We at Social Media for the Military are offering a bespoke, 4 day intense, “one on one” introduction to the power of social media tools and platforms for use in supporting military influence activity environments, based at our location in north west Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The course has been designed specifically to benefit those working as either Influence Planners or Influence Practitioners (working in a POTF or military training organisation) as well as those employed in military STRAT COM positions.
The course can easily be adapted (on request and at extra cost) to incorporate a “Train the Trainer” element.
The course will include both practical and discussion elements.
The course is delivered by David Bailey MBE who has 13 years of current operational experience in military Influence Activity (Bosnia/Kosovo/Afghanistan) and is currently a guest speaker on Social Media at the NATO School, Oberammergau, Germany.
Course Overview.
Daily course timings are at your discretion and content is delivered “on site” in discussion with you at the speed and intensity you wish. A recommended 5 hour day (exclusive of breaks) should be adequate.
All you need to bring is your laptop/pad/smart phone.
The 4 days covers:
(a). “Starting the conversation” – the principles of social media.
(b). A detailed look at what social media tools and platforms are available to support military influence activities.
(c). How to set up a range of social media enablers such as twitter, facebook, flickr etc. (d). How to utilise both desktop and web based applications to multi-post and monitor social media feeds. (such as Tweetdeck, Seesmic etc).
(e). How to create worthwhile (effective) audio and video content to support social media based campaigns.
(f). How to best use, day to day communication devices (cell phones, pads, laptops etc) as part of the social media “toolbox”.
Past military case study examples will be looked at in depth.
The Course Objectives:
(1). (You will) be able to use social media as a primary information source.
(2). Integrate the use of social media in a realistic sense into the planning process.
(3). Brief IO staffs on the “weaponeering” capabilities of social media in the targeting environment.
(4). Be able to dominate the information battle-space by flagging breaking stories and info quickly.
(5). Provide readership/viewer/listener-ship figures by disseminating your content via social media, thus contributing to initial measures of effect.
(6). Respond to audience comments in a productive, appropriate manner.
(7). Monitor on-line events across your area of operations, effectively, live as-they-happen.
(8). Brought “up to speed” on the latest social media innovations and techniques.
Comments from previous courses David has lectured on:
“A lot to learn, lively, accurate, based on experiences.”
“His experience is worth gold and what he showed us was outstanding”.
“Thinks out of the box, this brings military forward in these kind of missions”.
“Perfect eye opener, more time should be spending for this lecture”
“Outstanding briefing!”
“Very interesting perspective on use of social media and new ways to use for assessing IO”.
“Carefully selected examples instead of a long list of paragraph. Very lively but humble too. Enough time for Q & A”.
“Really good approach about asking the right question. Who is really shaping the environment? How do we know if the behavior is changing if we don’t measure the effect? Very good stuff based on experience”
“He has a nice way of instructing. Good to listen to”.
“Far too short for such an impressive development. Great speaker!”
“Excellent briefing. Very effective in explaining”.
“He knows really well his part and shows it with a great pleasure”.
“Entertaining and informative”
“Very passionate presentation, which didn’t rely on PowerPoint”.
Location.
The course is held in a secluded rural setting in north west Bosnia and Herzegovina, some 25 kilometres north east of Banja Luka.
The nearest town is Laktasi. Some 6 kilometres distant.
Wonderful views and peaceful location for evening walks, jogging and cycling.
Course facility.
Purpose built multi-media environment.
Wireless and cable internet connectivity.
Range of equipment to produce video, audio and text based content.
Basic office capabilities (scanner, printer, copier etc).
Open source and Microsoft operating systems.
Course Dates.
Courses run from Sunday (arrival day) to Friday (Departure day), although other days can be accepted and are able to be scheduled where possible to meet your requirements. To see available windows check the calendar HERE
Getting Here.
Zagreb airport is well served by a wide range of both international and “bucket” airline operators, from most European departure points.
Banja Luka also has its own airport, but flights are not too frequent and in the majority of cases quite expensive.
We collect you from your flight arrival in Zagreb and host you until your return flight from Zagreb.
Arrival and Departure timings and airline are, of course up to you.
Either on arrival in the village or en-route, you will be entertained with a meal and an ice breaker drink or two (three).
Accommodation (available “On Site”).
Private, centrally heated 2 bedroom apartment, traditionally furnished with:
Cable and wireless internet connectivity across the entire property (including the garden).
Tea/coffee making facilities.
Kitchen.
Satellite TV.
Complimentary local breakfast (Marmite on offer for British guests). Light lunch and dinner meals at additional small costs.
Complimentary drinks (local beer, domestic rakija, domestic wine, juices).
Additionals.
Use of mountain bike for cycling.
Swimming Pool (weather dependent).
Complimentary transport to/from Banja Luka or Laktasi at reasonable times of the day by arrangement.
Complimentary use of mobile phone with local number (saving on international roaming).
Guided tours of the locality (at small additional costs).
Booking your own Accommodation.
If you wish to book your own accommodation, we can advise on local hotels to fit your requirements. Please let us know.
Of course, we will still collect you from and take you back to, Zagreb airport and will provide complimentary transport to and from your chosen hotel on a daily basis.
Travel Advice.
Most countries do not require an entrance visa for either Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina. A 90 day visitors stamp is issued at the entry points of both countries. However please check before departure or contact us for advice.
Health Advice.
Most European countries and Bosnia and Herzegovina have a reciprocal healthcare agreement which entitles passport holders to free hospital treatment and some dental treatment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Although those nationals are entitled to free treatment, in practice the healthcare authorities in Bosnia might not have the immediate resources to provide treatment without charging.
Medical and dental facilities in both Laktasi and Banja Luka are of good quality.
The healthcare agreement will not cover you for any medical costs incurred through injuries sustained from undertaking dangerous sporting activities.
As with many countries in mainland Europe rabies is present within the animal population of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Whilst the incidence of rabies transferring to the human population is very rare you are advised not approach any wild animals or stray dogs.
You are advised to take out personal health insurance.
Safety.
Many people still regard Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country in armed conflict. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Peace was brought here in 1996.
The country is now in transition NOT conflict.
Although the Laktasi and Banja Luka areas were mainly free from actual conflict during the 1990′s and are perfectly safe, you should still keep to surfaced roads and not stray off-road as a matter of course as there continues to be a widespread danger of landmines and other unexploded ordnance across Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Body armour and Helmets are NOT REQUIRED 
Fees and Costs.
Because of our location we can keep costs a lot lower than most European courses of similar design, whilst at the same time delivering an exceedingly high standard of content. That means better value for your limited budgets.
The cost of the course (less flights to and from Zagreb) is 780 Euro for the 4 days.
Accommodation “On Site” as described above is available at 70 Euro a night.
Discounts are available for two persons booking together.
Security Classification.
All case studies and references etc will be taken from open source internet.
There is no military security classification for the course.
Disclaimer.
There are occasional power cuts across the area.
We cannot be responsible for any course content not delivered due to such cuts.
We cannot also be held responsible for service outages from our internet provider.
We will ensure our utmost to collect you from and return you to, Zagreb airport on time for your flight, however we are not responsible for delays caused by lengthy border procedures, inclement weather or vehicle failure etc.
For more details or bookings
Contact: David Bailey MBE
Email: david@davidbaileymbe.com
Tel/SMS: 00387 (0)65 393341
www.davidbaileymbe.com
www.socialmediaforthemilitary.com
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