21st Century Bypasses Embassy Baghdad

January 13, 2012

Tags: Alec Ross, Facebook, Public Diplomacy, Tweet, Twitter
Posted in: Embassy/State, Iraq

Crowing about how State is now the cool kids to eat lunch with, spokescoolperson Victoria Nuland held the first Twitter briefing of 2012 as part of “January is 21st Century Statecraft Month” (February will be “IBM Selectric Month.”) Ms. Nuland noted that “more than 100 of our embassies have Facebook or Twitter accounts, or sometimes both,” meaning there are still more accounts in my daughter’s high school lunch room than at State worldwide. Since the tech has been around for a century, maybe the rest of the posts can sign up soon– it’s free to join LOL 🙂 LMAO!

One mission that just can’t seem to get Tweeting is the World’s Largest Embassy (c), Baghdad, still without a first Tweet. Or maybe that’s a fake account, like all those “Ashton Kutcher” Twitter feeds that just want to sell you Uggs or something, or maybe they have prioritized for a robust MySpace. The Embassy has a nice Facebook page for study in the US (a lot of Iraqis would like to get on that train; almost all of the postings are asking for visas, scholarships or for someone to answer their emailed requests for visas and scholarships) and a YouTube channel, though the latter may run afoul of State’s own master of social media Alec Ross, who said recently “I just don’t think propaganda works on social media, at all.” lulz 😉 #SMH

Anyway, I think we can help the World’s Largest Embassy (c) get started on Twitter. Here are a few Tweets they could send out to the Iraqis to get things going:

Anyone out there can help us w/ the Twitter? Ours stops after 140 characte

@IraqiPeeps Pls stop killing each other. #OurInvestment

@IraqiPeeps Really, stop it.

@Basra Can we haz the oil now pls? #OurInvestment

@Blackwater Can you return Amb limo? Also last time trunk had empty beer bottles, so pls clean, thx.

How many Iraqis to screw in lightbulb? Zero. No power. #PRT #Reconstruction

@TheRealSeanPenn Rethought it, maybe you can help. #Reconstruction

@Hashemi Sorry, apts here all full, try Erbil #Sunni #Kurd #Shia

@USEmbassyBaghdad RT Send lawyers, guns and money #Hashemi

All yer bases belong to us. Oh, wait, not any more. #SOFA

@JulianAssange Can’t find Amb memo re: Mosul dated 04/01/2010 anywhere– do u have a copy? #Wikileaks

@Sadr Bday party at Baghdaddy’s Fri, no rockets after 9pm pls, ‘k? #Democracy

Travel Warning: Instant cappuccino maker at Sully still broken. #15% #25% #35%

@Qods It’s not terrorism when we do it, only when you do it #Carbombsunderscientists

@Malaki Really really apologize for last night. Meant Iran, not Iraq. #Toomuchtodrink #Girlfriendz

Q: Five-day forecast for Baghdad? A: Two days. #Sunni

Sorry to all for trouble, Emb cafeteria menu site now no longer auto-redirects to wemeantwell.com

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