Defense Touts Social Networking

Social networking is becoming a very powerful messaging tool at Defense, according to Robert Carey, the department's new deputy chief information officer.

"We fought very hard to allow the networks to be open for that. Many use it," he said on Monday, during the American Council for Technology/Industry Advisory Council Executive Leadership Conference in Williamsburg, Va. It was his first official day on the job.

Social media helps eliminate bureaucracy at Defense and facilitates departmentwide information-sharing, added John Gilligan, president of the Gilligan Group, a Fairfax, Va.-based consulting firm.

Carey noted Defense remains judicious in how it uses social networking, and has an oversight team in place.

Right now it is pretty much open access but "if we have facts that justify control, we will take action," he said. "Today we believe the risk is manageable."

We're still in the early stages, Gilligan said.