US Embassy Baghdad is on Facebook!

Our US Embassy in Baghdad has joined the now world and finally got on Facebook. The page is here if you want to fan it. Sorry folks – no Twitter, YouTube or blog for you right now. And yes, the embassy’s Baghdad Press Office still does not return email inquiries even as a courtesy. The email address BaghdadPressOffice@state.gov is up there for a purpose but I can’t tell you what it is for. The embassy website also does not include a link to its Facebook page. It does have a recruitment page that you might find interesting:

Mission Iraq Recruitment

• USAJOBS. iraq


• Facebook


• Yahoo! Groups


• Baghdad Anne

The new Facebook page has a brief welcome video with Ambassador Chris Hill.  As of this writing, the page has approximately 1,100 fans.  It has an English Language Center (Do you know the expression “once in a blue moon?”) and about a dozen photos (no, not thumbprint size photos). It looks like it was set up in late November; contains sporadic posts and links to the White House and the mother ship, but not much locally generated content from its administrators. So—don’t get your hopes up!

Window hours and consular services are included, as well as a list of holidays in the info tab.  It does not look like this is run by Public Affairs or by IRC but by the Consular Section.   I thought I’d waste some more of my time and send an email to the press office for confirmation.  (Makes a difference who’s running it!).  Of course the only one who broke my record of non-response from State’s Public Affairs shop is that one Press Officer in Kabul. Tee-Hee!   

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21st Century Statecraft in the State Department?

Alec Ross, the Senior Advisor for Innovation in Secretary Clinton’s office made some remarks last week on 21st Century Statecraft - Diplomacy in the Age of Facebook and Twitter at the Foreign Press Center in New York City. He gave a background on how the text Haiti campaign came about, talked about a “program in Mexico to restore anonymity to crime fighting using the tools of technology,” and had some back and forth on Google and China with some attendees. All very exciting stuff.  The January 14 statement (posted online yesterday) was a prep for the Secretary’s big speech on Internet Freedom today. 

I’ve excerpted a couple of snippets from the Ross’ remarks to the foreign press below that you might find interesting:   

Question: You said something about your team. How many people are working on the 21^st Century Statecraft in the State Department?

Senior Advisor Ross: I work in the Office of the Secretary. So I’d simply responds by saying that when the Secretary gets behind something the entire department gets behind something. So I’ll give the examples of Mexico and the Congo.

I have a team, but I don’t have a team in Mexico and in the Congo. We’re not this just anomalous little cell. We’re working with the embassy in Mexico City, with the Ambassador, with the Regional Bureau, and so too in the Congo, for example, we’re working with the Ambassador, with the Embassy staff.

The commitment from the Secretary to bring 21^st Century Statecraft to the department is to institutionalize it. It’s not to say oh, here are ten really smart young people, let’s empower them. While that might work over the short term, it’s not going to be institutionalized. So what we are doing is not saying all right, here’s an innovation team. What we’re saying is here is an innovation based department. I’d love for it to be the case that all 30-some-thousand employees of the State Department could say they’re working on 21^st Century Statecraft.

Question: If you look back on the Iran, the so-called Twitter revolution there. It’s been criticized for having done as much harm as good that America is trying to impact by helping citizens there. What are your conclusions with respect to that?

Senior Advisor Ross: I think that I will point you to Hillary Clinton’s speech next Thursday. I do believe that access to the tools of the 21^st Century is a net good, and again, to quote the President, the more freely information flows the stronger the society and the way in which information flows in the 21^st Century is increasingly over our global communications networks and our digital networks. I’ll leave it at that.

I just checked those posts mentioned.  US Embassy Congo is on Facebook, but not on Twitter. Its Facebook page has not been updated since December 30, 2009 11:24pm. US Mission Mexico is on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and has a mission blog; all in Spanish.  Our US Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual is also on Twitter; follow him here.

KateatState  on Twitter says that “After Sec Clinton's speech on Internet Freedom tmrw, we'll have a panel discussion & Q&A. Submit your Q's: http://netfreedom.state.gov/.” 

This morning I also got a message from an FSO (wishes to remain unnamed) asking “How can State take a leadership role on Internet freedom while we continue to harass and discourage bloggers within our own ranks?”

Now, there’s a question that begs a good answer.  I sent that question to Alec Ross and told him I’d be happy to post his response.  A couple hours later, I got it! Reprinted in part below:

Alec Ross: My response: … When I joined State I saw that we had a long long long long way to go to incorporate technology into our diplomatic practices. 2009 was a spectacularly successful year doing so, but we're nowhere near the finish line and not yet everybody "gets it". If I'm given specific names of people doing the "discouraging" then I will take it up with those individuals (or their bosses or their boss' boss) directly. Listen to the Secretary's speech today.”

I'm sure you can connect with Alec Ross through the GAL.  I'd be happy, of course, to forward specific information to him if it works better for you.  Did I say his office is within the Secretary’s office? Follow him on Twitter here. Secretary Clinton’s speech will be livestreamed on www.state.gov at 9:30am ET.

Related Posts:

Senator Lugar on Twitter vs. Terror | Jan 7, 2010

Your job or your blog, er op-ed  Dec 05, 2009

Best Consular Blog. Dead, So Very Dead. Nov 02, 2009

Rocking the Boat is a Dangerous Thing, No? Oct 13, 2009

The Hunt for Madam le Consul | Diplopundit Oct 07, 2009

Diplomatic Blogs: Truth, Power and Authenticity Mar 26, 20009

Diplomatic Bloggers: No Blanket Ban but Better Guidelines Needed/3 Mar 4, 2009

Diplomatic Bloggers: To Blog or Not to Blog/2 Mar 3, 2009

Diplomatic Bloggers: That “Official Concern” Thingy – The Rules/1 Mar 2, 2009

Diplomatic Bloggers: Official Blogs, Art Thou Here to Stay? Feb 27, 2009

Diplomatic Bloggers: Web 2.0 Door Opens Feb 26, 2009

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Top Floors Read the Consular Corner

Image via Wikipedia

From FS blog, SassAndSweet "“Observations about working as a Diplomat. Thoughts on living in Israel. Comments on life, the universe and everything.” Extracted from entry What to Write, What to Write?

I have to send a shout out to & word of appreciation LS who kindly congratulated me a couple weeks back via the Consular Corner re: my Olympics Posting to Whistler.

[…]

so my thanks to LS is for posting the word and congrats that I'd heading to Whistler for the Olympics because THAT got noticed by Public Affairs & Consular Affairs and last week an email popped into my inbox at work...

