On Thursday, May 29, the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC hosted a panel discussion formally titled, “Digital Diplomacy: Foreign Policy and the Future of Engagement,” featuring panel members from the digital outreach teams of the U.S. Department of State and the White House, as well as the media auteurs behind the viral “Texts from Hillary” blog and Trippi and Associates, a media firm that handles political outreach online.
The discussion was focused largely on engagement, and began with the “so what” question: now that practically everyone is online, between Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, how do we actually use these tools as a platform to facilitate positive discussion in the long term? This question, fueled by examples of media outreach done right and wrong, led the group to discuss the specifics of authenticity and singularity of voice online, grassroots crowd sourcing in the political realm, and the trend of “digital awareness” and how that does not always translate into political action.
In regards to authenticity, the group agreed that one of the main factors to “political success” online (however loosely that may be defined) was the need for an authentic, singular voice online. With many unsuccessful campaigns and companies seen talking down to their audiences from a collective “we” voice as a brand, those they noted as successful, such as Al Gore and Barack Obama’s twitter presence, used the platform to facilitate that personability, and that was a key factor in their success. Another point stressed was the importance of not underestimating your audience’s intelligence, offering sites like WeThePeople where grassroots petitions and political activism can grow and gain widespread support, or at the very least, foster digital discussion of White House policies and issues.
Another item briefly mentioned was the question of “digital awareness.” How well does becoming aware of issues, such as the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, translate into actual action in the political spectrum? Though the intent and awareness are fundamentally important, no one was really able to gauge how well awareness could translate to activism, since there are really no metrics on this, yet so many different variables contribute to each cause.
Photo: Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC (cc).
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Community Engagement and Grassroots Interactivity in the Digital Realm
June 30, 2014
On Thursday, May 29, the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC hosted a panel discussion formally titled, “Digital Diplomacy: Foreign Policy and the Future of Engagement,” featuring panel members from the digital outreach teams of the U.S. Department of State and the White House, as well as the media auteurs behind the viral “Texts from Hillary” blog and Trippi and Associates, a media firm that handles political outreach online.
The discussion was focused largely on engagement, and began with the “so what” question: now that practically everyone is online, between Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, how do we actually use these tools as a platform to facilitate positive discussion in the long term? This question, fueled by examples of media outreach done right and wrong, led the group to discuss the specifics of authenticity and singularity of voice online, grassroots crowd sourcing in the political realm, and the trend of “digital awareness” and how that does not always translate into political action.
In regards to authenticity, the group agreed that one of the main factors to “political success” online (however loosely that may be defined) was the need for an authentic, singular voice online. With many unsuccessful campaigns and companies seen talking down to their audiences from a collective “we” voice as a brand, those they noted as successful, such as Al Gore and Barack Obama’s twitter presence, used the platform to facilitate that personability, and that was a key factor in their success. Another point stressed was the importance of not underestimating your audience’s intelligence, offering sites like WeThePeople where grassroots petitions and political activism can grow and gain widespread support, or at the very least, foster digital discussion of White House policies and issues.
Another item briefly mentioned was the question of “digital awareness.” How well does becoming aware of issues, such as the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, translate into actual action in the political spectrum? Though the intent and awareness are fundamentally important, no one was really able to gauge how well awareness could translate to activism, since there are really no metrics on this, yet so many different variables contribute to each cause.
Photo: Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC (cc).
