On  11.11.11, 92 years after the first proclaimed Veterans Day by former President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, we once again remembered and honored  all of our brave military veterans.  In these nine decades lots of things have happened, one of which is the technological boom that has brought us the likes of Facebook, Twitter and other social media applications.  Social media is a source for social interaction in an attempt to make our large world seem just that much smaller.

Social media and holidays together make a lot of buzz on the internet as there are lots of web interactions during times of holidays like Veterans Day.  This is not just by random people either, these are our veterans who are different than the previous as times have changed.  Nowadays these veterans are instead trying to get on Twitter or Facebook.

The effect of Veterans Day on social media is something you can see taking form.  Earlier this week there was a Facebook fan page launched for the US Military on Facebook to show support for members of the military, as well as both veterans and their families by sharing info and maintaining a connection.  Also, a new application on the U.S. Military Facebook page was created to give thanks to military members in your life, titled “A Nation Gives Thanks”.  We at Internet Marketing Inc. have also been able to utilize our own Facebook page for the celebration of Veteran’s Day by thanking our veterans as a whole, including one of our own.  Co-CEO Brent Gleeson served as a Navy SEAL operator at SEAL Team 5 located in Coronado, California.  Brent completed three separate tours of combat, with two tours in Iraq and one in Africa.  His job as a Navy SEAL was running Capture or Kill missions in tandem with the CIA.  So as it being Veterans Day we appreciate what our Veterans and Brent have done for our country.

Facebook is not the only social media app to see the effects of Veterans Day, Twitter has seen just as much traffic in regards to the national holiday.  Today many of the hottest stars and celebrities are taking to Twitter to honor the brave men and women that serve our country, like Toby Keith who is a notorious patriot. See what he said below:
Toby Keith (@TobyKeithMusic): Happy Veteran’s Day. To all Veterans, THANK YOU for our freedom.

Also on Twitter the tweet tag “#HappyVeteransDay” and “Happy Veterans Day” have been trending a lot as well.  The History Channel has also done it’s part for Veteran’s Day with it’s new social campaign of “Thank a Vet” through Twitter too.

Thanks to the internet we can see who and how many people are honoring their veterans and  grasp how important these men and women are in serving our country.  With our constant elevation of social media technology we are able to bring our world closer together one tweet or like at a time.

Rodney Bradford might be the only one pleased with Facebook these days.  A perfectly timed status update from his father’s house in Harlem –  “On the phone with this fat chick…Where my IHOP?” — saved the 19 year old from prison time as his update served as his alibi for an armed robbery 12 miles away in Brooklyn.  After the DA subpoenaed Facebook records which confirmed the update was submitted from Harlem, the case was dismissed leaving Bradford a free man and demonstrating the pervasiveness of social networking sites.

Bradford’s vindication, while sensational, does not mark the first time social networking sites have been used in the courtroom or by the government.  In fact, this week consumer watchdog group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit against multiple government agencies – including, but not limited to the CIA, DoD, FBI, and DEA – alleging unlawful use of social networking sites to investigate an array of crimes ranging from underage drinking to the coordination of G-20 summit protestors.

This filing follows a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that was not met by multiple agencies.  The government scored a victory on the shoulders of Facebook in the case of Maxi Sopo, who was indicted for bank fraud after he failed to resist the temptation to brag about “living easy” in Cancun following the $200,000 heist.  Sopo’s downfall began with his acceptance of a friend request from a former Justice Department official.

The increased usage of social networking sites coupled with heavy government involvement, has led some to question whether Facebook and Twitter will become the new arenas for wiretap initiatives.  If so, the debate promises to be as heated as conventional wiretaps, with even the EFF acknowledging that information obtained from social networking sites is often for commendable reasons—where evidence of bank fraud is found, there too can an alibi be found.  The EFF points to a need for users to comprehend the extent of privacy rules and procedures of any social networking site in the face of government requests.

With forthcoming changes to Facebook’s privacy rules and settings, as alluded to in founder Mark Zuckerberg’s open letter to the Facebook community released earlier this week, the question of government usage of social networking sites promises to remain present and contested.