I'm hardly the only one but ... among other imminently more qualified people than myself. I've been asked to write a blog entry to be published by the Department of State about my posting to Whistler. We've negotiated subject and timing so I'll be writing it 48 hours after my arrival - and discussing first impressions, my role up there for the upcoming Olympics, and probably some "Ra Ra State!" wordings. Which I'm cool w/because I like my job and my employer. Most days... :)

Active links added above. The writer has been tapped to open State's first temporary consular office in Whistler, Canada to provide support for the U.S. Olympic Committee and consular assistance to American tourists attending the Olympic Games.



The up floors as much as the down floors probably read Liam's Consular Corner (newsletter and Facebook). Now that's something to think about, ya?

US Amb to the Philippines Kristie Kenney Blogs Farewell

Photo from US Embassy Manila

The US Ambassador to the Philippines, Kristie Kenney posted her “Farewell” on her blog on January 5. She departs the Philippines this month.  Her successor, former DG Ambassador Harry Thomas has yet to be confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  Quick excerpt below: 

My memories of the past four years are as diverse as the Philippines themselves. I will never forget the rich cultures of Mindanao or the proud traditions of the Ifugao. I have loved the smiling face of every child our education programs have helped. The look of joy and wonder as they experience the Internet for the first time is unforgettable. Or the dedication of the teachers who serve from small rural schools to large Manila universities. (Sorry if my readers have wearied of me talking about education, but I am still the daughter and granddaughter of public school teachers. I always love helping education and those who teach.) In the Philippines, I have seen the wonders of the oceans and become dedicated to helping protect our environment. I’ve snorkeled with whale sharks, been diving in aquariums, tested jeepney emissions, talked to fishermen about sustainable fishing, seen our Peace Corp volunteers energize communities to create marine protected areas, and watched our USAID team design great programs with Philippine partners to promote clean energy and clean waters.

[…]

This will be my last blog post as the United States Ambassador to the Philippines. I thank all who were kind enough to read and comment on my blog. It has been a privilege to represent the United States in the Philippines. I thank Filipinos throughout the world for the kindness and friendship you have shared with me and so many other Americans. And I hope our paths will cross again. Let me close with an old Irish blessing that has always been a favorite of my Irish-American family:

May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

May the rain fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Filipinos from all walks of life are still writing back to thank her, to wish her well, ask that she extend her tour, or send an invitation that she return to the Philippines for a visit.  Read some notes below: 

Dario O. A.| Location: Manila

I feel so grateful to have you as the US Ambassador to the Philippines. But I am more thankful that through you, we have seen the wonders of our country when most of us Filipinos have not noticed of. We have taken for granted our great grandfathers who have fought hand in hand with the Americans during the World War II. […]We have not seen our talented Artists who hold our flag whenever they are performing abroad, instead we are so pessimistic that someday they will just leave our country and stay abroad for good. It is an eye-opening to all of us Filipinos, that indeed, there is still greatness in our country amidst all negative news and dirty politics that surrounds us. But somehow, we will need people to remind us from time to time of such greatness. People like you!

Ruben S. Valenton Jr.

You redefined ambassadorship with a personal and human touch. You’ve been to different provinces, towns, villages…sharing goods, time, listening to the folks and youth.

Noel Bernardo | Location: Manila Philippines

New wikipedia definition of the word AMBASSADOR:

AMBASSADOR = Kristie A. Kenney

Agnes Mercado

my name is mrs. agnes m. mercado, a 60 yr old grandma of 5 and counting, resides at 1306 artemis st. phase 6, v villa olympia, san pedro, laguna, phils. i would like to bid you farewell, madame ambassador KRISTIE KENNEYand thank you for all the kindness and sincere love and concern, humane touch to all the filipinos.

Blogie Robillo

People in Mindanao say, “Kristie loves Mindanao,” and people in the Visayas and Luzon say the same thing about you and their own places. This is a testament to your dedication, sincerity and passion.

Sylvester | Location: Davao

…you are the coolest U.S. ambassador ever!

Senator Lugar on Twitter vs. Terror

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Is the State Department ready for this brave new world?



The ranking member on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar writes a piece for Foreign Policy on “How the U.S. State Department should enable and encourage social-networking sites in the global fight for freedom (FP | Argument | January 6). Excerpts below:  

The adroit use of social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and others, coupled with text messages and increasingly widespread mobile-phone technology, can help lend support to existing grassroots movements for freedom and civil rights, connect people to information, and help those in closed societies communicate with the outside world. It also promises to give a strong economic boost to small entrepreneurs and the rural poor. The World Bank estimates that for every 10 percent increase in the number of mobile-phone users in a developing country, there is nearly a 1 percent increase in its economic output.

[…]

But social networking technologies are more often used to enable individuals across a country, or across the globe, to interact, engage, and become empowered. Although this means that our government will not be able to control the message as well as it might with conventional public diplomacy tools, I believe it is a risk worth taking. Terrorists and other anti-American propagandists have for some time been using the Internet and other techniques to communicate and recruit. America needs to beat them at their own game, especially since we invented most of the technology.

I would encourage the administration and our diplomats to be nimble, flexible, and innovative as they pursue a wide range of foreign-policy initiatives that use these new communication and connection techniques. Diplomacy and development are our best means of winning the global war of ideas, and we must come to the battle armed with the most modern tools at our disposal.

Read the whole thing here.

In 1975, Donald Warwick of Harvard University wrote "A Theory of Public Bureaucracy" a 252-page book on the Politics, Personality and Organization in the State Department where he says:  

The motivational mix in federal agencies varies, but in most cases includes heavy emphasis on security. The rewards are job tenure, regular promotions, adequate salaries, a clean work place, and better-than-average retirement benefits. Many positions, particularly at higher levels, involve inherently interesting work and offer the employee ample opportunities to express his talents. But in most established agencies, there is little call for entrepreneurship, creativity,  innovation and risk-taking. These qualities are neither solicited nor rewarded, and may be punished.

The book, by the way, is an excellent study on the oldest executive department in the union.  Although written over 30 years ago, many of the problems and organizational issues that he talks about in the book are familiar as day.

One of the reports he cited in the book is called the State Department's Task Force on the Stimulation of Creativity (can you believe that?) which concluded that "conformity is prized in the Foreign Service above all qualities." 

... The pressures to avoid rocking the boat, to avoid dress and behavior which depart from the norms of the group, to avoid expression of controversial views are of the subtle, unspoken kind which are hard to document. But we have the testimony of a broad cross section of the officers whose views we sought that they are a powerful, all pervasive influence. Such pressures, of course, are the death of the creative impulse (U.S. State Department, 1970, p.310). 

