President Obama Texts Africans: Follow Hillary!
EmailABC News’ Dana Hughes in Nairobi reports:
Ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's seven-nation trip to Africa this week, the Obama administration is texting all Africans (or non-Africans in Africa, like this reporter) who sent a question or comment during last month’s Ghana visit.
This time the administration isn’t asking to hear from Africans, but wants them to follow Hillary's trip on America.gov, Facebook, and Twitter using the searchable term #HillaryAfrica.
Thousands of Africans sent in questions before, during and after President Obama’s speech in Ghana. The president answered selected questions chosen from various African journalists in a podcast shortly after returning to Washington, D.C., but as an immediate response, anyone who registered received highlights of the speech, and will continue to receive updates from the administration.
The latest text message urged Africans to take note of Hillary’s trip. The text begins: “Following Obama’s historic trip, Sec. Clinton visits Africa.”
The text messages are part of the Obama administration’s push for using technology to reach global audiences, especially in Africa. Before the Ghana speech, the administration set up the text messaging service in both English and French, providing short codes for the sub-continent’s most populous countries. It worked; nearly every African country was represented in the responses. Here, text messaging is the cheapest and easiest form of communication. Telephone land-lines are expensive, internet connectivity is spotty outside of metropolitan areas, but cell phones can be found in even the most remote villages.
“I think that the enthusiasm of Africans, especially young people, to use technology to engage with us shows the very potential and promise of the continent that the president stressed in his speech,” Judith Michale, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs told reporters last month.
"Africans are as technologically capable and eager for connections with the world as any people on Earth,” Michale said.
– Dana Hughes
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At least Biden isn’t going…
Posted by: Crazy Old Joe | August 3, 2009, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm
It is nice to see our government setting up this kind of critical information infrastructure. The enemies of America thrive on controlling the local message. Anything we can do to get honest information out letting people know what America is really about is valuable regardless of who is in office.
Posted by: jhw539 | August 3, 2009, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm
America and Americans need to learn more about Africa (and indeed other parts of the world outside Europe). There’s a lot of ignorance in the US regarding Africa. The sooner the big networks are replaced as the major source of African News the better for everyone. By the way, Africans have been using text messaging before it became popular in the US, for the simple reason cited in this story.
Posted by: George | August 3, 2009, 1:46 pm 1:46 pm
Unfortunately one of the key allies of USA Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia keeping the people in total technological darkness by blocking any development in the phone and IT sector as well as blocking the existing mobile texting use and Internet sites essentially block the people from communicating with each other. Independent media is none existent and those that are operating are either affiliated with the ruling clique or allowed to exist under scorching threat draconian media rules only as a show case for western donners without any substance.
Posted by: beles | August 3, 2009, 3:14 pm 3:14 pm
No offense, but I am tired of hearing about Africa. CNN has become BET.
Posted by: Susan | August 3, 2009, 3:18 pm 3:18 pm
I dont know which Africans you are talking. This is part of the problem here. The western press always get the views of white South Africans as ‘African’ view. It’s no surprise that the western press’ views of Africa are negative.
The Obama administration is making the same problem. In South Africa, the chose a white journalist representing white media as person to select text messages to send to Obama. It’s no wonder 99% of those texts were from white people there.
Why is to difficult to listen to real Africans for once?
Posted by: John B Mal | August 3, 2009, 3:53 pm 3:53 pm
Wow! This president is soooo tech savvy. Texting, huh?
“The western press always get the views of white South Africans as ‘African’ view.”
Aren’t white South Africans considered ‘African’?
Posted by: Blue Skies | August 3, 2009, 7:20 pm 7:20 pm
Americans please leave us alone. Stop supporting dictators like Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and then we will be better off.
Posted by: Michael | August 4, 2009, 2:32 am 2:32 am
PRESIDENT OBAMA I Am the one electing you to bring peace for the wholl world.you started to disappointing me.
why you and your state department members are against eritrean government
why they are against this people.why they don,t try to know the truth.
please do something insteadblaming eritrea for suppting somali peoplel
not fair. we need peace for ever
Posted by: AKLILU | August 4, 2009, 3:32 am 3:32 am
If someone was born in Africa they are African, otherwise they are not.
Posted by: mj | August 5, 2009, 3:18 pm 3:18 pm
It is time that Esayas needs some punishment to come to his mind and indulge himself to something that benefits his country and poor people. For how long he keeps on destabilising his neighbours as well as suffering his people.
Posted by: Daniel | August 7, 2009, 2:43 am 2:43 am