The Foreign Service Journal, December 2014

18 DECEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL exchanging business cards at a real-life party. Often, a virtual first interaction leads to a real-life meeting. In other instances, people I know only from Twitter have referred me to others in their real-life social network. If the conversation isn’t produc- tive—for example, when other users’ comments are hostile or aggressive, or when a journalist is pressing for infor- mation you shouldn’t share—the best Direct outreach to key contacts is still the heart of our profession. Social media can help us be better at this important work. course of action (online as in real life) is to stay civil and leave the conversation. Regulation Roadblocks Direct outreach to key contacts is still the heart of our profession. Social media can help us be better at this important work. Unfortunately, however, for all the talk of “digital diplomacy,” the State Department’s regulations stand in the way. Current Foreign Affairs Manual regulations require any State Depart- ment employee posting anything to a social media site that relates to a matter “of official concern” to go through the same clearance process that would gov- ern a media appearance or a published op-ed. This is a shockingly vague rule, one that I have been told in training covers even posting quotes from official State Department statements or links to articles that support U.S. policy. It is a rule so vague that any diplomat with a Facebook account will confirm that nearly every one of us violates it on a daily basis. If you think of Twitter as the digital equivalent of a newspaper, then it makes sense to try to maintain control