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Society.
Net is social. As in, a society. Not too long ago in industrialized countries relationships were starting at church. AT CHURCH?!?! Or through our parents. Society is society. As long as those pixels eventually turn into actual people, I'm pretty open about it. Now...here on this side of the Pacific, there are jokers pushing to marry computer programs and cartoon characters. I'm sitting next to a woman right now that has been unhappily married for 25 years in an arranged marriage. Call me somewhere between Nu Skool and Old School, but hooking up via the Net and hooking up via someone else's arrangement is equally screwy.
I think, as per OPSEC--that good old buzzword--it's only an issue on those 'social network' sites if someone can connect the dots from there to your [past, present or future] operational capacity. In fact, there are plenty of books, and tidbits in here, that even a mediocre geek like me can [and have] use[d] to find out who you are...and where you've been. These networking sites are just another tool to add to your, or anyone's, Open Source Tool Box. Not saying you should embrace these sites and go out and start collecting friends you'll never meet in real life, but this type of convo starts to tread close to bar codes and bio-chips.
And I'm still curious about how exactly SOCOM units are using these aforementioned "OPSEC-breaching" social networking sites as a first-line recruiting tool. I have mailed a few of these 'users' at their .mils and have yet to receive a reply...whereas, jokers posting up on the user's FB page get a reply literally within hours.
I may not be understanding that 'linkable' participation on these sites doesn't necessarily preclude you from things like going 18X or getting a clearance, but *will* necessarily preclude you from certain high speed long-hair options down the line. But then again, I happen to know a few of those types who are online and chatting. So, that preclusion might not be the case, in reality. Or...maybe we're back to making sure that there is no traceable, linkable chain between your trigger time and your chatting time. Posting your QC pics or your daily SITREP from the 'box so your fam can know what's going on really shows just a complete lack of [military] intelligence or responsibility on your part. Or even posting up your USAF PAST or SEAL Challenge results. That sh*t is just a complete lack of foresight on your part.
Doesn't mean you should stop posting on FB, as far as I can tell, and it doesn't mean those sites are to blame for anything other than being a forum for people's idiocy, SOF personnel or otherwise. You should always watch what you say, on the net or in the DFAC. Blaming technology for Charlie's ability to now better track and exploit said idiocy is only going to result in a weird perspective. And this little problem of people posting all their pre-selection info is only really going to result in smarter people hitting the Pipeline or BUD/S or SFAS. Am I missing how that's not a win?
Respectfully,
mbs
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