DoD Director of New Media: “It’s not about controlling the message anymore”

Continuing what is rapidly turning into an autumnal video season here on the blog, I came across this interview by David Meerman Scott with Roxie Merritt, the Director of New Media Operations at the U.S. Department of Defense. 

 

There’s some very interesting stuff in this brief video. A few points for those of you who are short of time:

1. Merritt says when she started at the Department of Defense three years ago, there was a discussion about how they should tackle new media but rejected using a blog as a vehicle for press releases. Instead they decided to focus on building relationships with bloggers, applying the principles of working with the traditional media to new media. 

2. Merritt says they "painstakingly sat down" and emailed every blogger discussing military affairs individually and offered them the opportunity to talk to military leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan. (She doesn’t mention it by name but she appears to be referring to the Bloggers Roundtable initiative)

3. Bloggers will correct one another, she says: "It’s not about controlling the message anymore, it’s about giving people as much information and resources and facts that they can to get out that information out there and let that big massive conversation that’s going on out there do its thing".