Internet - Head of State Department's International Information Programs discusses webchats

Alexander Feldman, coordinator for International Information Programs (IIP)

Interactive webchats are quickly becoming an important way for the United States to reach out and discuss significant issues with people around the world, a State Department official told participants during an August 18 Internet chat.

“Our introduction of IIPChat is a direct result of our desire to interact more with our audiences,” said Alexander Feldman, coordinator for International Information Programs (IIP).

Since June, IIP has held several interactive Internet chats on such diverse topics as Uzbekistan, environmental protection, human rights, U.S. foreign aid, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

One great benefit of webchat technology, according to Feldman, is that it allows people to participate from anywhere in the world.

This flexibility was evident during Feldman’s dialogue, when a large majority of the online audience was from Central Asia.

A participant from Turkmenistan asked about the future of the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP), which provides free Internet access, training, and assistance in Web site development for thousands of people in Central Asia, the Caucasus and Western Eurasia. Additional information about IATP is available on the International Research and Exchanges Board Web site.

Feldman said IATP has been very successful. He said there is enough funding to continue the program for 18 more months, “and more money is being sought through the Freedom Support Act [Public Law 102-511, October 24, 1992] to keep it going.”

Feldman noted that some U.S. embassies have hosted webchats that are targeted to local audiences and are very focused for local interests. IIPChats, in contast, “tend to have broader interest and be aimed at larger audiences across many countries.”

There have been “anywhere from 25-50 live participants; and upwards of 300 have viewed the chats on-demand after they are finished,” he said. These are promoted through emails and telephone calls, as well as notices on IIP’s main Web site and Europe-Eurasia Web site.

IIP will continue to offer narrowcasts targeted at specific groups as well as broadcast webchats, he said.

“Sometimes the most useful chats might be with a small number of very interested participants. Success can’t be measured with numbers alone in this case,” Feldman noted.

IIP is also beginning to offer webcasting, which has both a video and audio component, he said. One recent success was a webcast with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Korean Internet journalists in Seoul, South Korea, in March.

“Over 150,000 Koreans viewed a webcast with Secretary Rice,” Feldman said, adding that the large audience was due in part to advance marketing by Media Daum, a Korean Internet portal, which partnered with the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to offer the webcast.

Asked about chats in different major world languages, Feldman said IIP is looking at the possibility “based on a number of factors, including the ability of both the moderator and participants to converse in a particular language, the size of the audience and the significance of the subject matter.”

He said IIP wants to interact more with audiences and -- as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes has said -- “to have conversations rather than monologues.”

Once a participant registers for a webchat, he or she does not have to register again, Feldman emphasized. Participants do not have to give their last names.

IIP’s upcoming webchats include:

• Ihsan Alkhatib, president of the Detroit chapter board of the American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee and a member of the ADC Michigan advisory board, on Muslim integration in the United States and Europe (September 7);

•Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at Hudson Institute, on the spread of freedom (September 21); and

• Gary Weaver, executive director of the International Management Institute at American University, on immigrant identity and integration into a multi-cultural society (September 28).

If you would like to participate in a future chat and have not registered, please send an e-mail to iipchat@state.gov. If you have already participated in one of our discussions, there is no need to register again. Just use the same user name and password.

Following is the transcript of the IIPChat with Alex Feldman:

U.S. Department of State

Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP)

Internet Chat

August 18, 2005

IIP Moderator:

Good morning, afternoon or evening to all our guests.

Please take a look at some of our earlier chats. They are Ending China Arms Embargo Would Send Wrong Signal, Scholar Says, U.S. Discusses Policies Toward Uzbekistan after Andijan Violence, U.S. Automobile, Factory Emissions Cut by More than Half Since 1970, Human Rights "Extremely Important" to U.S., Says Delegate to UNCHR, International Development Expert Discusses U.S. Foreign Aid and

U.S. Supreme Court Is Topic of U.S.-Europe Internet Chat.

