As was the case on day one, Russia and Syria were among the most discussed issues on Twitter yesterday. One of the most popular tweets – posted by the BBC’s Norman Smith (@BBCNormanS) pointed out that Russia was the only G8 country not to host a live streamed press conference.

Looks like the Putin press conference at #g8 will be the only one that won’t be televised live. Curious and curiouser.

— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) June 18, 2013

There was also great speculation – led mainly by a tweet from Russia Today (@RT_com) – about Russia blocking any mention of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the official G8 communiqué.

BREAKING: Russia blocks any mention of fate of Syrian President Assad in final #G8 summit communique #news

— RT (@RT_com) June 18, 2013

Russia is blocking mention of #Assad‘s fate in the #G8 summit communique. It will B interesting to see if his name even appears.

— Bill Neely (@billneelyitv) June 18, 2013

Other tweets implied that the G8 – including Russia – had come to some sort of consensus on Syria and will work to end the violence.

G8, including Russia, to cooperate to end #Syria bloodshed . #G8 calls on all parties to achieve political solution

— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) June 18, 2013

As the final G8 communiqué showed, both sides were right: the G8 has called for an end to the bloodshed in Syria and for peace talks to be held as soon as possible, but there was no mention of Assad directly.

Other key issues discussed included the signing of the Lough Earne Declaration, counter-terrorism, and – as is always the case – the G8 family photo.

PICTURE: Controversial new cast for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves revealed #G8 pic.twitter.com/uXD7ZXth4H

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) June 18, 2013

We’ll be back soon with our complete review and analysis of the Twittersphere’s reaction to the 2013 G8 Summit.

Topics of Discussion

Looking at all of the tweets with the hashtag #g8 between 10 – 16 June, the most common accompanying hashtag was #occupylondon.  Given Twitter’s popularity with younger audiences, and its recent use as a vehicle for protest, it comes as no surprise that the protests in London against the G8 summit have dominated pre-G8 Twitter discussion. #direnlondra is also associated with the anti-G8 protests.

The top 15 hashtags about the G8:

1. #occupylondon
2. #london
3. #ifcampaign
4. #direnlondra
5. #g8uk
6. #belfast
7. #bigif
8. #stopg8
9. #syria
10. #stoplandgrabs
11. #transparency
12. #tax
13. #taxhavens
14. #travelni
15. #shady

Volume of Tweets

Leading up to the G8 summit, the amount of discussion on Twitter fluctuated.  On 11 June, tweets for #G8 nearly doubled, coinciding with the mass anti-G8 and anti-capitalist protests in London.  Activity declined for the next two days, but then began to increase on 14 June around the Innovation Conference and the weekend before.

Geography

Plotting the origin of tweets shows the truly global scale of engagement, with Central and Western Africa and Central Asia the notable exceptions.

We will be looking at more data in depth when the G8 has ended to gauge both the impact and reaction of the G8 online.

As might be expected, the leaders themselves were among the most discussed topics on Twitter today. Barack Obama leads the table for most-mentioned world leader with nearly a quarter of all #G8 tweets referencing the US President. Russia’s Putin comes second, followed closely by David Cameron.

Syria was, as expected, one of the most hotly discussed topics around the G8 today (mentioned in over 12 per cent of all #G8 tweets), with many wondering what discussions will be like between the US and Russia on the issue.

As has been the case throughout the run-up to the Summit, tax was the most popular of the G8’s three main priority issues today, with 7 per cent of all tweets.

The BBC’s Ireland Correspondent, Mark Simpson (@BBCMarkSimpson) summed up the expected key issues well today, earning him the title of most retweeted on #G8, with 333 retweets at the time of writing:

G8 in 8 words: Obama, Putin, Syria, tax, trade, protests, Fermanagh, umbrellas.

— Mark Simpson (@BBCMarkSimpson) June 17, 2013

With discussions well underway both at Lough Erne and on the Twittersphere, we will be back tomorrow with more information on how the G8 is shaping up on Twitter.

Talking innovation & space at #G8IC in London http://t.co/njVVIaQpxR

— richardbranson (@richardbranson) June 14, 2013

The use of a dedicated hashtag, #G8IC, in the run-up has led to engagement on a broad range of topics, from renewable energy to GM food, climate change and immigration. We have seen over 3,000 tweets using the hashtag in the last 24 hours, being used from the UK to the US, and from Argentina to Australia via Botswana and India. David Cameron has done a good job of using the tag, stimulating debate with his users and encouraging them to join the conversation on Twitter.

