This blog post first appeared on blogs.fco.gov.uk on 07 December 2009  

My mum still thinks that I fix computers for a living. I’ve told her I don’t, but I’m not sure she believes me (even when I demonstrate to her how bad I am at fixing her computer).

She’s not the only one. It’s a drawback of working in an emerging profession that not many people really understand what it I do between 9 and 5.

If I was a doctor or a cleaner or a footballer she’d know exactly what that meant. But “digital diplomacy” takes a bit of explaining.

The job I currently do was newly created last year. There wasn’t a template. And even people who are doing similar jobs elsewhere in UK government – and who have “digital” and “engagement” in their job titles – have different takes on what it means.

Some have suggested that it might help to clearly position myself, either as someone who runs campaigns, or as a web specialist. I don’t think either quite covers it.

But everyone should be able to tell you in 1 sentence what they do. If you can’t then you’re probably not doing anything useful.

This is my best stab at it for my current role: I help diplomats to make use of online culture and tools so that they can do their jobs better.

Day-to-day, that means I mostly try to do 3 things:

1. offer advice on (digital engagement) tools and techniques
2. help make digital engagement a useful, business-as-usual FCO practice, rather than a quirky novelty for some
3. apply digital engagement tools and techniques to particular foreign policy issues (campaigns)

Does that make it any clearer Mum?