Nine execs from tech companies including Twitter, Google, and YouTube are in Iraq to meet with the local government and private groups to see how technology can help rebuild the country. The State Department has not released the names of the execs on the mission but Scott Heiferman, co-founder and CEO of Meetup; Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter; Jason Liebman, co-founder and CEO of Howcast; Hunter Walk, product manager at YouTube, and Richard Robbins, director of social innovation at AT&T, seem to be on board according to Twitter chatter.
Here’s an except from the statement the State Department released today:
The delegation includes a mix of CEOs, Vice-Presidents and senior representatives from AT&T, Google, Twitter, Howcast, Meetup, You Tube, Automattic/Wordpress, and Blue State Digital. During their visit to Iraq, they will provide conceptual input as well as ideas on how new technologies can be used to build local capacity, foster greater transparency and accountability, build upon anti-corruption efforts, promote critical thinking in the classroom, scale-up civil society, and further empower local entities and individuals by providing the tools for network building. As Iraqis think about how to integrate new technology as a tool for smart power, we view this as an opportunity to invite the American technology industry to be part of this creative genesis.
That’s right. After six years of war, Silicon Valley is coming to save Iraq. Or not.
Twitter can save Iraq! Imagine the president of Iraq sending tweets to all Shia’s ans Sunni’s to come together. Man, Twitter IS IT.
The reps from AT & T and perhaps Google are needed on that Irag trip. WHY? Irag right now needs to build and modernize its telecommunication infrastructure. Once that’s fixed and their laws allow freedom of expression with no censorship, then perhaps Google’s advise is useful. The rest of the other executives will have to wait until 5 years from now , they can take a trip to Irag then, when the country is prosperous and people have time to waste on Twitter, etc… This is not a time to entice the population of Irag to waste their time on Twitter, they should be encouraged to use their time wisely to rebuild their country especially their telecommunication infrastructure.
Sectarian violence is major problem in iraq with 60-30 ratio. Obama is right in withdrawing americans from combat, which bush should have done soon as Saddam was hanged. Iraq is the reason for economic meltdown?
Why not send execs that have to do with infrastructure and enterprise rather than some social media people? Social Media barely makes money here, why send it somewhere that needs to develop their economy quickly?
Having read the Dept of State’s release on this, they say it’s the first trip of its kind, but it’s incorrect. The Dept. of Defense has been hosting business people, CEOs, CFOs, and industry leaders in Iraq for the past three or four years. http://www.defe...e.aspx?id=48270
I’m all for out of the the box blue thinking but this is an incredible waste of taxpayer money. Imagine the insanity you’ll see on Meetup-Iraq.
What Iraq needs is computing, broadband penetration, computer education. No scratch that. Just power, water and education maybe at first will do.
jack dorsey no oprah but gets to go to iraq. way to award the guy whose idea it was originally to start twitter. lol
George W. Bush already saved Iraq. That’s the only reason these jokers get to go on this junket.
Sounds like they did reward him! I’d take a trip like this to Iraq over Oprah ANY day.
Agreed that Iraq has already been saved by a large cast of characters (led by Bush). This article title diminishes the efforts and sacrifices made to get to this point.
Just add it to the LONG list of countries saved by the US.
Save Iraq? No.
Still sounds like an interesting trip that could really benefit the Iraqi people and maybe even the participating companies.
Hubris.
@James,
Do you mean that executives who don’t make their companies huge profits are not as valuable? Their ideas and inputs should not be considered?
I say this was an excellent idea, and hope they can come up with great thoughts. Remember that one of Iraq’s biggest problems is SOCIAL. And Social Media geniuses just happen to have this SOCIAL thing pretty much figured out.
By the way, they are already doing much more to help Iraq than you and me together!!!
One thing you are missing here. Most Iraqi’s don’t even have electricity let alone their own computer.
This is a TOTAL waste of taxpayer money.
Let’s help them get the basic necessities setup before we worry about showing them Twitter.
Wow, that headline. The valley is the only place able to jerk itself off more than LA. Congrats!
Exactly what I thought when I read it.
Talk about a huge waste of my tax dollars.
This is WONDERFUL!
I think this is a very good use of Tax Dollars!
