Navy to be like the Coast Guard with authenticated collaboration

It seems the Navy is attempting something new with online collaboration, however, I don’t see it going the way they intend.

On the Navy’s CIO blog a post on Expanding the Dialogue got my attention with its mix of Navy wide collaboration and the use of our military issued Common Access Cards. In short they’re looking at enabling a system to allow their members- who hold CACs- to have open discussions via online secure (perhaps Hi and Low) forums. I’m taking it would be something similar to our Coast Guard Portal, something I’ve come to actually like.

However, after thinking about what’s being proposed on the CIO’s site, I see the plan, as it’s being pitched, going nowhere. To expand on what’s above with regards to the use of forums the overall goal is to have

… better and more candid collaboration…

For all of those out there who survive in the online world living in the shadows of anonymity, this won’t sit well; nor will the average Sailor speak their mind on a system that is designed to completely identify who’s doing the writing. And it’s not just the Navy- you’ll be hard pressed to find any “candid” conversations on any of the half dozen active Coast Guard service blogs but especially inside Coast Guard Portal. Not to say there isn’t a good idea being thrown around but you won’t find anyone blasting a process with their real name attached- an impossible task on the our Coast Guard Portal.

If you’ve traveled around the interwebs of military sites/forums/blogs/etc. you’ll seldom find anyone who posts anonymously posting anything of actually value (in my opinion)- other than complaining anyway. So perhaps this is the Navy’s way of saying “if you have something to say, let us know. If you’re going to whine about something without offering a real solution- don’t bother.” Hmm, perhaps the Coast Guard’s already discovered this? I actually kind of like the idea of the “no anon” option for those with real ideas as it give me/us/them someone to actually talk to about a way to improve/change/create. But with that being said I also agree with those times when being nameless is be required, though they’re far more seldom needed than some people will lead you to believe.

I don’t know… It’ll be interesting to see how/if it works out.

Related posts:

1. The Coast Guard Portal… Not as cool as I hoped but it’ll work
2. If not part of the DoD, why is the Coast Guard called a Military Service?
3. Navy halts transfer of 14k sailors to cut costs… Who's next?
4. DoD authorizes use of social media in the workplace… but what about the Coast Guard?