We have some questions already and can begin. Mr. Feldman will make an initial comment.

Alex Feldman: Good afternoon or evening for most of you. It's great of you to spend some time with us this morning. I am most interested in your feedback about chats in general, IIP chats to date, and your ideas of how we could make chats better for you. I look forward to your comments and to us having a good hour together.

Barbara Conaty [IIP Information Resource Officer based in Moscow]: These first IIP webchats have been appealing because of the high quality of the speakers. Yet the format seems a bit sterile, a ‘cool medium’ in [Marshall] McLuhan's terms. What else can be going on during the chat to enliven the period while experts and/readers are keying in Q & A’s. Display relevant maps? charts? In a multi-tasking era, it is difficult to wait patiently during the live session.

Alex Feldman: We are trying to do that. Look at our most recent chat and you will see that the IIP moderator added many links in between answers.

Geldiyew: What virus safety precautions can be taken during online chats?

Alex Feldman: I am not a computer engineer, and we will have someone look into this and hopefully get back to you by the end of the chat, but you should definitely start with having updated virus software active and running on your computer.

Barbara Conaty: Time zones … here in Russia, it is 0030 when it is 0830 in DC. We will rarely if ever be able to participate live in the IIPChat. Would it be possible to introduce a video element of the live chat to the archived chat so that "viewing" it later still has an interactive feel to it?

Alex Feldman: Yours is a good suggestion. Of course, because of time differences, we always encourage participants to sent their questions in advance.

We are also working on webcasting, offering both a video and audio component.

Barbara Conaty: Returning again to the "live" vs. archived version: those viewers who come to the chat the next day are not able to participate in any way. One of the fascinating parts of the blog society is that matters can be commented on again and again. Is there potential for IIPChat to take on a sort of "thread" profile so that experts might come back two or three times so that a topic can be explored over time, as in a blog?

Alex Feldman: Is there potential - yes. The challenge we have is with the availability of our guests. Most of our guests are not government employees. They are experts in a variety of fields who are very busy and are kind enough to share an hour of their time. It is difficult to ask them to come back again and again. I am sure some would be willing, but the logistics would be difficult.

We have been trying to speed up the answers and keep the information flowing. If you look at our most recent web discussion with John Yoo of the University of California, who wrote [during the chat] about the U.S. Supreme Court, you will notice that the moderator added useful facts and links to information while Mr. Yoo was typing or thinking about his answers.

Anna Juda: How many participants have previous chat had?

Alex Feldman: Previous chats for IIP which are narrowcast -- meaning we have an invite only and not open to everyone on the internet -- have had anywhere from 25 to 50 live participants; and upwards of 300 have viewed the chats on-demand after they are finished. This type of ratio of live to on-demand is normal for both webchats and webcasts.

Byashim: Hi! I am from Dashoguz, Turkmenistan. Mr. Feldman, how do you evaluate the progress of IATP program? As you know, we discuss a number of topics such as human rights, democracy, etc. And why does the U.S. government want to stop funding programs like IATP which is only place in Turkmenistan where people can participate in online discussions?

Alex Feldman: For those who may not know, the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State. IATP consists of a network of Internet access sites located throughout 11 countries of Eurasia. Through these sites, thousands of individuals per month receive free-of-charge access to the Internet as well as to a wide variety of computer-related training programs. IREX [International Research & Exchange Board]-administered IATP access sites are located in the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

This has been a very successful program. IREX evaluates it and provides us reports. You can see some of these at http: //www.iatp.net/. There is enough funding for the IATP program for 18 more months, and more money is being sought through the Freedom Support Act to keep it going. So right now, I can't make any predictions. I know that many of you writing in today had training or help from IATP, and that is proof of its success.

Elena: How should the moderator solve the problem of poor participant behavior? (Turkmenistan)

Alex Feldman: So far, we have not had any bad behavior in any of our webchats. However, there always is a chance that we may have a problem, and it is the duty of the moderator to try to keep bad behavior from happening on our chats. The moderator's job is to screen out inappropriate language and questions.

