A twitter in Foggy Bottom
As I got ready for an overseas trip this month, I did the things diplomats normally do: I made last-minute calls, prepared notes from meetings, packed briefing materials and travel documents. Then I did something that reflects how the world of public diplomacy is changing to adapt to the digital age: I sent a tweet.Graffy clearly has more exciting destinations than I do."Tweets" are the lingua franca of Twitter, a social networking tool in which you "micro-share" (140 characters or fewer) a response to the question: What are you doing?
Why did I do it? Not that long ago, communicating diplomat-to-diplomat was enough. Agreements were reached behind closed doors and announced in a manner and degree that suited the schedule and desires of the governments involved, not the general population. In fact, the public was by and large an afterthought. But the proliferation of democracies and the emergence of the round-the-clock media environment has brought an end to those days. Now, governments must communicate not only with their people but also with foreign audiences, including through public diplomacy.
...
On trips to Romania, Moldova, Iceland, Croatia and Armenia, I posted to Twitter. One motivation was to let Americans know about our embassies' public diplomacy outreach. I have been frustrated by the constant refrain that everyone hates America and that our embassies aren't "doing" public diplomacy the way they did in the good ol' Cold War days. The fact is that overseas, there is enormous affection and admiration for the United States, and our embassies have terrific and creative programs. But we must work at communicating that. U.S. newspapers don't typically cover events from our embassies -- such as the two "Cultural Envoys" from Colorado who staged Stephen Sondheim's musical "Company" in Vladivostok, Russia, before enthusiastic audiences, or the University of Tennessee journalism professor we sponsor who is helping professional journalism to develop in Croatia.
...
Not too many people would be interested in my trip to what I jokingly refer to as the 105 Mall, which is basically a 30's era convenience store and gas station which is also the only store in Washington. While their orange juice is a little pricey the whole container cost less than the gas to drive to Brenham to get it cheaper. It was kind of foggy out this morning, though.
That is my twit of the day. BTW, it will be open on Christmas day and they make one of the best hamburgers you will ever eat.
Comments
Post a Comment