The Army's Use of Social Networking Sites

Perry, Chondra. "Social Media and the Army." Military Review 90.2 (2010): 63-68. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

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In this article, author Chondra Perry feels that Twitter is an excellent resource for the Army because it opens a whole new window of opportunity. The window of opportunity is that the Army has the chance to keep it’s followers, (U.S. citizens,) updated on what is going on overseas. She feels that this will help keep Americans informed on what is going on, helping them make better opinions on how they feel about the war. She also feels that Army commanders can use Twitter as a way to communicate to people on the go, and even other soldiers. This can help commanders tell soldiers the situation they are in at a given moment. Perry also feels that YouTube has the potential to be very useful because the site would make it easy for soldiers to post videos and let family members know how they are doing when they are not able to communicate any other way. She also feels that videos are more effective than words because it helps Americans see just how life is in the Army and overseas.

The point of view presented by Perry is very useful to the reader because it shows how these social networking sites available to us can be used by the Army to help our fight for freedom. This helps the argument dealing with social networking and Twitter also because it shows that social networks can hurt the war, but also aid it in our favor. Chondra Perry seems to be very adamant about proving that these social networking sites can aid our Army in a big way. Her point of view is very useful to the reader because Perry goes into detail about how each social networking site can aid soldiers, helping readers see how effective these sites can be. Her research also helps the reader form their own opinion easier because all the information they need is right in their face. All the readers have to do is take all the information in and figure out how they feel about it. Chondra Perry’s point of view helps show that censoring certain tweets about the war can also have a negative effect on us.