Digital diplomacy on Medium
February 2017 roundup of recent posts on foreign policy and diplomacy.
As I highlighted in a few previous posts, the foreign policy community is starting to warmly embrace Medium:
Diplomats around the world are experimenting on the platform and I hope this series helps bring to life best practices and useful tips.
Of note this month the latest post by Medium co-founder and chief executive officer Ev Williams on the future of the platform and the changes the company is planning — which included laying off a third of its employees and closing its offices in New York and Washington DC.
Commenting on Williams post, M.G. Siegler, general partner at GV (formerly Google Ventures), an investor in Medium, mentioned some of the most updated numbers that are moving the company forward:
The numbers speak for themselves. 2 billion words written on Medium in the last year. 7.5 million posts during that time. 60 million monthly readers now.
While we still don’t have figures on markets outside the US, these are incredible numbers for the foreign policy community to work with in terms of increasing the outreach and experiment with long-form content. Medium has indeed lots of potential.
And as Adam Smith, deputy community editor at The Economist, explains: “Medium has become a rich ecosystem of political commentary, and smart analysis of society, technology and culture — among many other things. The engineers behind it have built such a brilliant user experience that people want to consume content on it, almost regardless of what that content is.”
— To note that The Economist launched its exclusive content on Medium this past December.
In December, I run a mini-poll on Twitter on what the trends for digital diplomacy are going to be in 2017. While live videos have attracted almost 40% of the votes, long-form content managed to interest 16% of the respondents, not too far from the 21% who believes the next trend in digital diplomacy is virtual reality and 360 visual content.
Got ideas for future posts? Or you want to write about digital diplomacy and technology in foreign policy? Ping me here or on Twitter, write a response to this post, or submit your post by email.
1. EXIT MEMOS ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
As former Pres. Obama (Archives) ends his last term with a touching exit memo and POTUS Donald Trump swears in, former secretary of state John Kerry assesses his tenure at the U.S. Department of State, underscoring the impact of US global leadership and diplomatic achievements during the Obama administration.
The President has rightly said that the most consequential decisions any leader has to make are those related to war and peace. I learned at a young age that the use of force is sometimes necessary, but that diplomatic solutions are almost always preferable — in part because of the unforeseen consequences that military action often entails.
In another exit memo, Ambassador Power(Archive) sums up her three years as US permanent representative to the United Nations.
In re-engaging the United Nations, we have not compromised our national interests, but advanced them; we have not overlooked the dysfunctions of the UN system, but sought to tackle them; and we have not muted our values, but defended them vigorously and credibly.
On Medium also the exit memos compiled by former defense secretary Ash Carter on the accomplishments and the future ahead; by former secretary of commerce Penny Pritzker on trade and commercial diplomacy; by former energy secretary Ernest Moniz on how scientists are trying to find solutions for some of the world’s greatest challenges; by USAID’s former administrator Gayle Smith on the front lines of today’s greatest global challenges; and by OPIC.gov former head Elizabeth Littlefield on the role of development finance during the Obama administration.
The exit memo of former US chief technology officer Megan Smith and John Holdren, former director of The Obama White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), was posted by DigitalGov and focused on building a more effective, efficient, and innovative government, including open international government partnerships. In a post here on Medium, Mikey Dickerson, former administrator of The U.S. Digital Service (USDS) says farewell and reflects on the importance of building a tradition of public service in the tech industry.
2. DAVOS BY DAVOS
If you’ve missed Davos this year, anna bruce-lockhart, Stephanie Thomson, Jenny Soffel, and Oliver Cann of the World Economic Forum have posted a series of interesting summaries of the event.
3. SYRIA
Melissa Fleming, head of communications and spokesperson at the UN Refugee Agency, chronicles one Syrian woman’s harrowing, miraculous journey from Egypt to Europe.
There was a scramble for life jackets, as desperate prayers were interrupted by terrified shouts and children crying.
On Syria also a post by Lei Phyu, communications officer at UN Development, who gives a better picture of the situation of Syrian refugees to date and what the United Nations is doing to help.
4. AFGHANISTAN
IFRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, posts the emotional story of 21-year-old Hamed Mousavez, who fled his home in Afghanistan in search for a safer future. The post is accompanied by beautiful illustration by Karrie Fransman.
