Monday, July 19, 2010

The Queen & I

After much panicking (admittedly a bit unfounded), I have joined the ranks of the employed!!  In fact, I have joined the minority of folks who actually use their degree!  This is indeed rare across all degree fields, and I couldn't be happier. Every since I learned about what Public Diplomacy was, I've loved the field.  I became a PD believer from the start, learning all the different PD tools that could be used from international politics to international business. I would like to offer myself as proof of the value of the USC Master's in Public Diplomacy program, as it was my distinguished Director, Nick Cull who notified me of the position and the valuable classes which prepared me for the job.

As Communications Officer for the British Consulate-General in Los Angeles, I will be managing, among other things, the Digital Diplomacy strategy. This includes the Consulate website, Facebook and Twitter feed. I am pleasantly surprised to discover the social media savviness, or, at least, receptiveness of the Foreign and Common Wealth Office. But like many, I am scrambling to devour every piece of literature about using social media in public diplomacy. It's easy to end up spamming your audience and turn them away. There is truly an art to Digital Diplomacy, and I have been charged with mastering it. I look forward to my social media mandate for the Queen's government. I'll keep you posted on what I learn -- literally.

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