The Internet has changed the way people live and relate to others in a big way.  For instance, we are no longer confined to geographical distances when we talk about communities.  Blogs have brought together people who share web addresses rather than street addresses.  That means that an Internet community could potentially include literally billions of people around the world (or at least all those who have access to the technology and the knowledge to make use of it). 

Consequently, that means the words of a blogger could potentially have a much larger influence than that of a traditional newspaper article or a radio or television broadcast.  Of course, that rarely happens, but the recent Obama campaign shows its potential. Many bloggers live lives of quiet desperation seeking to be noticed and have their words acknowledged.  But a few are noticed and thrown to the forefront for the world to see.  For the Soldiers of the 314th Public Affairs Operations Center, that could be a pretty heady thing.  They are professional communicators who often see their work as a reflection of themselves.  I like to say that when I finish a story it is like a child of mine — something that has sprung from me.  For that reason, and others, I often struggle to ensure it fully represents me, my professionalism, and what I stand for. 

Knowing that millions or even billions of readers have seen an author’s words is empowering — but that power also comes with an equal amount of responsibility.  Just as every DINFOS student is graded poorly for errors in fact, bloggers should strive to ensure the same standards of objectivity and truth.  Unfortunately, there is no DINFOS instructor looking over most blog sites.  There is no one to mentor the student blogger; it’s a brave new world where the power of the Internet has created a new thruth simply by typing it.

When the idea of a unit blog site first circulated in the 314th, I wanted to ensure that each Soldier felt they could express himself or herself with as little censorship as possible.  I wanted to apply only the rules that all military graduates of the Department of Defense Information School (affectionately known as DINFOS) learn during their training:  there can be no violations of security, accuracy, policy or propieity. 

So far, my changes to 314th blog submissions have mostly been superficial — a changed verb tense here or an added semicolon there.  As long as the basic rules are followed, I am cautious of changing words or photos, since the message of the creator could be changed without my knowledge.

The Department of Defense has slowly evolved its opinion of blogs.  A few years ago, they were seen as a serious threat and were discouraged, and their authors sometimes faced serious consequences for disclosing potentially harmful or embarrassing information.  Over the years, reasoned minds discovered and communicated to leadership that it was nearly impossible to muzzle soldiers — and that doing so not only stopped that small amount of possibly harmful communication, but also the overwhelming amount of information flow that added layers of understanding about the lives of soldiers, their families and our institutions. 

So, what is a blog moderator and a Public Affairs Sergeant Major like me to do?  First and foremost, I encourage professional and creative communication.  I have to say here and now that the blogs I have read and posted from my soldiers demonstrate that there is no lack of talent among today’s newest additions to the Army Reserve.  I challenge and invite all of you to read the blog entries of these soldiers and let them entertain and inform you.  Their words, pictures, videos, sketches and graphic art are wonderful. 

My second responsibility is to mentor and encourage these bloggers to realize the immense responsibility they have with everything they post.  Their blog entries do not exist in a vacuum.  Like their print or video creations, they say something about them and their membership in the Army.  I challenge each blogger to ask themselves this — would they say the same thing if the people mentioned in each entry (or their DINFOS instructor) were standing in front of them. 

That’s a tough standard, but I know our Army Reserve Public Affairs soldiers are up to that challenge.