Why MI6 Is Now On Instagram
Think tanks have a problem.
Come to “think” of it - so do government agencies, politicians, NGOs and the like.
(Yes, pun absolutely intended...)
The problem with think tanks (and government agencies) actually has nothing to do with “thinking.” Ideas are abundant among so many smart people and the breadth and depth of analysis and insights are unrivalled.
No - the issue with think tanks is different.
They have a media problem.
More specifically, they have an image and communication problem.
The ultimate proof of this is the simple fact under the onslaught of populism, smart ideas, facts and figures are all dismissed as weak, untrue and more importantly - uninteresting.
While many commentators know this deep down and they deplore how many people despise the smart things that academics, intellectuals and government technocrats come up with, these same commentators - many of them working a big-name news outlets - ignore the fact that “image” actually equals “media.”
Donald Trump, of course, has already figured this out.
His entire presidential campaign and subsequent terms as president were built on media. His message has been chopped into sound bites that are both easily repeatable and easily visualised.
Think of “Lock her up” as a prime example.
Not for nothing did observers - again, mostly working for media companies, point out that Trump’s Oval Office meetings with foreign leaders are seemingly scripted for maximum TV effect.
In other words, they make great media.
A smart media man - Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski
Meanwhile, many smart people are labouring away on big complicated issues with little to no effect. Is it because they don’t find solutions?
No.
It is because they fail to break down the problem - and the solution - into small enough pieces to be consumed like media.
Would that detract from the quality of the solutions? Would it destroy democratic debate?
Yes - context is sometimes long and deep. But it can be “bite-sized” if need be.
It just takes a smart enough brain to “think small” and find the right words.
If think tanks - like the Institute for Strategic Studies - did this, imagine how much more effective they might be?
Imagine if a panel participants at the Munich Security Conference were forced to keep their sentences short and their answers sharp.
Imagine if more diplomats took their cue from people like media-savvy Finnish President Alexander Stubb - with his now-famous “three points” - or Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski who has mastered the art of the short, diplomatic answer that pack a “nuclear punch.”
All of this comes into focus with the news that Britain’s intelligence services - the famous MI5 and MI6 - are now active on Instagram.
It looks like they got the “media memo.”
