International "Twitter Diplomacy"

Hi all! I copied and pasted this article from the Foreign Policy Passport blog because the direct link was broken. It is about the use of Twitter by heads of state and the diplomatic underpinnings of who's following who. It's not only an interesting look at the political power of social media, but also an interesting showcase of the influence of "soft power." The more Twitter followers a leader has, the more charismatic he is perceived as being, and the more charismatic he is perceived as being, the more Twitter followers he gains! Clearly the application of good public relations skills by leaders of state are essential for building "soft power." I wonder who polices these Twitters, or if the leaders actually post them...?

Obama still winning in Twitter power - By Andrew Swift

by Andrew Swift

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President Barack Obama may be hurting from midterm electoral defeats, but he should take solace that he is, in international relations Twitter circles, by far the most popular kid on the block. In fact, for International Relations Twitter Theorists, Obama's global influence is in fact understated.

Eleven leaders among the G-20 countries -- the cool kids lunchtable, if you will -- are on Twitter. Matthias Lüfkens, the "social media architect at the World Economic Forum," first noticed the relevance of Twitter ties between respective world leaders. Techcrunch first posted his findings here, but it remains to be seen whether the G-20 meetings prove the accuracy of his work.

Not surprisingly, Obama is top dog. With 5.5 million Twitter followers, it's clear that the general public adores him. (Note: that number is for Obama's campaign/Organizing for America account; the official White House account is hereafter the Obama account referenced.) But the circle of world leaders that follow him is explanatory too. Want evidence of the Russian reset? Obama and the official account of Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev mutually follow each other. (Both mutually follow another world leader, British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron.) Indeed, Obama jokingly referred to his Twitter relationship with Medvedev, saying in June, "I have one [an account] as well, so we may be able to finally throw away those 'red phones' that have been sitting around for so long."

(Medvedev also recently engaged in a little Twitter provocation by commenting on his trip to the disputed Kuril Islands, which Japan also claims.)

Twitter follows also indicate that the French may still be hesitant about the new defense pact they signed with Britain: While Cameron's Twitter account followed the official account of French President Nicolas Sarkozy during the Nov. 2 joint summit, Elysee has yet to reciprocate. In fact, @Elysee does not follow a single user, breaking virtually every rule, either written or un-written, in Twitter diplomacy.

Need more evidence of Twitter power's existence? The account of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is followed by Cameron and Medvedev -- but not by Obama. Twitter watchers could therefore have predicted beforehand that Canada would fail to retain its seat on the United Nations Security Council, since it clearly is not cool enough to hang with the U.S.

But in another part of the Twittersphere, with over 1,000,000 followers, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is clearly the most popular global alternative to Obama's hegemony. And while both the Mexican and Russian presidents tweeted their congratulations at Brazilian president-elect Dilma Rousseff's victory, Chavez demonstrated his shrewd diplo-Twitter skills by following Rousseff, clearly trying to establish good relations with the new kid on the block.