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US Military using social networks

by on09 June 2010

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Battlezone in Facebook


Facebook and other social notworking sites are being used by the US army to hunt insurgents and save American lives in Afghanistan.

Social networking analysts, who are mostly in their early to mid-20s, are apparently helping the US army fight battles with few casualties on both sides. They are sitting in rooms in the US watching feeds and reporting on them.

According to the New York Times, the skills of Facebook are apparently helping the analysts pass on the latest data from drones and other spy planes. They are creating the fluid connections needed to hunt small groups of fighters and other fleeting targets, military officials claim. The networking has been so productive that senior commanders are  giving the analysts leeway in deciding how to use some spy planes to speed things up a bit.

Besides looking at the video feeds, the analysts scan still images and enemy conversations. They log the information into chatrooms and carry on running dialogue with drone crews and commanders and intelligence specialists in the field. Apparently it paid off during the Marja offensive in February, the analysts managed to stay a step ahead of the advance, sending alerts about 300 or so possible roadside bombs.
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