landscape, there are also benefits with huge payouts in the domains of professional development and warfare. The list below is not all-inclusive, however it’s a start. If I’ve left something off this list, please include it in the comments section below. Also, if you have any questions please feel free to email me (my contact info can be found on the About Me page).
Books:
Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better by Clive Thompson
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
Cognitive Surplus: How Technology Makes Consumers into Collaborators by Clay Shirky
Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business by Erik Qualman
Articles and Blogs:
Leaders, Your Facebook Phobia is Holding You Back by The Military Leader
Harnessing Social Media for Military Power by Joe Byerly
Social Media and the Military Leader by Gary Klein
The Power of our Connections by Joe Byerly
The Birds of War: Twitter as a Professional Development Tool by Angry Staff Officer
“Get off Your Phone Sir”: Leadership in the Digital Age by Angry Staff Officer
On Senior Leaders and Social Media: An Interview with Brigadier Mick Ryan
How to Deal with Social Media Trolls by Rachael Wisuri
Twitter Kills: How Online Networks Became a National Security Threat by James Carafano
Websites:
Podcasts:
Comments
Time for us older ones to be mentored by the younger, savvy, and more experienced ones. We are not too old to learn about and embrace social media. If we want to stay relevant in the national security community we need to understand social media otherwise we are going to be passed by and left in the dust by our youth (which is okay) but worse, by our enemies who are effectively exploiting it. Thanks to Joe Byerly for mentoring us. We ignore his advice at our peril.