Twitter, Facebook and the Pentagon

I am often asked how Web 2.0 strategies can be successfully implemented in corporations and bureaucracies when there is so much instiutionalized resistance to change.
One of my answers is that it needs not only buy-in at the top, but also needs CEOs and leaders who are committed, engaged and determined to make Web 2.0 implementation happen. That’s only part of the answer, but it’s an important part.
That appears to be the case at the Pentagon. In this fascinating videoclip, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen talk frankly, during a Defense Dept briefing, about the importance of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. And, what’s more, Admiral Mullen reveals that he actually tweets himself. He wasn’t joking. Indeed, you can follow him on http://twitter.com/thejointstaff 
If the Pentagon and the  U.S. Army can embrace Web 2.0, big corporations and government bureaucracies - many of which still ban Facebook and other online networks — no longer have any excuses.

Footnote: you can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/frasermatthew.
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