This goal for this hour was to talk about social networks, from the cutting edge of the digital age to social networks of the Flinstones era, and we will bring them all together through Saddam Hussein. If you are wondering whether I have lost my marbles or not, we’ll find out in the next 45 minutes.
Joining me in studio for the first segment was Paul Gillin, one of the country’s leading experts on social media. Paul was editor-in-chief and executive editor of the technology weekly Computerworld for 15 years and since 2005 he has advised businesses on strategies to optimize their use of social media. Paul’s books include The New Influencers and Secrets of Social Media Marketing. He also maintains Newspaper Death Watch, self-described as “Chronicling the Decline of Newspapers and the Rebirth of Journalism”.
We discussed the role community and family play in social networks and the future of journalism.
After the commercial break Paul and I were joined by Eric Maddox. As an Army Staff Sergeant, Eric was an interrogator assigned to Tikrit where he soon realized that the insurgency was not being run by former regime elements, the so-called Deck of Cards. Eric realized that the regime elements went into self-preservation mode and were too fragmented. Saddam was using his most basic social networks for protection and to run the insurgency. For his efforts,
Eric Maddox was awarded the DIA Director’s Award, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement for his key role in the capture of Saddam Hussein. He’s written a great book about his experiene in Iraq called Mission: Black List #1 The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein
Today, Eric has been hired by the DoD as the first ever civilian interrogator. He has deployed to Afghanistan, back to Iraq, and other locations around the world for interrogation operations. He teaches new interrogation methodology and techniques for the government and to allied countries.
This is a fascinating discussion between two subject matter experts who realize that social networks are really about human beings and not technology.
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