The Foreign Service Journal, June 2010

J U N E 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 37 created a dialogue that allowed us to address the needs of our customers and give them a sense of “owner- ship” that significantly enhanced our public image. The most successful State De- partment Facebook pages recog- nize the importance of this two- way conversation. Embassies Ja- karta and Podgorica engage their au- diences by answering their “mail.” Unfortunately, many current consular Facebook and Twit- ter sites are ill-conceived or poorly managed and fall into the “We’re on Facebook!” trap. It is essential to ponder the purpose, audience and message of your page and your commitment to it. Success on Facebook pages should be defined by how many interactions the site has with its followers. Consider how lonely one’s personal Facebook page would be if no “friends” ever posted anything on it. Social Media During Crises The greatest potential of social media for consular outreach comes from their use during a crisis. When the ability to reach large au- diences in the fastest way possible is paramount, Web 2.0 technologies, such as Twitter, have already proven themselves effective. During the Mumbai terrorist at- tacks of November 2008, for in- stance, Daniel Schaub, a Web publishing specialist in the Bureau of Public Affairs, recalls: “We always monitor Op- erations Center releases, major news media stories and the latest trending terms on Twitter. “In the case of the Mumbai attacks, we noticed major news coverage and immediately coordinated with CA and others to stand up the emergency hot line for U.S. citi- zens worried about their relatives. Within a few minutes, we tweeted the hot line number, posted it to the Dip- F O C U S The most powerful example of social media’s potential for consular outreach is its use during crises.