Senator Lugar in his piece makes two important points in this new engagement: 1) less control of the message and 2) nimbleness, flexibility and innovation in engagement. Both points are still kind of "foreign objects" in the State Department's galaxy.

I have no doubt that the desire to control the message is what cause the demise of Madam le Consul's blog.  The "tried and true" in the bureaucracy is often preferable than "wild ideas" or even simple new ideas.  The prevailing wisdom might be that shutting her down "protects" her and of course, by extension the mother ship.  But how can an organization presume to "beat the enemies" at their own game when it has low tolerance for  employees engaging with "friendlies" on the web.  And if you can get in trouble for saying something that has not been cleared through the 12-steps program within the mission and the bureaus, how can you encourage flexibility and innovation?        

Senator Lugar says "we must come to the battle armed with the most modern tools at our disposal."  I hate to tell Senator Lugar this.  The tools are here alright.  Bright and shiny and ready for razzle dazzle.  But "control" and "culture" have not shown up for the party.  It remains to be seen if they'll make it here before 2050.           

     

        

Quickie: Public Diplomacy 2.0: Where the USG Meets "New Media"

Helle C. Dale has a research article up in the Heritage Foundation website on public diplomacy (Public Diplomacy 2.0: Where the U.S. Government Meets "New Media" | December 8, 2009). The writer is a Senior Fellow for Public Diplomacy in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a Division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation. Quick excerpts below:

“U.S. embassies have seen the potential of social Web sites for facilitating public diplomacy. Embassies in Pakistan and Indonesia both have Facebook pages, offering information about the United States and American culture to an audience roughly 13 to 26 years of age. Degrees of success vary wildly, however. The U.S. embassy in Indonesia boasts 19,640 "fans" as of December 1. Its Web site bears an official U.S. government seal, and has a professional look that lives up to its diplomatic purpose. By contrast, the U.S. embassy in Pakistan has 539 Facebook "fans," and is more difficult to identify as an official group -- the site has no official seal, no State Department e-mail address, and a casual homemade look. This highlights the very pertinent question of official policy guidelines regulating U.S. government use of online social networking.”

As a side note -- in October, Secretary Clinton, in response to a question during the Dean Acheson lecture said that “a new team going in to Pakistan” and that “We have adopted a new approach, which is we do not leave any misstatement or inaccuracy unanswered.”

The US Embassy Pakistan’s Facebook page was created in late October, four days before Secretary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan. It has 627 fans and about a couple dozen photos online as of this writing. Odd thing though -- there is no link from the official embassy website to its Facebook page; so you’ve got to know what you’re looking for. Since November 4, US Embassy Islamabad’s press office has also issued seven Corrections for the Record statements ranging from the US Embassy construction to “suspected Blackwater house.” But other than these, it’s hard to tell how much this rapid response team has done so far.

"New media" as "game changer?" More excerpts:

The challenges the U.S. government faces in harnessing social media are numerous. While it is essential that government have a coordinated message, the "grassroots" nature of social media makes it both difficult and somewhat undesirable to control them. The appeal of social media is precisely its feeling of intimacy and informality, and the government runs the risk of diminishing, even destroying, this appeal of social media through regulation. The content on social-networking sites should be both interesting and pertinent to individuals -- people, not formal information, are the essence of social interaction.[…]The U. S. government, traditional media, and the public often view "new media" as a magic tool, portending a revolution in the way the U.S. government conducts public diplomacy and addresses the world. In time, it may indeed be the "game changer" that Undersecretary McHale talked about in her confirmation hearing, and new media does make it possible to connect with previously unreached and under-engaged populations. However, to realize this advantage, the strengths, limitations, and risks of each media tool must be properly understood, and technologies must be wisely used to their respective comparative advantage. This is why the framework of a National Communications Strategy is desperately needed in order for U.S. public diplomacy to rise above mere strategy and tactics.

In her confirmation testimony before Congress, Judith McHale spoke of the need for just such a strategy. While Twitter, for instance, is excellent at providing small, timely bits of essential information, it is fatiguing and ineffective for routine updates. The U.S. government, in the person of the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, must provide agencies engaging in outbound communication with guidelines and metrics to establish that their use of new media is on message, recognizable as official, and wisely deployed in order to avoid destroying the intrinsic appeal of a given media to the target audience. Lastly, the government must realize that there are new media that are valuable tools, and others that are a distracting waste of time and taxpayer resources.

Congress and the Administration should:

• Create a National Communications Strategy articulated by the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy.
• Formulate government-wide guidelines to ensure that the new media is on message, as well as standards for official use of social media, ensuring that government Web pages can be identified and differentiated from impersonators without destroying the appeal of the particular media to its audience.
• Establish a new non-governmental or semi-governmental research organization (a Corporation for Foreign Opinion Analysis)

The must-read article especially for practitioners of “new media” is here.

Web 2.0 Roundup: US Embassy Manila

From US Embassy Manila via Facebook

Last week, the US Embassy in Manila had “Twitter Week.” The occasion marked the official launch of the embassy’s twin sites in Twitter and Facebook. In announcing the new online engagement, the US Ambassador to the Philippines, Kristie Kenney writes in her blog:

"At the U.S. Embassy in Manila, we use all sorts of modern technology to stay in touch, and we want more people to have virtual access to us and our activities. We have a new U.S. Embassy Manila Facebook page, along with our Embassy website, to share stories, news and photos with you."

Ambassador Kenney is one of the very few US Ambassadors with an official blog, and the only one with a blog hosted in America.gov. As can be expected the topic she addresses in her blog are normally selective, noncontroversial and usually tied to her official events like US Navy ship visits here and here, USAID projects, the passing of President Aquino and marking 9/11. But in late September when Typhoon Ketsana caused widespread flooding in Metro Manila and nearby areas, and in the relief operation that followed, she was able to use her blog here and here, to give insight into the calamity on the ground and share online what the USG was trying to do to help. And none of it looked like boiler-plate language that you see in cables or in press releases. In one of her blog posts she writes:

“I have to start this blog entry by telling my mother, once again, that I am fine. Yes, Manila was flattened by major floods. Yes, typhoons followed the floods. Yes, many people suffered. Yes, the U.S. Embassy was flooded. But I am fine. And very lucky. Many others were not so fortunate.”

I don’t think we can realistically expect our ambassadors to write about foreign policy issues in their blogs. We certainly can’t expect Ambassador Kenney to write about the RP-US Visiting Agreement in this medium because there are other venues what would lend more effectively to the discussion of such matters. But as she has shown, a blog can be a great tool in public diplomacy; no, not as a public relations-lobbying tool but in personalizing our government’s top representative in a foreign country, and in showing empathetic engagement. Whoever works online officially as part of the public diplomacy outreach must bear in mind what Edward R. Murrow, former director of the USIA, once said: “Truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.”

