2 TASKS-Must be done independently

Instructions: Add additional insight opinions or challenge opinions and you can visit a couple of the web sites contributed and share your opinion of these sites.  Minimum of 250 words for each. 1) Social media has become the main source of information for people trying to keep in touch with one another. It also allows anyone to share any information they choose with anyone that is willing to receive it. This capability also provides the opportunity for people to share more information than they should with the public in general. In many cases people do not realize how much information they are releasing or how it can be used. If this information is consolidated it can tell an amazing story about an individual. The information provides intelligence and can be used by law enforcement, employers, attackers, or anyone with Internet access. Since social media is such an efficient way to communicate it can also be used to organize events, protests, or any other functions. Arab Spring is a good example of how social media was used to organize a protest. The effectiveness of social media is due to the fact that it reduces the normal restrictions of distance and delay when trying to communicate (Waters 2012). Another example of social media being used for coordinating protest efforts was during the Occupy Utica movement in 2014. Social activists came together using social media and used the lessons learned from the Arab Spring to organize Occupy Utica (Madison 2017). Another example was in 2016 when local activist heard there was going to be a pro-Trump rally in their area. Using social media they put together an opposing group in three hours (Madison 2017). This shows the speed and efficiency that social media provides when organizing such events.             Before social media events were organized by one or two people and then the message of that person was sent out using flyers or some form of paper. When social media came along it did not just change the paper method to electrons. It opened up the management of the event to everyone. There is less of hierarchy of management and decision are made in a more democratic method (Madison 2017).             As with all technology it is more than one outcome regardless of the intended use. In the cases stated above the intended use was for the effective use of communication to organize an event. In posted the event on social media it also make the information available to others such as law enforcement. This makes it easier for law enforcement to know what is going on and when so that they can be prepared as well (Madison 2017).             Thus far the discussion has been focused on how social media is used to organize events. Social media can also be used for other types of intelligence gathering. Intelligence gathering is not just law enforcement but may also be used by other organizations for a number of purposes. Public health officials are learning about pandemics must faster than previous methods by using social media. Psychologists think that there are indicators in Facebook regarding mental health that could be used to predict things like possible school shootings (Omand, Bartlett and Miller 2012). The question then becomes how much does this intelligence gathering invade our privacy?

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2) First off, I am not a huge fan of social media.  It is a great tool to pass information, but accuracy of that information is often lacking. For some leaders social media provides a direct line of communication to followers.  Social media in some respects is a very narcissistic platform for anyone with a nonfactual statement or opinion.  Again, social media can have benefits. It can provide real time information that can be turned into intelligence. Analysts can watch would be terrorist cells and there movements through certain geolocation tools found within the social media platform. Additionally, intelligence analysts can monitor and collect on the political, military, economic, social, informational operations, and infrastructure (PMESII) of a society as it pertains to individual nation-states, districts, religious sects, and political parties. Due to the fact people post in near real-time as events unfold, decision makers are able to tailor their plans and operations to this constant source of intelligence.  During the London Olympics of 2012, London Metropolitan Police used SOCMINT to monitor “temperatures” of communities and also to identify and suspects operating in the area with the use of “Flickr” (Omand 2012, 802). For such large events social media may be one of the best collection platforms.      Temperature gaging seems to be one of the significant enablers SOCMINT is used for.  As mentioned earlier, monitoring crowds of protestors, religious or cultural demographics, and other large gatherings can help provide crucial indications and warnings for agencies and departments utilizing that data.  Facebook and Twitter can provide said temperatures. Facebook has provided indicators regarding would be mass shooters and other criminals as they spout rhetoric through that platform, while Twitter has shown the operations of Pirates and AQ through their communications or “Tweeting” (Ibid., 803).      SOCMINT has been used for other operations besides targeting different threats.  Social Media has been used to find survivors in disasters, like the earthquake that hit Haiti (Hodges 2012). Social media has provided geo-mapping/tagging through crowd sourcing for different crises and disasters, like Haiti, the violence Kenya post-election fallout and the Arab Spring depicting the atrocities of certain governments (Ibid).     For the all source analyst and directors, there are some other significant advantages to using SOCMINT.  The primary reason is the vast amounts of information that is available to the analyst charged with sifting through said data, the speed in which it can be collected, and the relatively low cost for access to the open source information (Ivan et al. 2015, 509). There are also some significant limitations with the use of SOCMINT. The large quantity of data may become difficult to triage in order to find that valued information, which can cause errors in reporting (Ibid).  Also, legality comes into question.  There is the argument of privacy and confidentiality or violation of the 4th Amendment (Ibid). Proper warrants or authorizations with the correct agencies and departments have to be acquire before collection.  For example the military or the CIA cannot collect on US persons through social media, but the FBI and other US Law Enforcement departments may can.       SOCMINT as an open source intelligence collection capability is beneficial.  Information is quick to access though many venues to gain perspective on the happenings of cultures and nations.  This can be a limitation though. It becomes more important that the IC continues to recruit and train new analysts for the use of SOCMINT, especially as the new generations continue to surround themselves with it. Let me know your thoughts. Cheers!

Respond here in at least 250 words: