Communicating in the fast lane

[rooster59]

Communicating in the fast lane

BANGKOK: Why more and more ambassadors are turning to the social media

WITH THAIS among the most prolific and savvy social media users in Southeast Asia, the best, indeed perhaps the only way for foreign expatriates to engage with them is to go online.

Statistics show that 24 million people in Thailand were on Facebook each day as of June 2015 and that last year, a daily total of 6.6 million tweets were posted by users in Thailand.

Little wonder then that foreign envoys to Thailand have jumped on the social network bandwagon and are now active on Twitter and Facebook as well as other apps.

Arriving in Thailand just a month ago, the new United States ambassador Glyn T Davies has already introduced himself to the tweeting Thais through his twitter account @GlynTDavies.

His tweets indicate that he is eager to learn about Thai culture and that he's probably fond of animals too, with photos on Twitter showing him playing with a police dog and getting up close and cosy with Isabel, the embassy's black-and-white cat, to celebrate National Cat Day in the US on October 30.

Graced by a photo collage of his activities in Thailand with a patterned Thai fabric as the background, Davies' twitter account is full of information on his and the embassy's activities. While much of this is work related, there's plenty of casual stuff too including photos of the local scenery during official trips as well as a image of Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai complete with a note that he climbed the 309 steps to "make a little merit".

Indeed several of his tweets have been about his trips to the provinces where he has visited cultural sites and tourist attractions, including Chatuchak market.

Davies feels that the social networks are an important tool to promote dialogue and to engage the public.

"I'm relatively new to social media. My approach to using social media is still evolving," says Davies, who currently has almost 1,900 followers on Twitter.

He does, however, insist of keeping old-fashioned ways of communication alive.

"I think it is essential to reach out through traditional, face-to-face interaction. This is the foundation of productive, longstanding relationships," he adds.

Another active social media user is British ambassador Mark Kent, who has been in Thailand for three years and will finish his term next year.

Kent has been enthusiastic about social media since 2009, when he was stationed in Vietnam, and that enthusiasm only increased after he relocated to the Kingdom in 2012. His account @KentBKK currently has almost 17,000 followers and he personally follows academics, international figures and leaders of several countries.

The British ambassador likes to write in both English and Thai. His tweets and retweets alternate between promoting of his country and the latest news on his favourite football team (Arsenal) as well as a recent report in British newspaper The Independent that crocodiles sleep with one eye open.

"By using social media, it's easy to reach out to public," he says, explaining how the embassy's messages on Twitter are retweeted and thus seen by a much wider group of people.

"What is certain is that it helps create connections. Some people want to meet me online when they discover that I'm also an Arsenal fan, for example."

His Twitter account also helps the embassy connect with its citizens during critical times, for example during the tragic murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao in 2014.

"It helped us provide consular advice to British tourists planning on coming to Thailand during that unfortunate time," Kent says. "And it's also useful in providing direct online travel advice."

But Kent hasn't given up on more traditional online platforms, among them the embassy's website (ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk) and his personal blog (blogs.fco.gov.uk/author/markkent)

"The website is a good source of information, for example it provides e-books. It also sets out our views on issues in greater depth," he says.

The embassy is planning to become even more connected by signing on for the photo-sharing application Instagram, using "Webinar" - short for web-based seminar - which allows seminars to transmitted over the Web using video conferencing and is also communicating with followers through its official Line account.

The newly arrived German ambassador Peter Pruegel, whose Twitter account is @PeterPruegel, is also a fan of that little blue bird, and says he regularly uses social media to follow the news.

"I like Twitter, It's a very quick way of communicating and getting information. I am also an active follower of interesting personalities and institutions on Twitter," says the ambassador, who began using this personal account when he took up office in Bangkok in September.

In an ever more interdependent world, diplomacy is going beyond official relations and reaching out to people at all levels and between all parts of society, he says. "That's why social media are gaining more importance. At the German Embassy we are using the networks more and more for our media and public relations activities.

"As ambassador I want to be as transparent and accessible as possible. For the sake of maximum transparency the embassy's general guideline is to publish any news and information that we deem interesting, useful or important for those who are engaged with our country or who are simply interested in what we do," he says.

"When it comes to accessibility, social media are excellent tools that help provide different target groups with the respective information they seek."

On his @PeterPruegel account, the German ambassador mostly shares his official activities such as when he meets with groups or ministers. His awareness of global issues can also be seen through his retweets in support of the United Nations.

He's culturally aware too, tweeting a photo of King Rama V during his visit to Germany in 1897 to mark Chulalongkorn Day on October 23.

Like other top diplomats, Pruegel mixes the formal with the informal, as evidenced in the shot of people dancing at his inauguration party and those of a performance by Germany's Gauthier Dance Stuttgart. He even retweeted Davies' photo of Isabel in a nod to the Americans on their National Cat Day.

But he too admits to enjoying traditional media, particularly the morning papers.

"Even though I find social media useful to get quick info about upcoming events and topics. I prefer reading in-depth articles or a good book to gain more insight into a given topic. As much as I appreciate and see the added value of social media, they cannot substitute - at least for me - traditional print media and I would hate to be without a good newspaper at the breakfast table," he says.

Like his fellow seniors diplomats, Indonesian ambassador Lutfi Rauf is another enthusiastic and active user of the social media both through his personal Facebook account and Komunitas Indonesia Di Thailand, which belongs to both the embassy and the Indonesian community in Thailand.

A Facebook user since 2008, Rauf likes to share and update his diplomatic activities and is an avid promoter of Indonesia's tourism opportunities through video. He also makes a point of taking group selfies wherever he happens to be visiting.

"I also share useful information, for example a warning of heavy rain in provincial areas, on the Komunitas Indonesia Di Thailand Facebook wall. There are around 3,000 Indonesians in Thailand. That's not a lot but it's my duty to look after them"

The ambassador prefers Facebook to Twitter - "there's no character limit," he chuckles - but does occasionally post messages through his personal post account @daenglutfi.

In his opinion, communication is important when it comes to diplomacy.

"Diplomacy cannot be disconnected from people as it is designed to serve the country and people. I see the social media as very useful in sharing perspectives with the public," Rauf says.

A former director of the Indonesian foreign ministry's information department, Rauf is well aware of the other, more negative, side of social media. He refers specifically to what he calls "a paradox of plenty" - the information overload that affects those who are permanently connected.

"I personally choose to share only good things that have value, education for example. That also helps me avoid negative thoughts online," he says.

"Critical thinking helps you deal with online content and decide whether what you are reading is factual or not."

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/sunday/Communicating-in-the-fast-lane-30272907.html

-- The Nation 2015-11-15

[nichol]

Well now we know why the service sector is getting worse time after time

the more social media platforms and apps that become available the worse the service sector is going to get

it has got to the stage now at a lot of bars where you have to wait for a drink until someone finishes on the phone

[Thailand]

Interesting how the foreign view of the social media compares to that of the ptb.

[thelonius]

and there was I thinking that perhaps this would be a damning critique on the dangers of using a mobile phone whilst driving. Oh well....................................

Edited November 15, 2015 by thelonius