Virtual Social Networking and Interoperability in the Canadian Forces Netcentric Environment

摘要

In joint, coalition, and multi-agency operations, where component members are physically dispersed and culturally and operationally diverse, it is not uncommon to find that members are not familiar with the roles, expertise, and expectations of partnering units or organizations. Developing shared awareness and a high degree of interoperability in this distributed, anonymous environment necessitates appropriate tools to assist teams in collaboration and information sharing, and in localizing resources and expertise. In the corporate and public worlds a relatively new class of communication called virtual social networking (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn) is quickly taking over more traditional information sharing methods, such as email and chat. Virtual social networking represents evolutionary progress in disseminating information via the internet and its dynamic basis provides a rich forum for sharing information, for uncovering sources of expertise, and for developing extensive virtual connections between individuals and between groups. A research program has been initiated at Defence Research and Development Canada to investigate the requirements and feasibility of implementing this kind of web-based social networking with the Canadian Forces. This paper describes results from the first phase of the project, wherein social networking applications currently used by public and private organizations were explored with respect to composition, content, and use.