Internet stats for the Republic of the Philippines below:

Population (est. 2009): 97,976,603

Internet Users (2000): 2,000,000

Internet Users (latest data): 24,000,000

Penetration: 21.1 %

User Growth (2000-2009): 932.5 %

User in Asia (%): 2.9 %

In addition to the ambassador’s blog and the mission website (that has so far evaded the fate of a canned website template), the US Embassy Manila is on Facebook and Twitter. It is also on Flickr although its extensive photo gallery has not been uploaded to it. Ambassador Kenney is on Twitter with over 700 followers (including basketball star, Chris Tiu). That’s how you know she had “dinner with embassy pals and manny pacquiao” or that she watched the Smart Gilas versus Ginebra game. As an aside, the game, that’s the basketball game -- is important. In 1898-1900s, the United States introduced basketball in the Philippines. Today, it is the most popular sport in the country.

Similar to Indonesia, I think there is an opportunity for innovative PD engagement in the Philippines that no one has grabbed unto yet. Filipino mobile phone users currently number more than 70 million out of the total population of 97 million. Its penetration rate hit 75 percent in 2008; double that of Indonesia’s. More than radios, more than the Internet, mobile phones have more reach than anything else in this country of over 7,100 islands. The Philippines is also widely called the text-messaging center of the world for a reason; they send one billion text messages a day. According to WaPo, when President Joseph Estrada was forced from office in 2001, he bitterly complained that the popular uprising against him was a "coup de text." (It was widely reported that the protest was coordinated with SMS chain letters). "This is a development for democracy," was how text messaging was described by one protest leader, five years later, organizing against Estrada’s successor. If a “coup de text” was possible, how can making this work for public diplomacy be impossible? "Once we rid ourselves of traditional thinking we can get on with creating the future.*" There is a way to put this to great use – find it!

See more Web 2.0 Roundup here.*James Bertrand quote

Web 2.0 Roundup: US Embassy Jakarta Wows!

Kick-off Pesta Blogger 2009and Blogshops announcement. One Spirit One NationAmbassador Hume is 3rd from the right

Tomorrow, October 24, the U.S. Embassy Jakarta is sponsoring Pesta Blogger 2009, Indonesia’s only national-level bloggers’ gathering. This is the second consecutive year that US Embassy Jakarta is sponsoring the event. Four U.S. bloggers will participate: Brian Giesen, a Digital Influence Specialist with over five years of experience with Ogilvy PR and is an Interactive Marketing Manager in Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide; Arsalan Iftikhar, international human rights lawyer, founder of TheMuslimGuy.com blog, and a contributing editor for Islamica magazine in Washington DC; Mark Frauenfelder, co-founder of BoingBoing.net and was an editor at Wired Magazine from 1993-1998 and Corvida Raven, author of SheGeeks.net, co-author of EverythingTwitter and TheSocialGeeks Podcast.

The U.S. Embassy has also sponsored a series of blogging workshops in 10 cities across Indonesia over the past three months, in order to encourage more Indonesians to blog and to impart the principles of citizen journalism. Over one thousand people participated in the programs, which were held in Malang, Semarang, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Makassar, Medan, Bandung, Surabaya, Palembang and Yogyakarta.

Sounds like fun!In June this year, I wrote about the State Department’s digital diplomacy footprint. I looked at our most important posts in terms of perceived engagement need and size and included posts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, China and Mexico. Read my original post here.

I omitted Indonesia because in Asia, there were other high flyers online that shocked my balls. Yes, Indonesia did have a user growth rate of 1,150%, but Afghanistan is the top dog with 49,900.0 % growth rate while China holds the highest number of Internet users at 48.2%. As an aside, the countries with the highest growth rates after Afghanistan (in five digit rates) are in the –stans: Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Tajikistan (US Embassy Dushanbe is on Facebook) and Uzbekistan (IRC Tashkent is on Facebook).

But I did want to write about Indonesia because among the US missions I’ve been keeping tabs on, US Embassy Jakarta’s digital outreach probably offers the most active, creative and fun engagement in the new media. Indonesia is also a sprawling country of 17,000 islands. It is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims. Indonesia’s internet stats below:

Estimated population in 2009: 240,271,522

Internet Users in 2000: 2,000,000

Internet Users (latest data): 25,000,000

Penetration: 10.4 %

User Growth (2000-2009): 1,150.0 %

% Users in Asia: 3.6 %

The US Embassy in Jakarta says that it was the first diplomatic Mission in Indonesia to create a Facebook page. Check it out at www.facebook.com/jakarta.usembassy. The page was launched in January and as of this writing, has 15,106 hard-earned fans. Its Facebook page also features unique content, including photos (see the Embassy’s resident cats and batik collection), videos and contests (FotObama, Ocean in Focus).

Ambassador Hume has posted once in DipNote but Embassy Jakarta has no regular blogger. The US Embassy Jakarta is also on YouTube and Twitter but its Facebook page is obviously its flagship engagement online.In late August, it announced its plan to organize a fans meet-up when the number reaches 10.000. Exactly a month later, it hit that impressive mark. To put that number in context, Co.Nx: See the World which is hosted by the State Department’s International Information Programs (IIP) Bureau and spans the globe has 31,993 fans. The State Department’s main Facebook page has 23,432 fans. Most US mission pages on Facebook barely breaks the thousandth mark. So 15,106 fans is a big wow! I hope that goes into somebody's EER. I also hope that the embassy can keep it up even when the current team running it rotates out to new assignments.

Just a couple more thoughts -

1) I am glad the embassy no longer plasters the embassy’s URL across its shared photos. But I am still hoping that they move their photo gallery over to Flickr not only for easier search but also to have an integrated depository of mission photographs. To date the U.S. Government has spent over US$ 8 million for the West Sumatran earthquake assistance campaign. The photos are available here but have not been posted in its Facebook page.2) I'm wondering who will venture bravely into the undiscovered country of public diplomacy via SMS? Indonesia could be a great place for PD innovators (admittedly State is not known as a great incubator for innovators, but one can hope). The total mobile subscribers in Indonesia crossed the 90 million mark in early 2008, with a 37% penetration rate. According to trendsmith, its mobile market is growing rapidly with almost 50% annual increase in subscribers over the past 7 years. Now there's an opportunity for engagement. Think about it.

PD Rapid Response Team to Pakistan?

