US Embassy Press Officer Karin Czerny on Social Media Communications in Vienna

Dr. Karin H. Czerny, Head of the Press Section at the United States Embassy in Vienna and Eva Muhm, Director of the American Reference Center at the United States Embassy in Vienna talk about communicating US interests via mainstream news media and social media in Austria.

 

00:34 – An introduction to the featured guests on this podcast, and the context of the conversation.

 

00:49 – Internet penetration and blogging culture in Vienna, Austria compared to other countries.

 

01:21 – The use of the social web during political campaigns and political bloggers.

 

03:53 – The conference on The Future of Journalism, organized at Amerika Haus by the US Embassy in Vienna.

 

04:39 – Use of the US Embassy in Vienna’s website to post press releases and announcements.

 

05:36 – The solvency and reach of newspapers versus online news in Vienna, and who reads what.

 

07:57 – Using a recent student protest as an example of how people are organizing and communicating online, the guests discuss the use of emerging media channels to communicate effectively on behalf of the US in Austria.

 

08:44 – How the US Embassy in Vienna is using social media to communicate such as Facebook page, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter, and what they hope to achieve through these channels.

 

10:46 – The social media strategy driving the US Embassy in Vienna’s engagement, and how they decide what information should be distributed through their different online communications channels.

 

11:41 – The biggest challenges associated with communicating on behalf of the US Embassy in Vienna.

 

13:49 – Unique characteristics and requirements of communicating with the Austrian mindset.

 

17:02 – Whether or not the mainstream news media coverage and online discussion of the US domestic health care reform debate has impacted the credibility of our foreign policy decisions in the international community.

 

18:49 – A discussion of the types of topics and speakers that the US Embassy is hosting in Vienna.

 

21:15 – Hopes and expectations for the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.

 

22:10 – The social media readiness of Vienna compared to other European Countries.

 

23:29 – End

 

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Eric Schwartzman (@ericschwartzman) is an independent new media and social media communications consultant, the creator of the top-rated New Media and Social Media Boot Camp, which has been attended by more than a thousand public relations and marketing executives from the private, public, government and nonprofit sectors. In addition to advising clients on best practices for online newsroom design, deployment and management, Schwartzman offers a portfolio of social media training courses to accelerate the acquisition of social media communication skills, as well as social media strategy and campaign support.  Schwartzman is also the founder of online newsroom software as a service provider iPressroom.

 

This episode was recorded at the US Embassy in Vienna.  Special thanks to Greg Goble and Brigitte Pressler for their support with this episode.