Colleen Graffy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy at the State Department, is twittering as one method of sharing the US’s policies, values and cultures. On her recent trip to Iceland, Romania, Moldova, Croatia, and Armenia, she twittered some of her professional diplomatic interactions along with some personal adventures (Blue Lagoon in Iceland).
This new diplomatic outreach hasn’t been without controversy. It was first noted in the Washington Post and then discussed online in an article called How Not to Win Hearts and Minds. Today, Dec 24, Colleen Graffey wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post outlining the benefits and purposes of her twittering.
“One clear lesson that emerged from the Cold War was that winning hearts and minds required communicating in a way that “connected” with people on their terms, whether through film or jazz or jeans. To keep our public diplomacy relevant today, we have to reach out and connect with people on their terms, whether we use blogs or texts — or tweets. “
Thanks to the State Department for using new methods and ideas for listening and participating in the world’s conversations.
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