HRC delivered the Second Annual Dean Acheson lecture yesterday at Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC (Remarks | October 21, 2009 | Video). Last year, DOD Secretary Robert Gates delivered the inaugural lecture for the U.S. Institute of Peace.

During the Q&A, a Pakistani who apparently is a fellow at USIP said that “the overwhelming majority of the people believe that the U.S. presence in the region is all about the Pakistan nukes; that the Administration has made efforts, yet these efforts are countering to – the propaganda. And the widespread impression on the ground is that the Blackwaters are there, the Marines are in the Embassy, and they’re all just to take the Pakistani nukes.” He further states, “I understand that the U.S. Ambassador in Pakistan and special envoy, from time to time, they interact with the Pakistani media. But by the time they interact with the media, the conventional wisdom had solidified.” On that landmark Kerry-Lugar bill, he says “You may call it a historical step towards enhancing relationship with Pakistan, but the bitter reality is that back home, it is considered a big fiasco.”

So then he asked, “How to increase the speed of your counter-propaganda in Pakistan, and second is to coordinate across the whole government to ensure continuity and cohesion of approach?”

The USG in recent months supported a young entrepreneurs' “Incubation Center,” provided bomb disposal equipment, donated ambulances, sent Pakistani students for US exchange visits and more. None of these seemed to have penetrated the very crowded traditional press that is considered among the most outspoken in South Asia. BBC reported that there were 17.5 million internet users in the country as of March 2008. A growing number of bloggers and social networkers write about politics. These users of new media have been vocal and quite active not only about the expansion of the US Embassy in Islamabad but also about the Kerry-Lugar bill. Check this one here, here and here.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, in the meantime, lacks a vigorous presence online. Except for that template website that we see in most embassy websites, and the videos piggybacking on materials provided by America.gov, its only other online engagement appears to be its connection to Co.Nx for its webchats, also via America.gov. I have not seen any material specifically geared towards an online dialogue addressing hearts and minds issues in that country.

In response to the questions above, here is what Secretary Clinton said:

Well, I’m actually very glad that you raised your questions and made your comment, because I think we have, as a government, not done a very good job in responding to what you rightly call propaganda, misinformation, even in some instances disinformation, about our motivations and our actions in Pakistan. That became clear to me as we were doing our review, and I saw how often there were stories in the Pakistani media that were totally untrue, but we were not responding as effectively as we need to.

We have, under Judith McHale, our Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, undertaken a very thorough analysis of what better we could do, and we are moving very rapidly to try to fill that void. We have a new team going in to Pakistan. A Public Affairs officer may be already there. We have adopted a new approach, which is we do not leave any misstatement or inaccuracy unanswered. It may be that people won’t believe it at first, but we intend to counter a lot of this propaganda with the best weapon we have; namely, the truth. And we’re going to be much more aggressive in interacting with the Pakistani media.[…]This is going to take time. This is not something you can fix in a news cycle or by just snapping your fingers and asking people to believe you. You have to go at it day in and day out. And I was, frankly, quite surprised that we had not done much of this in an effective manner. But we’re going to remedy that. And there’s no guarantee that people will pay more attention to what we say, but at least we’re going to be in the mix and we’re going to be in the mix every day in getting out information that can be used by those who understand that the United States is hoping to be a good partner for not just the Government of Pakistan, but more importantly, the people of Pakistan.

We’ll be in the lookout on what changes the new public diplomacy team makes when they get to Islamabad.

Web 2.0 Roundup: US Embassy London

This one from the recent OIG report on US Embassy London:

"PAS [Public Affairs Section] is now “tweeting,” but is not yet utilizing Facebook. A first effort at a Facebook page was taken down while its use and content are being reevaluated. These new media, especially the social networks, work best when they can be personalized. While ELOs might have the right skill set to do so, they have not been keen to take on the additional workload without adjustments to their regular responsibilities. In addition, both the front office and the Department have concerns regarding the control of the message in these new media products. The Department recently issued a telegram raising the complicated issue of using and managing social media for public diplomacy. Balancing the desire to control the message against the speed at which content changes on these networks is difficult. Some proponents of social networking fear that tilting the balance too much in favor of control will render its use too sluggish."

US Embassy London has gone back to Facebook and is also on Flickr & Twitter. It is running five Blogs:

• American Citizens Services (current)
• American Culturati by FSO Rakesh Surampudi(no update since August 2009)
• Environment, Science & Technology by Environment OfficerJock Whittlesey (no update since July 2009)
• Politics blog (no update since July 2009)
• Visa Section's blog (current).

In addition, the mission has Podcasts & Multimedia, WebTV (video-casts, no update since 2008) and a YouTube channel.

Quickie: Could UBL be on Twitter?

Image by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten via Flickr

The State Department’s Jared Cohen spoke to NPR’s Scott Simon from Mexico City, where he has been this week for the Alliance of Youth Movements Summit. I don’t know what Jared Cohen’s official title is but his official bio says “he is responsible for counter-terrorism, counter-radicalization, the Persian Gulf, Public Diplomacy, Muslim world outreach, new technology and eMedia, and Youth issues.” Scott Simon asked, “If Osama bin Laden is out there, could he be on Twitter?”

“I mean, you're getting at an interesting question, Scott, which is basically are hostile actors or violent actors using these technologies? And the answer is yes, they are. You know, Mexican drug cartels use YouTube to evoke fear through horrific imagery and video. Hezbollah uses video games to try to socialize young people to be comfortable with the idea of killing Jews and Israelis. Al-Qaida uses chat rooms. It's rampant. The 21st century is a very bad time to be a control freak. And at the end of the day, we have two options: We can recognize that nobody can control these technologies — bad people will continue to use them, but that's all the more reason to engage in these spaces. And the other option is to be fearful that hostile actors might use it and shy away from it. If you do that, it's not going to stop them from using it. In fact, all it's going to do is give them more of an opening without any effort to counter their narratives.”

Jared Cohen State Department’s point person on social media and youth issues (official bio here)State Department Guru Talks Twitter DiplomacyNPR | October 17, 2009

The Hunt for Madam le Consul

Foreign Service blog missing for 5 days now

Madam le Consul (aka: Cassandra Was Right) is a senior consular-coned US Foreign Service officer who has served in 23 countries and Washington. Since May 2009, she has been blogging in The Consuls’ Files, “bringing humanity, common sense, realism and humor to the work of the US consul.” And she did that and all in the short, short life of her blog.

