I work in social media daily and educate organizations on the dos and don’ts of effective social strategy. Every organization is different and it’s my job to help them balance social transparency and their organizational goals. I love what social media has to offer in terms of community, branding, and conversation, so I was thrilled to hear the Pentagon announced the lift on the ban of social networking sites.

And then I remembered this Iraq incident from 2003.

I’m sure that the Pentagon has hired some of the brightest minds to help them tackle the social space. But as a digital strategist and a patriot, let me share some recommendations:

1. Do not enable geotagging of tweets. If drawing a map in the sand gets you kicked out of the country, pinpointing your exact latitude/longitude is surely frowned upon.
   
2. Don’t join Foursquare. It’s too hard to find accurate cross-streets in the mountains anyway.
   
3. LinkedIn might help business contacts connect on the road via TripIt, but Company Buzz might be a more relevant app for your needs.
   
4. Don’t be too specific in answer the question “What’s happening?” Not sure your platoon leader will appreciate a broadcast of “creeping up on hostiles now w @othersoldier….”
   
5. Be wary who you “friend."

#SupportOurTroops