A direct window into the debate

Chrystia Freeland meets three public leaders who are exploiting social media to forge a direct connection with their communities

IT TURNS out you can govern in 140 characters. Social media is often accused of coarsening our public discourse and of making us stupid. However, some innovative public leaders are taking to their keyboards and finding that the payoff is a direct and personal connection with their communities.

To understand how statecraft by Twitter works, I spoke to three avid practitioners who are spread across the globe and work at different levels of government: Carl Bildt, the foreign minister of Sweden; Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia; and Naheed Nenshi, the mayor of Calgary, Alberta.