The Foreign Service Journal, June 2012

J U N E 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 member using social media — espe- cially where the lines between profes- sional, personal and private use may be blurred — read them and, if you don’t understand something, ask. • Avoid Divulging Private and Confidential Information. Here is where many people run afoul of the regulations. Be sure not to divulge any information that includes confidential or personally identifiable information. Examples include, but are not limited to, visa cases, information about other individuals or classified information (for example, linking to WikiLeaks). • Remember that You Are a Foreign Service U.S. Government Employee. Even though you may have the required disclaimer on your blog, be aware that the public still may not differentiate between your official and private views. You should be mindful of the weight of your ex- pressed views as a U.S. government of- ficial, particularly when your blog uses the “hook” of your Foreign Service connections to attract readers. • Review Your Privacy Settings. Make sure you are aware of the privacy settings of the social media platform you are using and how to adjust them. Platforms such as Facebook often change these settings without inform- ing users. Periodic review of these set- tings is important, and we recommend having them set to the highest levels. For blogs, you may even want to con- sider restricting access so that only your family, friends and colleagues have access. • Use Good Judgment. We can’t emphasize this enough. As we noted above, all forms of human communi- cation require good judgment, tact, etc. What happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet. When in doubt, leave it out. • Contact Us If You Have Prob- lems. If you are an AFSA member and are approached by management or Diplomatic Security regarding your use of social media, be sure to contact us so that we can assist you. For assis- tance with issues related to social media, please contact our labor man- agement office at (202) 647-8160 or e- mail AFSA’s lead attorney on the issue, Raeka Safai, at SafaiR@state.gov. — Steven Alan Honley, Editor Trouble in Timbuktu After 20 years in existence, what most experts considered a successful democracy in Mali appears to be un- raveling. The setback began onMarch 22 when a military mutiny turned into a coup d’état, ousting President Amadou Toumani Touré over what younger officers reportedly considered his government’s unsatisfactory han- dling of a Tuareg rebellion in the coun- try’s north. Tuareg rebels and separatists im- mediately took advantage of the tur- moil to proclaim the independence of what they call the Azawad Nation, which reportedly has ties to the Is- lamist terror group Ansar Dine. The Tuaregs are also receiving weaponry and support from former supporters of the late Moammar Gaddafi in neigh- boring Libya. Making matters worse, the rebels’ northern stronghold, which includes the city of Timbuktu, has suffered major food shortages forcing close to 200,000 people from their homes ( www.tearfund.org ). Back in Bamako, the coup has actu- ally worked against the military’s stated goal of defeating the Tuareg rebellion. The Economic Community of West African States quickly imposed harsh sanctions, closing their borders and C Y B E R N O T E S