This is going to scare the children ...I think late last Friday, the blog (and the blogger) simply disappeared into thin air. I thought it was a simple technical glitch. But by Monday, I know it wasn't. She is a regular blogger, Monday-Friday; she has last posted Friday morning. If you look it up now, Blogger would tell you that it cannot locate such a blog. Just like that, it went - puff! Of course, if you do a search for Madam le Consul, Google still spits out the cache files of the now missing blog.

The question is where is Madam le Consul? And what happened to The Consuls’ Files? Like any amateur detective, you have to start with a list. So below is Diplopundit’s list in what we hope will turn out to be a massive blog hunt with the help of some friends.

#1. Did Madam le Consul pull down her own blog?

This is always a possibility. The Hegemonist has been gone since June and I am doubtful if he will return. But -- MLC is a consular officer with a lot of experience and a lot to say. I know that she has become a popular read very quickly. Why would she pull down her blog? Besides she’s big on doing the right thing, she would not close shop without a proper goodbye. No, she did not do this on her own.

#2. Was Madam le Consul (and her blog) abducted by Martians?

Okay, we’ve considered this. But -- MLC is a consular officer; given her experience, she’d be negotiating her release by now. I cannot imagine that she’d be scared silly or easily, not even by aliens from space. If she does not show up by the end of the week, we know that the somebodies got her. And they’re not from outer space.#3. Is Madam le Consul in an undisclosed location?

MLC could be writing a book that will bring more humanity, common sense, realism and humor to the work of the US consul. We've thought about that but we know she’s not in Tora-Bora. Again, if she has decided on her own to disappear for a while, she would have left a note. She’s a diplomat; she knows it’s impolite to leave without a word.#4. Did Diplomatic Security catch up with Madam le Consul?

And told her to zip it? There is always that possibility. But see, DS is busy with all sorts of things right now; from security contracts, contractor investigations, staffing issues, returning fugitives, security investigations, etc. etc. Can you imagine DS spending its limited resources hunting down a blog and shutting it down? I can’t. Besides, the blog Dead Men Working, whose bloggers very closely follow Diplomatic Security has been around a while and when I last checked, Steve is still on. Unless there’s a witness, I don’t think the culprit is DS. Diplopundit's friends are not so sure.

#5. Did the Consular Affairs Bureau shut down Madam le Consul?

Did the good folks at CA issue a cease-and-desist order to gag her? MLC is a senior consular-coned US Foreign Service officer who has served in 23 countries and Washington. How many officers would fit that description like a glove? And which office would be able to dig up and match that description quickly? MLC has also been blogging about consular issues and her posts have been excerpted in Liam Schwartz’s Consular Corner, which is read by consular officers, and by folks in the CA Bureau (motive and opportunity?). Makes us wonder if "controversial" blogs have now become line items in the agenda of executive meetings at Foggy Bottom. Is the Consular Affairs Bureau (under M) responsible for the disappearance of Madam le Consul and her blog? If it is, who gave the order and why? How many manhours were used to track her down? Has she been thrown into a visa dungeon with no internet connection?

The hunt for Madam le Consul in on. Anonymous tips are solicited here.

Quickie: Ambassador Hill Talks to the WSJ

Image via Wikipedia

Embassy website knows nothing about it

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill gave an interview to Gina Chon of The Wall Street Journal. He says:

“We try to be very active and engaged; we try to be out there. But we're mindful that if it's going to work, it's going to work because it's the Iraqis and not the Americans who are solving things. One has to keep that in mind. And what we're seeing lately is an Iraqi process and that's one to be encouraged and is encouraging. I want to be helpful in the process, not to be involved in the process, and make sure this seedling of democracy is really able to grow. I think this could be of truly historic proportions if Iraq can emerge from these years of transition as a democratic government. It's very much in our interest to be engaged but not interfere.”

The article is here. The edited transcript of the interview is here. Don’t bother looking up the interview transcript in US Embassy Baghdad’s website; it’s not there. It might pleased you to know that Ambassador Hill did visit the Babylonian Ruins, although you won’t find that in the Embassy News either ‘cuz it’s in the ambo archives. The website was UPDATED: 05 Jun 2009 GMT and below is one of the non-update that still lives online:

2009 Press Release

Following are recent press releases from U.S. Embassy Baghdad, including speeches, remarks and statements by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker and other U.S. Government officials.

Well obviously not recent enough. Would you please help me write a fan mail to the BaghdadPressOffice@state.gov asking them to get their act together and nudge them beyond the brick wall of the 20^th century? This is ridigulous! (Caution: email address taken from embassy website, we make no promises that email address works).

Deputy Ambassador Ricciardone Chats Online After Cairo Speech

Photo from US Embassy Kabul

Shortly after the President concluded his speech in Cairo last Thursday, the US Embassy in Kabul had its own webchat about the speech (3:30 pm, Kabul time).

Deputy Ambassador Frank Ricciardone and a couple of other officials plus a moderator were on hand to answer questions from webchat participants. Highlights of the webchat have now been posted online in its Facebook page. Selected excerpts below:

U.S. Embassy Kabul: (15:44) as -salaam wa aleikum! welcome to everyone to the \american \embassy in Kabul. Ambassador Eikenberry is in Kandahar today. | am Deputy Ambassador, Francis Ricciardone. All my Afghan and American colleagues here at the Embassy were together with you just now in listening to President Obama's speech. We are keen to hear your responses to it. What do you think?

LC Herat 5: (16:00) what is obama's decision about iran nucler program?

U.S. Embassy Kabul: (16:00) Dear Herati citizen (I love Herat -- thanks for your hospitality when my wife and I visited your beautiful city two weeks ago!) -- Thank you for paying close attention to President Obama's words on Iran and nuclear power: he was clear in supporting Iran's right to nuclear power for peaceful purposes, under the NonProliferation Treaty. But he was also clear that Iran, like all countries who are parties to the Treaty, must uphold their obligations under the Treaty in order to prevent a horrible race to acquire nuclear weapons. and he was very clear that America seeks a world in which NO countries hold nuclear weapons -- and he called on all countries in the region to share this goal. he said very respectful words about Iran --- I hope the Iranians were paying close attention.

reza: (16:05) If we open our eyes and look at this trip exactly, dose this trip has a sign to support the old government of Husni Mubarak?

U.S. Embassy Kabul: (16:05) Dear Reza, until last year I was the US Ambassador to Egypt. It is a lovely country with wonderful people. Egypt and her government and people strongly support peace and tolerance, which were key words in President Obama's speech. I'm sure he chose Egypt as the place for his speech out of appreciation for Egypt's role as a center of Muslim history and learning, and to show his appreciation for Egypt's role in promoting peace and tolerance. We certainly respect President Mubarak as the President of Egypt, but that does not mean we are signaling support for every policy of the Government of Egypt or President Mubarak.

