The Ambassador says….

“The idea of naked diplomacy is to focus on what we do best without all the paraphernalia, which is trying to stop people killing each other.”

Blogs under Pressure

Blogs in unlikely places? How about the outgoing British ambassador to Lebanon, who has maintained an astonishingly active social media presence, despite certain unique limitations which would stop most people in their tracks.

“The smartphone from which I tweet is also the device which terrorists can use to track me. For security reasons I always have to tweet from the car on the way to the next place. If I tweet from the place I am, I have to leave immediately.”

Breaking down Barriers

Tom Fletcher hates the ‘Ferrero Rocher’ image of cosseted diplomats and in an interview with the BBC discusses how social media can be used to break down these perceived barriers.

“You’re stripping away all of the garbage that goes with traditional diplomacy, the protocol and the titles and the platitudes”

Taking the Fight to the Enemy

However, blogs and social media are more than just a way of communicating in an approachable manner with a sceptical audience.

“Look at the way Islamic extremists – ISIL – use these digital channels to spread their message.”

By communicating in the same space as the extremists, Tom hopes to make a difference.

“If I can get through to the guy who’s tossing a coin as to whether to go and join a militia tomorrow, and he reads my blog and decides not to, I’m winning that battle against ISIL. This is another form of warfare.”

Naked diplomacy

I quite like this phrase ‘naked diplomacy’, which suggests everything stripped back to the essentials. This is what blogging is all about – communication.