Recently in Admin Category

I will be in DC next week to conduct the Information as Power seminar (there is still space to enroll), present at the open meeting of the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (see link for information on attending), speak with a class at National Defense University, and for several other meetings. I'll be back in Los Angeles in time to teach my public diplomacy class at the University of Southern California (syllabus, 189kb PDF).

As such, blogging will be slim over the next week. As always, guest posts are welcome. I'm particularly interested in commentary on the QDR, the latest DSB report (seriously?), and the potential impact the recent Supreme Court decision on political speech on global engagement, specifically on the public diplomacy "firewall" and influence by non-US interests (have you seen this?).

Three posts on public diplomacy, strategic communication, global engagement, or whatever you and your tribe calls empowering and encouraging others to share common cause now or when necessary in the future.

• The Real Psychological Operation for Afghanistan

  We must understand and undermine the real mechanisms that empower the enemy and take “aggressive actions to win the important battle of perception.”

• Reorganizing Government to meet hybrid threats posted at the Stimson Center’s Budget Insight Blog

  Nine years ago we went to war with the enemy we had, not the enemy we wanted. For several years after 9/11 we struggled to comprehend how military superiority failed to translate into strategic victory.

• A Global Call to Arms in the Virtual Century, a guest post by Carson T. Checketts

  An active, educated and dynamic vigilance is required by our world's citizens to intercept the individuals and groups who (like pariahs) feed off hateful, bigoted and narrow ideologies to the detriment of everyone.

It’s been quiet here on the blog for several reasons, including a Christmas holiday. Of course, the news hasn’t stopped but I am focusing on clearing a few writing assignments off the desk that will be published elsewhere (I will post links to them when they come out). Among the items on the plate: a recent Congressional Research Service report on public diplomacy (18 December 2009) and required comments on this week’s Walter Pincus article on strategic communication. 

Stay tuned. I hope you’re enjoying the downtime / quiet time.

MountainRunner may not have a daily readership of thousands but it does reach a unique and critical audience. For every comment on the blog there are 3-5 offline (email) comments. This audience includes the media, such as Al Kamen and Spencer Ackerman, authors, such as Bing West (The Strongest Tribe and Tom Barnett (Great Powers), the Departments of State and Defense, and Congress (more citations are at the About page). This blog also has a global audience. The image below shows some of the visitors to the blog during November 2009.

Here ends the self-promotion minute…

I’ve been in DC since Sunday and haven’t had the time (or energy) to blog. I may write something tonight or tomorrow on the plane home, but more than likely not until Monday afternoon (Los Angeles time). A symposium and a conference bookend the trip, with my teaching seminar and (off the record) meetings fill the between time. 

By the way, if you think my seminar on understanding and engaging in the “now media” environment is interesting, then you’ll probably find this of interest as well.

If you are new to the blog, I suggest you explore not just what’s on the front page (including the “pinned” items at the top of the front page) but also the “Featured Posts” available from the menu bar of the blog. While all archived posts on this blog are worthwhile reading repeatedly, the Featured Posts are in some way exceptional, either because of discussions they created or shaped (online or offline) or because the content remains timely. The list is intentionally kept short, so items will drop off over time. Of course, there’s also the “popular” article Hitting Bottom at Foggy Bottom to read if you missed it before (see also this related post).

The silence on the blog has been unintentionally long. I had planned to post this week while at a conference/workshop this week, but it just didn't happen. Today's an abbreviated day for me so I am focusing on correspondence not done while on the plane home. Blogging will resume over the weekend (likely) and return in force next week.

What's coming:

• Posting one of two documents mentioned in the "What is Propaganda?", a post that itself generated quite a conversation. Dennis Murphy took some of the steam out of the document posting when he quoted it, so I waited for the second document to surface but so far it hasn't.
• A more detailed review of "An Ever-Expanding War: Legal Aspects of Online Strategic Communication" that received only a cursory mention here.
• I'll also comment on articles by Craig, Steve, and others
• I will be in DC Nov 9-13 for two conferences and to teach. I will promote the evening course I'm teaching, Understanding and Engaging Now Media, again next week. An updated course outline is here. If you haven't registered but are interested, let me know. There is space but next week I will start sending out material to read and watch to prep for the course. Do contact me if you have any challenges or questions on registration. On that Monday and Tuesday, I'll be at iDiplomacy and on Thursday at Homeland Security's Wicked Problems: Developing a Research Agenda for Homeland Security as a Risk Communication panelist.

