From Paul Boutin at New York Times’ Gadget Wise blog,
… there are two outstanding reasons President Obama or an aide should tweet one line per day:
First, Twitter’s text-only, 140-character-max simplicity is ideal for putting out a statement or a call to action without the need to script a longer essay or speech. Mr. Obama’s two updates were perfect examples: One asked for questions about the economy, the other linked to a Web site that collects the president’s 100-day accomplishments. The White House staff could easily deliver one solid message per day. They could start by tweeting each week’s video address, to remind us to watch it.
Second, Twitter, used as a sort of micro-blog, is a humanizing medium that can put a face on the sprawling, distant bureaucracy of government. California’s secretary of state, Debra Bowen, tweets several times a day. She’s followed by people who previously didn’t know California even had a secretary of state.
I am a twitter skeptic, but I am warming up to the idea that President Obama should consider micro-blogging as a way to connect with the foreign publics. Micro-blogging, which I define as including twitter and SMS, could be a “humanizing medium for the United States. Here are two examples of where micro-blogging could be a great public diplomacy tool.
(1) When travelling abroad. In his recent trip to Turkey, Obama could have micro-blogged information about his positive impressions throughout his visit. After he met with students, he could have micro-blogged about a specific experience that resonated with him. Imagine getting a text in Turkish from President Obama saying how impressed he was by Turkish university students and here is why _____.
Additionally, micro-blogging could also be used to mobilize people to attend a specific event. The 2008 election demonstrated Obama’s effectiveness using micro-blogging.
(2) When announcing foreign policy. Take the START treaty as an example. Obama could micro-blog in Russian about why START is beneficial to both nations. He could better make his case to the Russian public without the filter of the Russian media. Taking this three steps further, imagine if relations with Iran were normalized and Obama engaged the Iranian public.
Micro-blogging for Obama should not be a blow by blow on his daily life, like Colleen Graffy’s tweets. Obama should micro-blog to engage the world and advocate for his global agenda.
[...] I wrote about President Obama and the possibilities of engaging foreign publics via micro-blogging. [...]