SOCIAL NETWORKING- AN ENIGMA FOR DEFENCE OFFICERS BUT A PRE-REQUISITE FOR A SECOND CAREER

I entered inside the portals of the majestic National Defence Academy on 02 Jul 1988 at the age of 17 and I realized that my contacts with the outside world would fade away. However, I carried one good habit with me in this arduous journey. This habit was –LETTER WRITING. A generous package of almost 50 inland letters and 50 postcards was my parent’s gift into the big steel trunk.
             

By the time I finished my First Term at the NDA Wing, my trunk had no postage left. What I achieved in effect was that I had developed a bridge with my relatives, teachers and friends whom I had left behind when I joined the “Fauj”. This good habit sustained me throughout my NDA stay and also helped me to deeply connect with a girl who is now my wife. We know each other for last 22 years since the time I was a 6th Term Cadet at the NDA and it was only courtesy the letters that we exchanged.
           

My letter writings continued unabated to people far and wide till the Internet revolution shook the World and we all became hooked to the WWW and I got my first email id. The ever evolving technology soon ushered in the concept of Social Networking. Now, Social Networking ushered in a new dilemma for the Forces hierarchy. On one hand, it’s a bridge which reduces the distances in the Global Village. On the other hand, it can lead to a wide sharing of vital information.
          

As was expected, serious security lacunas were reported regarding the usage of the Social Networks and soon enough there were ambiguous restrictions in forces over the usage of Social Networks. Non-descriptive and primitive technological gadgets were and are still encouraged amongst the defence personnel to preserve the sanctity of the information. However, this has led to a grave disconnect situation. Today, we have amongst ourselves soldiers who are isolated wanderers in this ever connecting and digitally shrinking world. Many of the uniformed personnel find it difficult to amalgamate with the Civvy Street as their digital signatures do not meet the requirements.
         

These days it is common for potential recruiters to scan through the network profiles of individuals to gauge their potentials and their expected productivity. The World of today and tomorrow would belong to multi-askers who can deliver diverse results. This phenomenon cannot be achieved in isolation. Gone are the days when vocabulary and intelligence could outshine the competition. Today’s World depends on the Speed of Delivery which is a direct outcome of the connectivity matrix.
         

It is, therefore, vital that we utilize the tremendous potential of the Social Networking sites, create our profiles with our skill sets sans the Jane’s Military Information and commence our link up with the World. You would be surprised that today if you connect only with your Class Xth and XIIth Batch Mates- you would have arrived into the scene.
       

These are trying times for all who are migrating towards a life without uniform. We are staring at a big change and we need to be geared up if we have to have a meaningful second career. So, open up your laptops, log into LinkedIn and start crawling on the Web. Meet people from the convenience of your home and it is only possible if your digital presence is known to others.