I’ll be in Washington, DC, next week – Wednesday through Friday. On Friday, I’ll be at a special luncheon at the State Department remembering and commemorating a man that was instrumental in almost every significant event that helped transform the US from an isolated nation to a superpower: George C. Marshall. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Army Chief of Staff George W. Casey will give remarks and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates will receive the George C. Marshall Foundation Award. Clinton, Gates, and Casey each occupy a position previously held by Marshall, a five-star General of the Army. (See also The Intended 'Psychological By-Products' of Development.)

I’ll also be on the Hill Thursday for meetings.

I’m back and getting back in the saddle. Did very little work while in Korea the last nearly two weeks. Now it’s catch up time. Look for blogging to resume later today.

Due to travel, there will be no posting until 4 October. If you haven’t already, check out the posts below (additional comments in italics) as well as explore other previous posts through the Archives or through the categories in the bottom left of the page. 

Two administrative items to share:

First, I will be in Korea 23 September – 4 October with limited online access. During this time, updates to the blog are unlikely.

Second, I am forming a non-profit organization to own and operate www.MountainRunner.us. This is the best path to continue the blog as well as move it forward. I am open to suggestions on organizations that may be interested in funding this niche enterprise – email me.

I will be traveling and not posting until next week. Be sure to read the updated House Appropriations Concerned Pentagon's Role in Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy (a few additional comments plus the Senate Armed Services Committee’s from their report on the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010). I will be on email.

Remember the post where I asked for help coding locations? The dataset was the Twitter followers of America.gov as of one day last week, publically available through the Twitter API. I suggest you read the comments on post Question: what does it mean if the demographic of two-thirds of your audience is not your target demographic?.

Recent posts be sure to read:

• Guest Book Review: Drugs and Contemporary Warfare
• Guest Post: Superfriends and the Strategic Communication Continuum
• Most popular entries on MountainRunner according to you
• What is the purpose of Public Diplomacy if not to influence?
• Broadcasting Board of Governors: empty seats at the public diplomacy table (which should have been in the popular entries list above if I updated that list)
• In America? Smith-Mundt means no SMS updates on the President's Ghana speech for you! (Be sure to read the comments)
• Guest Post: China's Image Marketing: How Well Can Confucius Do?
• Guest Post: Explaining Why Afghanistan Matters - Whose Job Is It? (Be sure to read the comments)
• Also of interest should be this 3-pager (if you print the PDF) titled Smith-Mundt: Myths, Facts, and Recommendations.

The list below are the most popular entries based on those who have clicked on the star that appears at the top of each post here on MountainRunner. Since some of you thought these were important posts, I’ll highlight them below for those who missed them. The highest rated is first.

• Senate Foreign Relations Committee Report on American public diplomacy centers and programs
• Broadcasting Board of Governors: empty seats at the public diplomacy table
• Comment on Judith McHale's talk at CNAS
• Judith McHale at CNAS: Public Diplomacy: A National Security Imperative
• RAND Report: Whither Strategic Communication?
• Going Global Means Thinking Domestic Too
• Comparing the Areas of Responsibility of State and Defense (Updated)
• Guest Post: How to win the GWOT - or whatever it's called today
• Guest Post: Congress Takes a Step Forward in Preparing Future Generations of America for the Global Age

An example of crowdsourcing, these aren’t necessarily the most read entries, but the most liked by those who knew the purpose of and took the time to click the star.

I still have limited access to (or interest in) the Internet right now so talk amongst yourselves. Expect to see a report I contributed to appear on this blog later (probably Monday) that has been cleared for public release, as well as several other posts I hope you’ll find interesting.

First the renewed call for guest posts. I’ll be traveling (see below) so this is a great time for guest posts on MountainRunner. If you’re interested but don’t know where to start, think of the post as an op-ed with hyperlinks. The length should be between 600-1200 words and it should address something related to global engagement, like communications, exchange, health, aid, etc. However, you’re the creative one so don’t let my list constrain you. Send your idea, your draft, or your completed post to blog@mountainrunner.us.

Second, now that I’ve asked you to email me, I may be slow in responding. This Wednesday I will be in Potomac, MD, for a workshop, followed by London for an IO Conference, and then to join my wife and kids in Hawaii for a family vacation until July 4. However, I do plan the occasional post and will (eventually) respond to email.

I’m proud to say that as of June 1, 2009, I will be a member of the National Press Club. This interesting and welcome addition to the resume is thanks in large part to several reporters at “old” media who gave me recommendations based on the value of this blog plus sponsorship by a Director of Communication at DHS who is an NPC member.

This is probably a good time to mention that I am also proud to be a member of The Public Diplomacy Council and the International Institute of Strategic Studies.