Binding ties with Facebook
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Fulya Özerkan
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 08, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Turkish-German relations have moved into the virtual world with the German Embassy in Ankara leading the way by opening a profile on Facebook, a free-access social networking Web site.
"We are the first to have official representation on Facebook among all the other German embassies worldwide," embassy spokesman Patrick Heinz said.
"We know that Turkey is number three in the world for its number of Facebook users. Over 200 million people use the portal in the world and there are roughly 10 million people users in Turkey," he said.
The Turkish community in Germany constitutes the largest immigrant group in Germany, with their numbers standing at nearly 2.5 million. Many Turkish Facebook users have families and relatives in other countries, mostly in Germany.
"We thought that this was a good, new way to reach Turkish people who have links to Germany and German people who have links to Turkey," said Heinz.
The embassy's portal, active since April 9, has close to 500 members, or Facebook "friends."
"We want to show people how many links there are between Turkey and Germany in a positive way, how many cultural events are taking place and what opportunities there are," said Heinz. "There are seminars, lectures, scholarships, institutions like the Goethe Institute and universities that have projects between Turkey and Germany, and we want to use this method to address Facebook users, mainly students and people in the age group between 18 and 37."
Most embassies have a Web site, but Facebook attracts millions of users who can directly engage in the interactive platform.
"A home page is something that is open to all, but we don't know who these people are and what their interests or wishes are. With Facebook, we can interact with these people as we have in open-discussion platforms where people can tell us what information they would like to have or what news they would be interested in. This is a way for us to show our friends that we are willing to provide services," said Heinz.
Cem Özdemir to contribute with 'special messages'
Facebook is very popular in Germany and there are almost 2 million German users, said the spokesman.
"For example, Cem Özdemir, co-chairman of the German Green Party, is one of the most popular people on Facebook with several thousand supporters," he said. "When we told him that we are opening a profile as well, he was very happy and agreed to give us some special messages for us to convey to our friends."
The embassy is planning a number of activities for its Facebook friends. One of them is a competition for the best photo that symbolizes the friendship between Turkey and Germany and the winner will spend the weekend at the German ambassador's summer residence in Tarabya, Istanbul.
"We know that Turkey is number three in the world for its number of Facebook users. Over 200 million people use the portal in the world and there are roughly 10 million people users in Turkey," he said.
The Turkish community in Germany constitutes the largest immigrant group in Germany, with their numbers standing at nearly 2.5 million. Many Turkish Facebook users have families and relatives in other countries, mostly in Germany.
"We thought that this was a good, new way to reach Turkish people who have links to Germany and German people who have links to Turkey," said Heinz.
The embassy's portal, active since April 9, has close to 500 members, or Facebook "friends."
"We want to show people how many links there are between Turkey and Germany in a positive way, how many cultural events are taking place and what opportunities there are," said Heinz. "There are seminars, lectures, scholarships, institutions like the Goethe Institute and universities that have projects between Turkey and Germany, and we want to use this method to address Facebook users, mainly students and people in the age group between 18 and 37."
Most embassies have a Web site, but Facebook attracts millions of users who can directly engage in the interactive platform.
"A home page is something that is open to all, but we don't know who these people are and what their interests or wishes are. With Facebook, we can interact with these people as we have in open-discussion platforms where people can tell us what information they would like to have or what news they would be interested in. This is a way for us to show our friends that we are willing to provide services," said Heinz.
Cem Özdemir to contribute with 'special messages'
Facebook is very popular in Germany and there are almost 2 million German users, said the spokesman.
"For example, Cem Özdemir, co-chairman of the German Green Party, is one of the most popular people on Facebook with several thousand supporters," he said. "When we told him that we are opening a profile as well, he was very happy and agreed to give us some special messages for us to convey to our friends."
The embassy is planning a number of activities for its Facebook friends. One of them is a competition for the best photo that symbolizes the friendship between Turkey and Germany and the winner will spend the weekend at the German ambassador's summer residence in Tarabya, Istanbul.