[LINK] Twiplomacy

[Stephen Loosley]

http://twiplomacy.com

World leaders vie for attention, connections and followers on Twitter, that’s the latest finding of Burson-Marsteller’s Twiplomacy study 2014, an annual global study looking at the use of Twitter by heads of state and government and ministers of foreign affairs.

While some heads of state and government continue to amass large followings, foreign ministers have established a virtual diplomatic network by following each other on the social media platform.

For many diplomats Twitter has becomes a powerful channel for digital diplomacy and 21st century statecraft and not all Twitter exchanges are diplomatic, real world differences are spilling over reflected on Twitter and sometimes end up in hashtag wars.

“I am a firm believer in the power of technology and social media to communicate with people across the world,” India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in his inaugural message on his new website. Within weeks of his election in May 2014, the @NarendraModi account has become the third most followed Twitter account of world leaders with close to 7.6 million followers and counting.

More than half of the world’s foreign ministers and their institutions are active on the social networking site. Twitter has become an indispensable diplomatic networking and communication tool. As Finnish Prime Minister @AlexStubb wrote in a tweet in March 2014: “Most people who criticize Twitter are often not on it. I love this place. Best source of info. Great way to stay tuned and communicate.”

As of 4 November 2014, the vast majority (83 percent) of the 193 UN member countries have a presence on Twitter. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of all heads of state and heads of government have personal accounts on the social network ...


http://twiplomacy.com/info/oceania/australia

Australia

In Australia it is the prime ministers who have been spearheading the Twitter activity of the government with @KevinRuddPM in October 2008. Kevin Rudd changed his Twitter handle to @KRuddMP when he was replaced by @JuliaGillard and is now tweeting as @MrKRudd. As his predecessors, the new Prime Minister Tony Abbott, sworn in on 18 September 2013, is tweeting from his personal handle.

 
The Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott “took the Twitter plunge” on 2 September 2009 right after becoming the leader of the Liberal Party @TonyAbbottMHR. “Thanks for all your support. It is greatly appreciated” was his first tweet. Prime Minister Abbott tweets on average once a day mostly on his institutional agenda, speeches, missions abroad and shares a large number of photos but since his election it is rare to see him without jacket and tie. The account is very conversational with half of the tweets including a mention and 25% being @replies. During the election campaign he directly engaged with his followers in Q&A sessions through the most used hashtag #asktony but it has never been used since he became prime minister. Over 80% of his tweets have been retweeted and the recent tweet of congratulations to newly elected Indian President @NarendraModi is the most popular one so far.

Tweet analytics (as of November 2014)
Tweets:	1,851
Following:	30,937
Followers:	360,255
Joined Twitter: 	12/01/2009
Language: 	English
Status: 	Active
Tweets/day: 	1.03
Retweets: 	5%
Mentions/Tweet: 	0.48
Replies/Tweet: 	0.23
Tweets retweeted: 	84%
Most mentioned	@bridgetabbott (14), @abbott_frances (10), @JoeHockey (9), @TheTodayShow (8), @AbeShinzo (8), @CarersAustralia (8), @TonyAbbottMHR (7), @JulieBishopMP (6), @theqldpremier (6), @theheraldsun (6)

First tweet

    Thanks for all your support. It is greatly appreciated!
    — Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) December 2, 2009

Most popular tweet

    I've spoken to @narendramodi and congratulated him on his success. I look forward to strengthening ties between India and Australia
    — Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) May 16, 2014



The Foreign Minister of Australia Julie Bishop

Compliant with the Australian Government’s social media policy, the first female Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, engages with her audience on Twitter directly through her personal account. An early adopter, she made her debut on the Twittersphere in November 2009, while serving as shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, by criticizing the then Prime Minister Rudd: “Another Question Time where the PM evades scrutiny on his mismanagement of border protection”. @JulieBishopMP tweets, 1.6 times per day, from her iPad and iPhone about her agenda, institutional commitments and to get her political messages across. Her Twitter feed is very visual with photos from missions, conferences and official meetings but few behind the scene images. Bishop’s account, which has been hacked in March 2013, is very interactive and engages in conversations with other users: from the total number of tweets 25% are @replies, 30% are retweets and a mention is included in every other tweet. “Thanks”, “Australia”, “meeting” are among the most used words in her Twitter feed. Her most retweeted tweet is again a criticism of former Prime Minister Rudd in August 2013: “KRudd can't even keep basic promise on 'no notes' for #debate as he read his opening speech closing speech and most of it in between!”

Tweet analytics (as of November 2014)
Tweets:	3,506
Following:	943
Followers:	82,162
Joined Twitter: 	11/14/2009
Language: 	English
Status: 	Active
Tweets/day: 	2.47
Retweets: 	42%
Mentions/Tweet: 	0.44
Replies/Tweet: 	0.21
Tweets retweeted: 	42%
Most mentioned	@JulieBishopMP (86), @WestCoastEagles (27), @TonyAbbottMHR (22), @dfat (15), @latikambourke (15), @NationalTimesAU (13), @LowyInstitute (13), @KRuddMP (11), @HarryJ_MP (11), @LiberalAus (10)

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Cheers,
Stephen
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