Barbara Conaty: How about language - any interest or capability to do IIPChats in other major languages of the world?

Alex Feldman: It is possible to do chats in languages and/or in translations, as this medium lends itself to those capabilities. However, we will look at doing this in the future based on a number of factors, including the ability of both the moderator and participants to converse in a particular language, the size of the audience and the significance of the subject matter. At this time, most chats will be in English.

Jennet: Good day for all. I am IATP access site administrator in Ashgabad, Turkmenistan, and here is my question. Would it be possible to make the registration process for chats less time-consuming, where the participants could register as guests as the registration process takes much time?

Alex Feldman: I know the registration can take a little time, but you are in luck. You can use this registration for any future IIP discussions, eliminating the need to go through the process again. We hope to hear from you on our next discussion.

David Bekham: How do you tell people about chats? Thank you for holding these chats.

Alex Feldman: Marketing chat is like marketing or promoting anything else. First you must know your audience. Once you know whom you are targeting and how large an audience you want to attract, you look at your options. Most of our webchats to date, because they are narrowcast, have been promoted by email and phone calls. However, if you are trying to attract larger audiences, partnering with large media and Internet companies is a very attractive route. We had great success with this idea for a webcast in [Seoul] Korea where over 150,000 Koreans viewed a webcast with Secretary Rice. Media Daum, our partner in Korea and one of the leading Internet portals, marketed the chat for a number of weeks online and in print.

Byashim: Hi. I am from Ashgabad, Turkmenistan. Are there statistics on the percentage of the use of chats in the Internet?

Alex Feldman: Chats are an important part of the Internet. Let me say, however, that what we are doing is more of a web discussion than a chat since we try to go into some depth. I don't have statistics about chats in general; however, our own Internet discussions tend to draw about 25 live, interactive participants on average. Several hundred more people participate passively, reading the comments without asking questions. For this discussion, we had approximately 35 pre-registered participants. I hope we can answer most of the questions.

Barbara Conaty: What about pitching IIPChat to groups, classes and clubs? Rather than a worldwide audience, it might be attractive to pitch an IIPChat to a group that already has a key constituency ready to rumble. What do you think?

Alex Feldman: In the next few months, IIP will be offering both narrow and broadcast chats. The two different types of chats will allow for targeting of specific groups/classes, as you've mentioned, as well as providing a venue for open dialogue among people all over the world.

We would invite any clubs that are interested to contact us. They can send an email to [iipchat@state.gov] with suggestions. We are open to any reasonable suggestions.

Shakhnoza: We like chats in Kazakhstan. Are you planning more chats on this part of the world?

Alex Feldman: Thanks, Kazakhstan! We love having you on our chats.

We have several chats coming up in the future. All will be open to people from Kazakhstan as well as other parts of the world.

They include: Ishan Al-Khatib, president of the Detroit chapter board of the American Arab anti-Discrimination Committee and a member of the ADC Michigan Advisory Board, on Muslim integration in the U.S. and Europe (September 7); Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, on the spread of freedom (September 21); and Gary Weaver, American University, on immigrant identity and integration into a multi-cultural society (September 28).

Byashim: I volunteer in the IATP access site in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. My question is what can you say about research on the study of the most-used chat programs so that the users as well the Internet will be aware of the users' interests and needs. If there is, which of them are the most popular?

Alex Feldman: There are a great variety of chats, ranging from those that talk about gossip to those that talk about esoteric sciences, so I will limit the discussion to our own chats. We have found that many of our "customers" are interested in more than one topic. Some of the same people have participated in many different chats. Of course, some are more general than others.

The good thing about the Internet is that we can address both general and special audiences. Sometimes the most useful chats might be with a small number of very interested participants. Success can't be measured with numbers alone in this case.

Lale: Do we have to provide our last names when we register for an IIP chat?

Alex Feldman: No, you do not have to provide your last name when registering.

