Light Within

I remember the days when army soldiers were told not to disclose the locations where they happened to be serving. I also remember seeing those signs on bridges saying ‘photography is prohibited’. No more. Things have changed now. The advent of technologies like GPS or cellular phones has changed the way we work and also our priorities. It is in this milieu that I say blogger outreach and social media influence can be of great advantage to any organization including Pakistan Army. Why else other armies have dedicated army blog networks where soldiers, family members, friends, and supporters can post videos, images, and written stories?

By getting into blogging and other social media channels, the army can pick up useful insights to successfully and directly connect with people. Blogging can encourage authenticity and transparency to build credibility. Social influence is very much relevant to any army today, more so to the Pakistan Army which derives its strength from masses. This may also help the army to actively listen to those strong opinionated advocates and those “realists, liberals, progressives, revolutionaries” that are present out there in the blogosphere.

It is about time that the Pakistan Army should include blogging in its communication strategy and fill the huge void that exists. Army needs to update policies and encourage soldiers to engage meaningfully. And I know soldiers are good at it (I still remember those public speaking lessons that I had during my training in Pakistan Military Academy – one of the best training institutions anywhere in the world – and later those Method of Instructions tutorials I had to attend).

The army has great opportunities to offer to its people. They need to tell this to the people it serve. Internal as well as external army bloggers can do this better than anyone else.

Can influential bloggers (call them Social Media Influencers) help the army in the present context? Shoot down if you don’t agree.