DOD Allows U.S. Military Personnel, Pentagon to Use Facebook

From DailyTech: The Pentagon has allowed U.S. military personnel to begin using Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other popular social networking services.

The new government-issued rules offer guidelines for "safe and effective use of internet-based capabilities," and includes support for Google Apps, Wiki pages, blogs, YouTube, and other popular Web 2.0 apps.

Access to gambling, hate-crime sites, pornography, and other questionable content is still prohibited, the government said.

"This directive recognizes the importance of balancing appropriate security measures while maximizing the capabilities afforded by 21st century Internet tools," said William J. Lynn III, Deputy Defense Secretary, who was responsible for signing the new DOD policy.

The DOD has had some difficult experiences with social media, and it remained even more confusing since each branch had their own rules regarding social networking. Social media can be used to easily and quickly reach out to colleagues, other military members, and friends and family -- but DOD officials expect to create new rules to explain basic rules and guidelines for employees and military members.

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