S.Behbood: (16:19) what well the Mr.obama a bout the Taliban in Afghanistan?

U.S. Embassy Kabul: (16:19) Behbood, part of the problem is: who exactly ARE the Taliban, anyway? Some people who call themselves Taliban, or whom others call Taliban, no doubt are murderous criminals who cloak themselves in the guise of religion. They only wish to impose their will on others, and are ready to kill and injure others. These are not people who believe in the Golden Rule that Obama cited: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. they not only kill, they throw acid in girls' faces. they are cowards. such are the violent extremist followers of Bin Laden, and they are not followers of The Prophet (PBUH) or any prophet. So we will help Afghans protect themselves against such people, whatever they call themselves. But perhaps there are other ''Taliban'' who are willing to live in peace with their brothers and sisters of Afghanistan, and to respect the Constitution and the State. If your State decides to accept such people back to live as fellow citizens in peace, then America has no problem with such people, whatever they call themselves.

There! That's as rapid response as it gets! I'm not aware of any other top embassy official doing webchats on the President's speech (apparently there were four others, but posts were not identified).

Of the three US ambassadors I know who have their own official blogs, only US Ambassador to Tunisia, Robert Godec blogged about the Cairo speech in his Tumbler blog here, here and here.

Update: According to the White House summary of reactions to the Cairo speech:

*A post-speech webchat with Deputy Ambassador Ricciardone, Assistant Ambassador Mussomeli, and Political Chief Alan Yu answered over 40 questions from over 100 participants including those linked electronically at Lincoln Centers.

*5 Ambassadors chatted online with groups watching the event

*Over 100 viewing parties, discussions, or other events were held by embassies and consulates from Bolivia to Uzbekistan.

*In Sierra Leone, the Embassy funded viewing events through 11 cinema centers so that 1,000 people would be able to watch the event who would not have otherwise been able to.

*30+ posts used Facebook to enhance outreach either ahead of the event, to chat during and after the event, or to follow wall posts and status updates.

More reactions here.

The State Department’s Digital Diplomacy Footprint

Public Diplomacy 2.0

Image Credit: Markus Angermeier (under cca-sa2.5)

What criteria should be used to guide decisions regarding the new approach of using Web 2.0 technology to public diplomacy?

This is an important question to address given the limited resources available to the State Department’s public diplomacy operations in 309 US missions and US virtual presence posts overseas. The new Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs mentioned the combined use of traditional media with new social media, like Facebook, Twitter and online videos (possibly YouTube, as State already has an existing channel). “The culmination of this effort will be a virtual presence that is engaged in a global dialogue, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in all corners of the world.”

I thought this sounds really exciting; but on second thought, I wonder if this is really a realistic approach. First, let’s take a look at State’s digital diplomacy footprint.

The State Department has presence in the following social media, DipNote Blog, Facebook (6,905 fans), YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter (5,057 followers). In addition, it has a multimedia center which hosts its own videos, and photo gallery, and some 30 RSS feeds for subscription. There is no aggregated feed available for all these feeds. I imagine that all of the above are run out of the Public Affairs (PA) shop. These are all geared primarily toward an American audience.

PA is just one of the bureaus under the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (aka "R"); the other two are Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and International Information Programs (IIP). ECA has a social networking site called Exchange Connect with 10,000 members. The other bureau IPP, is home to the Digital Outreach Team (DOT), a ten-person group that actively engages with Arabic, Persian and Urdu language Internet sites, including on blogs, news sites and discussion forums. IPP has America.gov, its own Facebook (160 members) and Twitter page (993 followers). It also runs CO.NX (6,105 members) which allows LIVE multimedia webchats. The ECA and IPP bureaus are geared primarily toward a foreign audience.

Dizzy yet? There’s more.

Let’s look closely at the State Department’s Facebook presence. Its Facebook page has 6,775 fans. There is also Consular Affairs with 520 fans. This one had exactly three brief posts, two in February and one in April. One of the fans wrote: No one has written anything here since April, 2008. Wow, how exciting! Another one writes: Why be a fan of CA on FB?... The State Department Passport page has 248 fans. Owner posted the following message:

"We're hoping that fans can upload some interesting stories and pictures they have that include passports in them. Similar to the projects where a gnome or teddy bear travels around the world, we're looking for photos of American Citizens and their passports traveling around the world!" (Um, why?)

There were posts from July to September 2008, then nothing. Some folks in South Korea took pity and uploaded four photos of US passports held up against the South Korean backdrop. That's it!

There is another page called Careers (but you have to join/sign in to read what is posted online), and there are three groups:

Careers in Foreign Affairs (Group) 4,343 members
Civilian Response Corps (Group) 176 members
Diplomatic Security (Group) 403 members

That’s all I’ve been able to dig up on the US-side footprint. I’m sure I’ve missed someone somewhere.

Scoble's Social Media Starfish
Image credit: dbarefoot

Social Media: The Long Global Stretch

Overseas, the State Department has 173 posts with resident ambassadors (some ambassadors are accredited to additional posts like the one in Sri Lanka who’s also accredited to the Maldives). In addition, there are consulates, virtual presence posts (VPPs), liaison offices and other presence overseas.

I started looking at our most important posts in terms of perceived engagement need and size. Internet statistics referred to here are all derived from the Internet World Stats:

AFGHANISTAN:US Embassy Kabul is on Facebook; its Facebook page is in English with selected translations; it has 494 fans. Post is also on Twitter and Flickr. They have regular up-to-date posts. Its website is not updated as quickly as its social media sites, but I am presuming that the website is run by the information management arm, and the social media sites are run by the public diplomacy shop of the embassy. But between the three social media sites, you generally get a sense, limited it may be, of what Ambassador Eikenberry and his staff are doing in Afghanistan. Although its Internet Penetration Rate (the percentage of the total population of a given country or region that uses the Internet) is small at 1.5%, it had an internet user growth of 49,900.0 %. Yes, really!


Among the missions I have reviewed so far, Afghanistan has one of the most put together operation in terms of options provided, usability and timeliness and relevancy of postings.

Population ( 2008 Est.): 32,738,376

Internet Users (Year 2000): 1,000

Internet Users (Latest Data): 500,000

Penetration (% of Population): 1.5 %

User Growth (2000-2008 ): 49,900.0 %

IRAQ: US Embassy Baghdad has no social media sites. Its website has dead links, current items are posted in Archives, there is no organized photo gallery, and updates are sporadic. Former Ambassador Crocker’s remarks, statements and news are still posted under Embassy News. Ambassador Hill’s items have been filed under the Ambassador’s Archive. (Huh? Can you see me scratching my noggin here?)