As someone who develops web apps on a daily basis the biggest issue I see is lack of communication and blueprinting of apps before development starts. The current leaders in Iraq have very little experience with managing technology based projects with the latest web 2.0+ concepts. So perhaps a room full of Internet experts will allow a unique methodology and thinking process to evolve.
Im sorry to say but the VAST majority of Government staff helping to rebuild Iraq are not skilled enough to really help. Haliburton and other companies hire Corporate ladder people who really cant think of creative ideas!
Matt,
I guess you missed my comment from above so let me post it for you again…
One thing you are missing here. Most Iraqi’s don’t even have electricity let alone their own computer.
This is a TOTAL waste of taxpayer money.
Let’s help them get the basic necessities setup before we worry about showing them Twitter.
I agree Robert. Give them the basic necessities setup before introducing them to time-wasting Twitter.
Iraq has over 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
Iraqi farmers are now cultivating opium to supply to wealthy Gulf states.
Foreign investment in markets from industry to real estate has been growing rapidly.
And thanks to oil and a US construction “bailout”, Iraq had an ~$80bn surplus last year.
AT&T, Google, Twitter, Howcast, Meetup, You Tube, Automattic and Blue State Digital saving Iraq? Maybe they should save themselves first.
Silly Americans. You don’t realize the world has changed.
Can Silicon Valley Help Save Iraq?
Absolutely. We’re going to air drop a bunch of horned rimmed pocket protectees to lift the people of Iraq up from their tortured technology free existence.
Dude, what kind of headline is that.
On another note, I guess we have to try and make back our money somehow. Water and electricity be damned.
I have been saying this for years. Here was a chance to build a country 100% by technology companies and they pissed it away because they put BS in front of the opportunity.
Perhaps these guy’s will come back with a keen perspective of what is happening there, aside from news government hype. Cant wait to read their views. Be safe…
Seems like today all i read is a bunch of ignorant statements….perhaps mine included.
But at least the appearance of trying to help the situation is happening.
“Robert Basil” why are you so negative? If you were one of the people going to Iraq would you have a different outlook? Complain…complain….complain…..thats all I am hearing from you.
Lets hear something constructive
Negative? You really need to read my comment again. Nothing negative about wanting everyday Iraqi’s to be afford the basic necessities of life BEFORE we worry about trying to help them build “Web 2.0″ communities.
Oh, and I’ve spent time in Iraq to be able to voice my opinion. How about you? (I didn’t think so).
Meetup and Howcast are noth NYC-based. Blue State Digital is in DC. How exactly is this Silicon Valley?
Better yet, when are you guys going to start acknowledging that the Valley is not the heart and soul of web technology anymore?
Send over engineers. Internet/Silicon valley types are a layer that exists on top of basical social infrastructure that most take for granted…
I found your headline quite offensive not to mention retro. Iraq, since it’s obvious few seem to realize it, is technically a sovereign nation. Given America’s financial mess right now would it be reasonable for us to have headlines reading “EU rallies to Save America” ? Let alone the suggestion that small segment of foreign businesses might need to “Save” America. As we struggle through the mess of a poorly run, poorly strategized, poorly monitored war let’s not make matters worse by engaging in poor journalism.
I’d also like to affirm the comments of the soldiers on the board. If you don’t truly understand the on the ground conditions in Iraq then you ought not be making assumptions about how to “save” the people there.
Why does Iraq need saving? Didn’t we waste enough money overthere?
Twitter is very powerful. Remember that guy that got arrested overseas and tweeted “Arrested”. That alone got the attention of many including lawyers and it eventually got him out I believe. Awesome.
People there in Iraq are a$$h0le terrorists. Why do you need to save them? Why to waste money on them? Let them d!e…
Uh, you missed WordPress! Raanan Bar-Cohen (blog, twitter) is there representing.
LOL, srsly? Twitter is gonna stop sectarian violence?
Like the Romans did: give the people bread and games.
Games/entertainment: YouTube
Bread: you can’t live from Twitter messages
Yes, all the problems in Iraq will be solved by free-cloud-computing-Web 2.0-user-generated-content-crowd-sourcing-open-source-sticky-mobile applications…
I guess some one outside the valley is over dosing on the koolaid..
This article can’t be serious.
It is sounds like they did reward him! I’d take a trip like this to Iraq over oprah any day.