PM at #G8IC: What do you think is the greatest challenge of our time? And how can we solve it using innovation? Join the debate using #G8IC

— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) June 14, 2013

UKTI had set up a livestream of the event; however it appears that Thomas Heatherwick’s presentation on the Olympics may have raised a few eyebrows, with the video being blocked on copyright grounds.

Along with the big names such as Branson and Cameron, looking at the opinions provided by the many entrepreneurs and others at the Conference provides us with a more critical insight to the topics being discussed. Follow the accounts below to get a better sense of the discussions around the G8 Innovation Conference:

• @ChrisPirillo
• @designcouncil
• @whurley
• @BusinessZone
• @mischadohler
• @Ajarvis8
• @UKTI
• @bisgovuk

This is the last of our pre-G8 posts; we will be back next week to see what happens when the summit gets underway.

The sexual violence agenda is split across several hashtags, with a focus on events in Syria – the top mention – and the DRC. The issue was propelled in to the headlines by Angelina Jolie’s appearance alongside William Hague at the meeting of G8 Foreign Ministers in London in April, where they announced a further £10 million to combat sexual violence and harm to women in war zones.

This announcement helped William Hague take the top spot as the most influential tweeter on women and G8 over the period, with UN Women and advocacy groups also featuring strongly.

@WilliamJHague

@UN_Women

@ONECampaign

@foreignoffice

@womensmediacntr

@EverydaySexism

@AlertNet

@womenadvocates

Delighted by G8 response to UK call for action to end sexual violence in conflict. We now have firm foundations to build on #G8UK

— William Hague (@WilliamJHague) April 12, 2013

Angelina Jolie: “Rape is not a women’s issue, or a humanitarian issue, it is a global issue.” #timetoact #G8UK twitter.com/G8/status/3226…

— G8 Presidency 2013 (@G8) April 12, 2013

While Jolie’s celebrity helped the issue gain more publicity than most meetings of Foreign Minister, the decision of gossip magazines and The Daily Mail to focus on her “abundance of grey hairs” rather than the substanceof the announcement created much ire online. It was Sadie Fitch, a ‘normal member of the public’ with only 61 followers, who summed up the moment and offered one of the most retweeted comments over the ten week period:

Outrageous that a woman makes a speech at g8 summit on violence against women and is judged by the media for greying hair #everydaysexism

— Sadie Fitch (@SadieFitch1) April 11, 2013

The popularity of Sadie’s post was boosted by her use of #everydaysexism – a movement which is a perfect fit with social media, allowing users to “document everyday experiences of sexism to prove how bad the problem is and create solidarity”. Its effectiveness is highlighted by its second place in the most mentioned hashtags and high ranking in the list of influencers around the G8 and women discussion.

Tax

Tax, in contrast to trade and transparency, has broken on to the media agenda. The on-going debate around tax avoidance by major corporates and the UK Government’s efforts to reach an agreement with overseas territories has increased traffic on Twitter and news organisations take the top three positions as the most authoritative sources.

The UK government’s digital diplomacy efforts keep them among top influencers, while the Centre for Global Development, Christian Aid and Oxfam are the third parties leading the way.

@ReutersBiz
@Channel4News
@GdnDevelopment
@cabinetofficeuk
@SkyNewsBiz
@CGDev
@christian_aid
@Number10press
@oxfamcanada
@zittokabwe

Bermuda premier says UK territories won’t sign tax deal before G8 reut.rs/1bveomS

— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) June 12, 2013

Trade UK Government channels figure strongly on trade but think tanks are also rising up with the Centre for Global Development and the Overseas Development Initiative amongst the top influencers. The anti-G8 protests in London yesterday has also makes a showing, with Occupy London the fourth most influential twitter profile. @foreignoffice @CGDev @cabinetofficeuk @OccupyLondon @GdnLaw @markdevenport @Number10press @odi_development

Blog: ‘#G8: working for sustainable global growth’ Ambassador @ukamb_wightman on the #G8UK summit ow.ly/lUR6p @g8 #Trade

— G8 Presidency 2013 (@G8) June 11, 2013

Transparency

@CGDev
@zittokabwe
@Marthalanefox
@Oxfam
@owenbarder
@opengovpart
@EnoughFoodIF
@oxfamcanada
@Number10press
@Winnie_Byanyima

Think tanks and NGOs are successfully shaping the online discussion on transparency. The Centre for Global Development, which features across the G8 themes, comes top with Oxfam and the EnoughFoodIf campaign also featuring.

From outside the G8, a special mention should go to Zitto Zuberi Kabwe (@zittokabwe), shadow finance minister in Tanzania. With close to 55,000 followers, his retweets and interactions on the G8 agenda make him a surprise addition to the top influencers on tax and transparency.