Cameron: What are your ideas for chat in the future? Who will be speaking next?

Alex Feldman: Thanks for your question. We are very bullish on chat and hope to have more and more broadcast chats open to a wider audience with well-known experts and personalities.

Some of our upcoming chats include: Ishan Al-Khatib, president of the Detroit chapter board of the American Arab anti-Discrimination Committee and a member of the ADC Michigan Advisory Board, on Muslim integration in the U.S. and Europe (September 7); Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, on the spread of freedom (September 21); and Gary Weaver, American University, on immigrant identity and integration into a multi-cultural society (September 28).

Jacek: Do you have your guests in a studio or can they participate anywhere in the world?

Alex Feldman: The great thing about chats is that the technology allows everyone, including guests, to participate from anywhere in the world.

Lale: I noticed that sometimes U.S. Embassies around the world hold their own chats. What's the difference between those chats and IIP chats?

Alex Feldman: Embassy chats tend to targeted to a local audience and be very focused for local interests. IIPChats tend to have broader interest and be aimed at larger audiences across many countries, and because of this sometimes IIP is able to attract bigger names.

Anna Juda: How early before the chat do you plan its topic? Are you planning anything on U.S.-European relations in the near future?

Alex Feldman: Topics are generally planned a couple of weeks in advance, depending on the subject, how large the participant group should be, and where they're located. Nothing is planned on U.S.-European relations at the moment; however, it is a topic we hope to address in the near future.

Barbara Conaty: What the State Department and IIP are emphasizing in the united global message is not always what localities abroad are interested in. Is there potential in IIPChats to design topics and speakers that might touch high priority, urgent topics locally?

Alex Feldman: Please see my answers above. Yes, IIP can serve both general and specific audiences.

Barbara Conaty: When IIP develops new interactive methods for communicating with our many audiences via computer, which is the better strategy – the lowest common denominator that will display on almost any computer, or glitzy programming that uses sound, video and text all in one integrated stream? I ask because at my post, bandwidth concerns require any worker who wants to attach speakers to their computer to get permission from the control committee. So from the get-go, my best bet is to encourage IIP to use the lowest common denominator: text only. Yet the technology that builds interest and return visits is far out in front in terms of being attractive.

Alex Feldman: At IIP, we have to be able to get our information out in multiple ways. More and more people around the world have access to broadband and most computers these days come with speakers and audio capability. We are moving to exploit these capabilities and to offer more and more audio and video options over the Internet.

However, we realize that in other parts of the world, bandwidth and access to the Internet are limited and we are using webchat and printed materials to reach these audiences.

The bottom line is that I as the Coordinator of IIP must ensure we have the ability to reach all audiences in multiple ways. We are always looking for your ideas and feedback, and we appreciate your question.

[Anonymous]: You said you had 25-50 participants on chats. Is this enough people? Do you get enough questions?

Alex Feldman: With 25-50 participants, we always have more questions than we can answer in the time available.

Jacek: A big criticism of U.S. is that you don't listen to other people. How can this kind of chat help change this?

Alex Feldman: We have heard this criticism and are listening.

We have a speaker program that sends Americans around to speak live to audiences around the world and one that does the same thing by digital video conference. Both of these programs are intended for Americans to share their expertise and to respond to audience feedback.

Our introduction of IIPChat is a direct result of our desire to interact more with our audiences, and -- as our new Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes has said -- "to have conversations rather than monologues."

I would appreciate your feedback and ideas about whether chats help open the dialogue, and any other ideas you might have about how we, as Americans, can engage the world.

Anna Juda: With the more widely advertised chats do you have the possibility to monitor which countries the participants come from (for statistical purposes)?

Alex Feldman: Yes, it is possible to do this for most participants.

Thanks for your time today. There were so many great questions! Sorry if we did not get to yours.

We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and that it was time well spent.

We look forward to seeing you again on the next IIP Webchat!

Created: 19 Aug 2005 Updated: 22 Aug 2005