All Internet Traditions

For the past couple years, the Pentagon’s communications staff has tried to familiarize itself with all Internet traditions, with some frustration. The new-media staff took major strides in outreach to the blogosphere by launching blogger conference calls between military leaders and Cheeto dust-encrusted bloggers like myself. They even launched DOD Live, their own blog.

But now like-minded individuals have really taken a quantum leap forward. Check out TroopTube, a video-sharing service recently created to keep deployed troops in touch with the outside world. That’s not its only function, of course: By sharing troop videos, the Pentagon goes a long way toward getting its message out in a fascinating and immediate way. But as anyone who’s ever been in an MWR tent knows, troops downrange really want something cool to watch when they’re not hitting up their Facebook or MySpace. TroopTube is an excellent and overdue idea, and while I think it was created by Military OneSource, which I think is outside the Pentagon communications directorate, I’m sure the staff at DOD New Media welcomes this project with open arms and is already looking for that one video where the dudes ghostride an MRAP.

Crossposted to The Streak.