We have picked some of the areas where their approach highlights principles which other nations can learn from:

Mobilising platforms

The Foreign Office and UK Government have mobilised their digital assets to spread the G8 messages far and wide. The #G8UK tag has been used as far back as April 2013 consistently by the various twitter profiles

The most mentioned and most active over the last month are:

@G8

@Number10gov

@cabinetofficeuk

@foreignoffice

@Number10press

@socimpactbonds

@ukineu

@HCPeterJones

@CassVinograd

@jduncanFCO

@ukinlebanon

On message

Despite the large number of platforms, the three priorities of the UK’s G8 presidency – Tax, Trade and Transparency – have been continually reinforced and pushed to international audiences over the last few months. The G8 presidency has been put at the centre of UK diplomacy, acting as an umbrella for a host of initiatives that help counteract the idea that the G8 is ‘just a two-day get together’.

The #UK‘s priorities for #G8UK are #trade, #tax and #transparency. Read these factsheets to find out more:… fb.me/1UCeyhSYz

— ukinazerbaijan (@ukinazerbaijan) June 11, 2013

Content

Consistent messaging is all important, but it has to be brought to life with engaging content. The FCO have done this with photographs, video, live content from events as well as by creating infographics which bring the issues on the agenda to life.

Angelina Jolie: “Rape is not a women’s issue, or a humanitarian issue, it is a global issue.” #timetoact #G8UK twitter.com/G8/status/3226…

— G8 Presidency 2013 (@G8) April 12, 2013

#Infographic: Why the UK Presidency of the #G8 matters for #Somalia ow.ly/jM0EA

— Foreign Office (FCO) (@foreignoffice) April 5, 2013

Great content builds expectations. The G8 factsheet released yesterday received 50+ retweets. However, some were not afraid to express dissatisfaction when faced with conventional collateral.

The UK’s priorities for #G8UK are #trade, #tax and #transparency. Read these factsheets to find out more: ow.ly/lSeuk #G8

— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) June 10, 2013

Localisation

Embassies across the world from Italy to Azerbaijan, through Canada to South Africa, have lined up to tweet and spread the word. Language is not a barrier with customised content produced in multiple languages.

Le priorità UK per il#G8UK sono #commercio, #tasse e #trasparenza. Maggiori dettagli sul sito: ow.ly/lSeuo @g8

— UK in Italia (@UKinItalia) June 11, 2013

O #G8UK quer mais transparência em fluxos de ajuda internacional para que os gastos com países em desenvolvimento sejam melhor avaliados…

— UK in Brazil (@ukinbrazil) June 10, 2013

 

The FCO’s approach shows that being consistent, creating diverse content and taking the time to localise engagement should be at the heart of digital diplomacy for any nation.

This year’s summit, under the presidency of the United Kingdom, focuses on the three themes of advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency. The UK government have also organised a series of events in the lead up to the summit, the first being the social impact conference on 6^th June and over the weekend, the Nutrition for Growth meeting in London.

The G8 is a natural target for NGOs and campaigning groups, who have launched their own initiatives to complement or influence the agenda. Beyond the G8 hashtag, the most successful on social media over the weekend was the Big IF, a coalition of charities calling on the G8 to take action to end hunger:

NGOs have also led the way on top tweets, posting four of the top five most popular tweets of the last 24 hours. Oxfam’s International account (@oxfam) and Spanish account (@oxfam_es) take 2^nd, 4^th and 5^th, with the ONE campaign in 3^rd. The most shared tweet, however, was Canadian columnist Stephen Lautens’ critical take on G8 security costs, receiving 87 retweets:

Ireland’s security bill for G8 – $80 million. Canada’s G8/20 security bill – $1 billion. Because North Ireland never has security problems.

— Stephen Lautens (@stephenlautens) June 9, 2013

 

Dear @g8: every second, poor countries lose an area of land the size of a soccer field to banks & investors. #StopLandGrabs #G8

— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) June 9, 2013

 

Tell #G8 leaders to put nutrition & transparency on the agenda – & help save millions of lives! one.org/g8 Please Retweet!

— ONE (@ONECampaign) June 10, 2013

 

Líderes del @g8, hay 18.857 negocios registrados en 1 dirección de Islas Caimán. Parece muy dudoso. Acabad ya con los #paraísosfiscales #G8

— Oxfam en español (@oxfam_es) June 9, 2013

 

Take 30 seconds: join our social media Thunderclap to ask @g8 leaders to #StopLandGrabs ow.ly/lJrVa #G8

— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) June 9, 2013

 

The most ‘authoritative’ Twitter accounts mentioning G8 reflect the influence of campaigning organisations online. The UN Foundation lead, followed by Oxfam and Ashoka, the social impact organisation. Lauren Laverne, who played a role in the Big IF, gave visibility to the campaign through her large fan base, while The Guardian comes in as the top news organisation at five.

