State Dept sees diplomatic potential in SMS

Bergin said
texting can a very good channel for citizens that feel
unsafe speaking out loud about certain issues. For example, last fall
the State Department began working with Mexican authorities to develop a
channel for citizens to report crimes via text messages.

When asked if the Department has any policy on foreign citizens using
social media to question their own government such as the widely-cited
use of Twitter during last year’s Iranian protests, Bergin seemingly
endorsed the practice.

“I personally think these technologies are empowering for people,
they allow them to have a voice,” Bergin said. “Some people will use it
for expressing their politicla views and that’s not a bad thing.”

Bergin
also pointed to an example from President Obama’s recent trip to Africa
where the State Department collected more than 200,000 questions from
Africans via instant messaging and texts. The questions were later posed
to Obama by African journalists on a podcast.

“Our goal is to
give a voice and open a dialogue to as many people as we can,” Bergin
said. “Having innovations from other places besides the West is really
exciting.”