14th July 2014
London, UK
Six months ago the Foreign Office had a digital news manager responsible for publishing Foreign Office press releases and speeches on gov.uk, tweeting out our news announcements, live tweeting Ministerial speeches and statements to Parliament and commissioning multimedia like vines, video and pictures to support our messaging. Sitting in another room was the Press Office, […]
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19th May 2014
London, UK
Last week saw our annual Leadership Conference when Ambassadors from around the world return to London to look at how the Foreign Office can deliver most effectively for British nationals. Like last year, the opportunities offered by digital to improve our work were a theme through the event. The week started with the Digital Transformation […]
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9th May 2014
Beirut, Lebanon
I joined three events in the last week on power in the digital age. The first was with online activists and entrepreneurs, with @AUB_OC at the American University #SMCL2. I had first met them shortly after arriving in Beirut in 2011, and talked about riding the digital tiger, and tips for twiplomats. Two years on, […]
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17th April 2014
London, UK
Have you ever tried planning a party in a city where you don’t know anyone? Yes, it doesn’t sound easy. Last month we took on a comparable task when we decided to follow in the footsteps of our colleagues in Chicago and host a British Pop-up Consulate in Halifax. One of the main reasons for […]
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16th April 2014
London, UK
Like most government departments, the FCO has been making policy for centuries. But just as the content of foreign policy has changed, so has the way we approach it, and the tools we can use. Last week, the FCO’s Policy Unit ran a Policy Excellence Fair, with teams ranging from ministerial offices to Economics Unit […]
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28th March 2014
London, UK
This week the Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed student Gopal Rao to the Foreign Office. The meeting was the result of a competition launched by the Foreign Secretary earlier in the year to thank his 200,000 Twitter followers for their comments, engagement and ideas. The prize – a meeting with him and the chance to […]
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21st March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Modern diplomats, and modern Popes, are in the communications business. It remains right that there are still some government activities that are conducted behind the scenes, in confidence, with discretion, without fanfare. But modern diplomats must also persuade, which means delivering a convincing message, sometimes to the broadest possible audience, including on twitter and other […]
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17th March 2014
Havana, Cuba
A lot of my diplomatic counterparts in Havana look completely bemused when I talk to them about Twitter or tell them what my last blog was about. That’s not because they don’t know what Twitter or blogging is but because they don’t really see social media as playing a role in their daily diplomacy. Many […]
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14th March 2014
Havana, Cuba
A lot of my diplomatic counterparts in Havana look completely bemused when I talk to them about Twitter or tell them what my last blog was about. That’s not because they don’t know what Twitter or blogging is but because they don’t really see social media as playing a role in their daily diplomacy. Many […]
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4th March 2014
New Delhi, India
In February, we had a delegation from the UK to discuss social media analytics and web science with Indian counterparts. The workshop was hosted by IIIT-B and run in collaboration with Cognizant, ESRC and the RCUK Digital Economy Programme. We had presentations from a wide range of contributors (Indian and British, academia and industry, computer […]
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