21st-century statecraft and the new diplomats

America, I feel, really is the "shining city of the hill", when we live up to our values, and we're back in that mode.

People in other countries need to see that, and in my direct experience, they really want to believe again.

Social media is probably the best tool for Americans to reach out, maybe all of us, but particularly the folks in the State Department.

The NY Times has a good article, Digital Diplomacy, which introduces the work of a coupla guys at State, Alec Ross and Jared Cohen. I bear witness that they're doing a great job, I've seen it first hand. They're genuine patriots, helping fix Washington, and providing considerable return for the taxpayer dollar. They're reminding people that we really are the good guys:

On Twitter, Cohen, who is 28, and Ross, who is 38, are among the most followed of anyone working for the U.S. government, coming in third and fourth after Barack Obama and John McCain. This didn't happen by chance. Their Twitter posts have become an integral part of a new State Department effort to bring diplomacy into the digital age, by using widely available technologies to reach out to citizens, companies and other nonstate actors.

These guys are building the Radio Free Europe for this
century, but for the whole world.

 

Follow Craig Newmark on Twitter: www.twitter.com/craignewmark

Comments

[planetrussell]

11:37 AM on 07/20/2010

Craig's right on the money. Simply put, this is inspired, common-sen­se applicatio­n of the core principles of the venerable Cluetrain Manifesto (http://clu­etrain.com) to public diplomacy and internatio­nal statecraft­. Social technologi­es simply promote real, authentic conversati­on and engagement among free people, across boundaries of language and culture. Jim Glassman and Colleen Graffy began this work at State, and now Cohen, Ross are admirably taking it to the next level.