Considering that for the last eight years, Iraq has been our most important foreign policy engagement, it is appalling to see its website functions literary like a brick wall online. When US Embassy Baghdad employees were killed by IED on May 25, Ambassador Hill’s May 26 statement did not get posted online until the 27^th. I know because I was looking for it. Two days is a long time online, folks. And even as we now know, with a couple clicks of a mouse, the other two unnamed individuals who perished in that attack, the original statement was never revised. Are they really that busy over there, to do a revised statement of our dead?

I don’t know. No one knows and there’s no way to tell because well-- they’ve got a brick wall online. Which lead others to ask about the US Embassy Baghdad, “What exactly are they doing?” If we go by the embassy’s press releases, Ambassador Hill has done exactly two things since his arrival in Baghdad: attended the completion of the U.S.-funded Al-Qudas Power Plant and visited the Iraq National Museum. I’m not sure you can use security as an argument for the limited information online. After all, Afghanistan is also a warzone, and we definitely see Ambassador Eikenberry giving speeches, traveling around, having meetings, etc., etc.

Although one might be tempted to argue that with less than 1% internet penetration rate, it would make no sense to deploy social media options online -- Iraq had a user growth rate of 2,100.0 % from 2000-2008. That is nowhere near Afghanistan’s breathtaking number, but look – the absent is always wrong. And a static website with limited usability might as well be absent. Ambassador Adam Ereli is heading the PA shop in Baghdad (unless website has not been updated with info of departure). Guys, surely you can do better than a brick wall?

Population ( 2008 Est.): 28,221,181

Internet Users (Year 2000): 12,500

Internet Users (Latest Data): 275,000

Penetration (% of Population): 1.0 %

User Growth (2000-2008 ): 2,100.0 %

(%) of Table (Middle East): 0.6 %

Broadband Internet data is not available.

EGYPT: US Embassy Cairo does not have its own Facebook page. There is a Facebook page run by Education USA/Study USA-Egypt, with 5,408 fans. Education USA is a global network of more than 450 advising centers supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State.

US Embassy Cairo does have a Pilot Speakers Program, and Video Clips, but has no links to the Study USA-Egypt page on its website, nor does it have any other social media. I do wonder why it has no social media outreach online. Egypt accounts for 19.4 % of internet users in Africa. That’s the largest percentage of users in the continent. Although its penetration rate is in the low double digits at 12.9%, it also had an internet user growth rate of 2,240.5 % from 2000-2008.

Population ( 2008 Est.): 81,713,517

Internet Users (Year 2000): 450,000

Internet Users (Latest Data): 10,532,400

Penetration (% of Population): 12.9 %

User Growth ( 2000-2008 ): 2,240.5 %

Users % in Africa: 19.4 % (largest % of users in Africa)

CHINA: US Mission China includes the Embassy in Beijing, five constituent posts and six virtual presence posts (VPPs). It has no social media of any sort, and half of its webpage is wasted white space. I can’t tell if there are specific restrictions online that apply to this mission (because it’s China and it uses the Great Firewall!). Our digital diplomacy there appears restricted to mostly static website pages that would give anyone a headache, me included; and I generally know my way around these websites.


China has 66,464,000 broadband Internet connections as of Dec 2007. China’s internet users account for close to half the users in all of Asia at 45.3% (followed by Japan at 14.3 % and India at 12.3 %). That’s a large chunk of the online pie. And the US missions are barely there.

Population ( 2008 Est.): 1,330,044,605

Internet Users (Year 2000): 22,500,000

Internet Users (Latest Data): 298,000,000

Penetration (% of Population): 22.4 %

User Growth ( 2000-2008 ): 1,224.4 %

Users (%) in Asia: 45.3 %

MEXICO: US Mission Mexico is not on Facebook but it does have a US Mission Mexico Blog, in Spanish. The mission includes the US Embassy in Mexico, nine constituent posts (none linked to the mission blog) and two VPPs linked to the blog (one has a Photo Gallery of the area’s local scenes). It has no other social media site. Mexico accounts for the second largest internet users in Latin America at 16.1% (Brazil accounts for 39.8 % of internet users in Lat-Am, followed by Mexico at 16.1 % and Argentina at 11.8 %). It also has an internet penetration rate of 24.9%, slightly higher than the world average.

Population ( 2008 Est.): 109,955,400

Internet Users (Year 2000):

Internet Users (Latest Data): 27,400,000

Penetration (% of Population): 24.9 %

User Growth ( 2000-2008 ): 910.2 %

Users (%) in Latin America: 16.1 %

IRAN: We don’t have a diplomatic presence in Tehran. Initially, I thought well how come we don’t have a VPP there? As far back as 2006, there was a plan for a VPP in Tehran according to this presentation from Thomas Niblock of the eDiplomacy Office. I don’t know if under new management, this would now go forward.

But there are 465,100 Broadband Internet connections in Iran as of Sept 2007. It has 23,000,000 internet users as of Mar 2008 and an internet penetration rate of 34.9%. It ranks second in terms of user growth in the Middle East at 9,100.0 %. It accounts for 50.2 % of all internet users in the region. That’s a significant chunk of the online pie, and the United States is well - absent, in every way.

Population ( 2008 Est.): 65,875,223

Internet Users (Year 2000): 250,000

Internet Users (Latest Data): 23,000,000

Penetration (% of Population): 34.9 %

User Growth (2000-2008 ): 9,100.0 %

User (%) of Table (Middle East): 50.2 %

I find it interesting that although there are multiple sites online, there appears to be no cohesion or central theme in them (besides the fact that they are all distinct parts of the State Department). I kind of expected each site to be the building blocks to a larger whole; but they’re not. You find social media deployed in places where you don’t expect to see it, and missing in places where you expect to see it. You see sites with up-to-date regular posts, and sites with sporadic posts. You see sites with welcome remarks from senior embassy officials, and sites with no such thing. Some sites are also run by Information Resource Centers while others by Public Affairs. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me as if some of these sites were rolled out off the cuff, with no clear achievable goals and objectives in mind beyond the act of showing up online.

Why is there a separate Facebook page for Passport, when there is Consular Affairs? You’d think that a better community to form would be Americans Abroad or something along those lines for the often misunderstood official services to Americans living and traveling abroad.

How come Exchange Connect and CO.NX are operationally separated instead of working hand in glove? They are both geared toward foreign audiences so why are they not working in collaboration with each other? I know, the answer probably would be – different bureaus, different pots of money. But why does it have to be that way, especially on a social media platform? Does anybody know?

to be continued ....