At Bismarck State College this past Wednesday, the 26th of October, we held a ceremony to honor these brave men and women and to give thanks to the people that made this day happen. Senator John Hoeven, who sponsored the bill along with several other senators, including Kent Conrad was there for the celebration.
I had the opportunity to stream the event live on the military page on Bismarck State College's website. We streamed it so that people all over the country could view it and feel part of it. That is what makes streaming video so cool, it is usually free and if its done right, its like you are there. We were hoping for better streaming numbers, but did end up with 104 viewers from six different states.
One of the many things the ceremony included, was a Skype conversation between a deployed soldier and his family. His six-year-old son was there and surprised his dad with a poster he had made. I wasn't in the room at the time, as I was in a room across the hall directing the show. I could imagine that when the little boy told his dad that he loved him and that he was proud of him, that some people got a bit teary eyed. I got pretty choked up and had a hard time telling the camera operator what kind of shot I needed.
I think social media can play an extremely important role in keeping friends and family contacted as they go through tough times like being deployed and serving our country. Whether it is a simple status update on Facebook, a Tweet or maybe even a Skype conversation, I think any of them make life easier for both the soldier and the loved ones. This is definitely a benefit of Social Media and the World Wide Web.
