In this timely and realistic examination of social media, two world-class British experts examine exactly, in the defense context, what social media is and what it should and should not be used for in the future. In setting out their arguments, they define social media in four distinctly different ways: first, they assess, perhaps self-evidently, that it is a media channel, and actually differs little to newspapers and radio in anything other than reach and immediacy; second, they see it as an interactive medium that might have potential for exerting influence, but only when accompanied by robust target audience analysis (TAA); third, they see it as a means of establishing a dialogue and communications within already well-established networks and groups; and, finally, they see it as a real-time sensor network that may possibly provide the first indication of globally important events-albeit unsubstantiated and raw in its content and reporting.