1. @unfoundation
2. @Oxfam
3. @Ashoka
4. @laurenlaverne
5. @guardian

The most active countries on Twitter in the past 24 hours are the UK followed by the US. As host, we expect the UK to continue to take the top spot as the overall volume increases as the summit approaches.

We will be closely following the tweets and trends around the G8 over the coming days and hope you will follow our updates on the Portland Notebook.

In the last few years, campaigners in the US have risen up around bills such as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Internationally, similar bills or treaties like the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) have driven similar outrage.

These proposals have spurred heated debate on everything from online freedom of speech to the future of e-commerce, and from piracy to government snooping.

The latter issue in particular has been one of the main focuses of the discussion in the UK.

The draft Communications Data Bill – first proposed by Home Secretary Theresa May in 2012 – is back in the news. Dubbed the ‘Snooper’s Charter’, the proposed bill would require communications service providers to keep track of users’ activity (sites visited, calls made, messages sent) for 12 months and, under certain circumstances, make that information available to the government for investigations of serious crime. The proposed bill builds on the existing Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), which limits how long data must be held for to 30 days.

But putting aside knee-jerk fears of intrusion and privacy, what do bills like these actually mean for you and me?

Assuming that most of the people reading this aren’t simultaneously downloading pirated movies and music (you’re not, right?), or plotting a serious crime online, the average Joe might not notice much of a difference should these sorts of bills be passed. This is of course, dependent on how rigorously bills are enforced. Some activists claim that under bills like SOPA, posting a personal video to YouTube of a barbecue in which a pop song is playing in the background could lead to prosecution.

The impact on organisations will vary massively depending on sector, location and size. The large online advertisers will obviously be affected by limited access to personal information. Smaller e-commerce companies may suffer if larger organisations claim any level of copyright infringement.

For many organisations, the most important thing to take away from potential copyright-related bills is that transparency is always key.

Many organisations will track their own performance in the media by posting articles or videos to their website or social channels. Why not? Taking credit for good work and recognition from the media seems to be a no-brainer.

And that’s completely true.

But those media outlets also deserve (and expect) credit for their work. Simply posting an article onto a blog or site is a sure-fire way to court risk. So, where possible, speak with journalists to get their permission to post pieces to your site or, in the least, be sure to give credit where credit is due. Include a link to the original piece, credit all photos correctly and consider only posting the first part of any given article to your site before directing users back to the source.

And expect the same of others: use Creative Commons licenses for your own content online and make sure you get the credit by getting started with a programme such as Google Author Rank.

There is no single answer to this challenge. But when Google is usually the gateway to your on-line reputation, publishing quality content can help control what people read about you.

Quality is the important word here. It is not just what you publish but also the number of readers who like and share your content which determines your rank on search. And that means content which is insightful and unique.

But while you want people to share your content, you don’t want them to claim it as their own. If they do, it may not be you that gets the credit or, importantly, the higher ranking.

Google, fortunately, has recognised this as a problem as it is clearly in their interest as well to acknowledge those who produce quality content. So they have come up with Google Author rank which rewards content producers with more visibility on the search engine results page.

To get started with Google Author rank, these are some of the steps that your organisation can take:

1.       Create a Google+ account for your organisation  (if not already on this platform). When creating the profile, be sure to include a rich outline of what your organisation does and any photos and logos.

2.       List all the sites that you author or contribute to on your Google+ profile. You should include your twitter profile and facebook too if you have these accounts.

3.       Insert the tag <rel=”author” link=”your-googlplus-url” /> into your content on your blog or website template.

4.       If there are individuals who contribute to the blog. Then, they can also indicate what blogs ad sites they publish to on their own profiles.

Once you have this in place, all you have to do is to continue publishing quality content that is optimised. Google and those who read your content will see that it is from a trusted source and this will contribute to improving your organisations rank on the search engine results page. If you have a number of authors writing for your blog or website, each individual can be set up as an author – great for building the profile of your organisation’s spokespeople.

There is, of course, understandable scepticism about the merit of adding yet another channel to your communications mix. It is scepticism which, up until now, we have shared at Portland. Even if you simply publish content and stay away from engagement on Google+, it is enough for now to establish your organisation as the originator of content.

To get started with Author rank, test the status of your blog now on this link:

http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets

Get started and link your Google+ profile here:

https://plus.google.com/authorship