The Defence Communications Strategy

The Defence Communications Strategy is a document produced by the Directorate General Media and Communications of the Ministry of Defence. It aims to 'enhance the reputation' of the UK Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces 'both internally and externally, through influencing the understanding, activity and perceptions of internal, domestic and international audiences'.

It has resulted in what the Ministry of Defence describes as a "daughter document" the Defence Online Engagement Strategy which is effectively a Ministry of Defence strategy aiming to exploit the emergence of new media and specifically "Web 2.0" for their own purposes, and also to effectively "damage control" any unwanted criticism of the MoD which may filter through this new media

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 refers to the second generation of the internet,after the dot-com bust, with a focus on information sharing and product partially or totally shaped by the users instead of webmasters or publishers.

It has been described as the following -

"Web 2.0 is about harnessing the potential of the Internet in a more collaborative and peer-to-peer manner with emphasis on social interaction. It has less to do with technology and more to do with a mindset change aimed at facilitating collaborative participation and leveraging the collective intelligence of peers."

The Ministry of defence is aware of the growing influence of this media, noting in the Defence Online Engagement Strategy that " As audiences for social media grow, we must follow particularly as the importance of the traditional media reduce; thus, the question is not whther to engage, but how."

Resources

• Defence communications: capability; structure; resourcing; and reform