I’m still optimistic. I want to go to France. Paris is a romantic city. Or to Spain because I like Barcelona FC. I want to be safe and free and for my family to have the same.
5. KENYA
Pete Vowles, head of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Kenya, posts on Medium to chronicle his traveling through western Kenya — Bungoma, Busia, and Kisumu counties — meeting people and communities on the front line of international development.
I met people working in improving healthcare, tackling conflict, creating commercially viable access to clean drinking water, helping people register to vote, building county government skills & systems and simplifying border processes to unlock growth — all supported by DFID.
6. NIGERIA
Bayo Omoboriowo, personal photographer to Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, posts a collection of photos from 2016.
Photographing the President is a consistently challenging task. Even more challenging is reviewing the thousands of photographs I take every couple of day, selecting, editing, captioning and arranging them into a compilation like this. To tackle this challenge, I have drawn heavily on inspiration from the work of Pete Souza, Pres. Obama (Archives)’s official photographer, as well as the expectations of the good friends I have surrounded myself with who would not expect of me anything less than my best.
7. SAVE THE CHILDREN
Denmark’s former prime minister Helle Thorning S, currently chief executive officer of Save the Children International, debuts on Medium with a post on the horror of conflict and war and how they affect children around the world.
Their suffering provokes our deepest shock and outrage. It goes to our essential humanity. We all remember what it was like to be a child at their age: how innocent we were. The potential we had that was ready to be realized. And, of course, how vulnerable we were, reliant on those around us to protect us.
8. ITALY
Italy’s former prime minister Matteo Renzi debuts on Medium with a post and a blog publication on the road ahead for the country after the referendum and his resignation in December last year.
Ci sono dei momenti — nella vita di un Paese — in cui il futuro sembra scomparire. Tutto diventa schiacciato sul presente. Sognare sembra vietato, progettare impossibile, avere idee una colpa.
There are moments — in a country’s life — where the future seems to disappear. Everything is flatted with the present. To dream appears not to be allowed, to plan impossible, and have ideas a sin.
9. DATA AND TECH FOR THE HUMANITARIAN SECTOR
Stephen O’Brien, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at United Nations OCHA, highlights how to build a stronger, data-driven humanitarian sector and the vital role that sharing information plays in shaping an effective collective response.
It is true that more data than ever is being collected and shared by affected people and humanitarian partners. But to use this data reliably to inform decisions, we need to adopt some important changes in how we go about our work. Now is the right time to embrace these changes: people want for transparency, and the need for robust data to underpin responsive and accountable leadership is all too clear.
10. THE ARTIC
Carter Price, Arctic youth ambassador, posts on the pages of the US Interior Department on his experience as part of the Arctic Youth Ambassador Program and how it helped him better understand climate change and better connect with his community and culture as a descent of the Aleuts, the indigenous people from the Aleutian Islands.
Being a part of the Arctic Youth Ambassador Program has helped me understand and connect with my community and my culture on a deeper level.
OTHER POSTS OF INTEREST:
- Tips and updates from Medium: Joe Polastre, product manager at Medium, on the launch of a new feature to spotlight the most popular voices on any topic — top writers in tags; and Matt Higginson, head of politics and government affairs, on how US politicians are using the platform.
- On the Digital Diplomacy Medium publication: Professor Corneliu Bjola of Oxford University on digital emotional intelligence; Rob Bole on western technology and extremism; and Noel Dickover on funding for development.
- Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman, sums up 2016 and lists his 10 predictions for the year ahead that can potentially impact communicators and the public relations business.
- Will Racke, former Homeland Security and State department official, on the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act.
- International communications agency BTP Advisers on president Trump’s America First vision and foreign policy strategy, while professors and lecturers at Harvard University discuss president Trump’s foreign policy and economic challenges via the Harvard Kennedy School’s PolicyCast Medium publication.
- Mike Brand, director of advocacy and programs at the Jewish World Watch, on South Sudan and the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.
- British Ambassador to the US Kim Darroch on his favorite songs from both sides of the Atlantic; Switzerland in the USA, the Medium account of the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington DC, posts a year-in-review interview with Ambassador Martin Dahinden.
- World Affairs posts a video interview to The New York Times columnist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof on the future of extreme poverty.
- Tech policy analyst Will Rinehart on politics, slacktivism, and Morozov.
- The GEN team at the Global Editors Network on building the first global hub for data journalism.
