Cartoons are an excellent way to shrink a large piece of wisdom into a small piece of image.

It shows self-confidence and maturity when a person, an organisation or country is able to laugh at itself. That's why dictators in Africa, Asia or even Eastern Europe are so furious about expressions of funny drawings. On the other hand, being shown in a cartoon shows that the public opinion cares about what they do.

So why are there so few caricatures about Europe, the European Union or the EU institutions?

When it comes to social media, most EU officials, decision-makers and public affairs specialists are uncertain what it actually means, so their dilemma is translated into the question 'Should we use Twitter or Facebook in our online efforts?'.

This is the same as, when building a house, you would ask 'Should I build a kitchen or a bathroom?'. In short: focusing on building blocks instead of the building will not take you far.

The core concept of social media is ...
 

Distortions, misunderstandings, purposeful misleading of facts have always been around (some are really funny, actually). But the more the European Union deals with ”sensitive” issues, including justice, foreign policy, sports or other areas that used to be labeled as strictly national, the more such voices will arise. However, the Europen Commission and the European Parliament have done painfully little to set the facts straight.

Sure, there is a Blog on the Commission's UK representation on setting British media straight, but it's viewed by less than 1000 people which can hardly be labeled as effective counter-communication. Or look at an old-school press release on the EU budget myths issued in 2007 (three years ago!). But this is a drop in the ocean of misconceptions...

Two small news for today:

1. The EU has come out with its new logo for 9 May 2010, which is Europe day (commemorating the end of World War II and the Schuman Declaration). Creative artists showing unity, peace and diversity on an interactive poster to the internet generation? Visually challenging, funny, highly unique image to raise awareness, get citizen support and tell a story? Well, check it out here and despair. We are in 2010, not 1972 in Eastern Europe.

2. After years of institutional wraggling, the EU has finally "elected" (rea...

The European Parliament launched a banner campaign on various EU online media platforms (EUobserver, EurActiv etc.) where a blue flash banner box with catchy titles such as "massive job-losses", "less economic growth", "sharp budget cuts" lead to the key question: "How does the crisis affect Europe?". The proposed solution? Watch www.europarltv.eu

Sure, let's see what you get if you decide to click through despite this unspellable domain name. Actually, not much. It leads you to the European Parliament TV's "your voice" page where ...

Where are the people who understand what "online communication" or "digital tools" mean in Brussels? It seems that EU institutions and the majority of lobby organisations are stuck with Web 1.0, or let's be generous, Web 1.1.

Is the situation really that bad? After all, EU institutions do use Facebook and Eutube, Commissioners have blogs and the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) even uses Twitter from time to time and most public and private lobby bodies are present on the internet. A Brussels consultancy has released a Blog...