From Vietnam to Burkina Faso: Who Gets to Tell a Country’s Story?
Tourism boards fight for a country's image with branding. Burkina Faso did it with legislation. My take on Burkina Faso’s new law making it illegal to photograph vulnerable people in ways that strip them of dignity.
The Trust Lag: Lessons from Vietnam's Digital ID Rollout
Vietnam built one of the fastest digital ID systems in the world, but public trust is not keeping up. Getting a population to actually believe in new infrastructure takes longer and much more than a press release. A case for comms as strategy, not tag-on.
AI Killed the Junior Comms Job, Judgement is Still Hiring
As writing becomes more affordable, the value of communications shifts towards judgment: understanding politics, context, legitimacy, and the consequences of putting an organisation’s name behind a message. I argue that AI isn’t replacing communicators, it’s changing what the profession is actually paid for.
The Homework Behind Good Communications
A true-ish story about reputation management. Moving from destination promotion to public interest tech taught me the same lesson twice: storytelling is not enough. My work lives inside things I didn't build, and the story only held up when I actually understood what was underneath it.