Reading “The last post” in the recent edition of Legion, the Royal British Legion magazine in the UK, it dawned on me that social media is really all about sharing your story. In the article I read, an Army reservist used his PR skills to tell the folks back home what life was like on the front line. Through blogging, Facebook and YouTube, he with others, collaboratively painted a clear and more real picture of the everyday lives, thoughts and feelings of our troops. It really was that simple.

So why is it that so many people just don’t “get” social media? Millions of us are using it around the planet. Millions of us are having great online conversations. Millions of us are building effective networks and connections across the globe. And what are we all doing in the process? We are telling our own story.

Take the current conflict in Afghanistan. Via the media we hear and see events almost daily, stories of attacks, injuries and the unfortunate tragedy of war – death. But what this army reservist has done is to take a real life situation and share it with a global audience. It’s believable because the stories shared are actually happening. The stories give the reader or viewer a unique understanding or awareness of the highs and lows of British military life in Afghanistan. Read the rest of this entry »