It’s been two weeks since Sonja Abrahamsson caught international attention for a string of controversial statements she made as the ‘Swede of the Week’ on Twitter.
The Curators of Sweden, a tourism concern partly owned by the Swedish government, started the program in December -- handing over the handle @sweden to a new Swede every week, in an effort to raise interest in Swedish culture and tourism.
While we won't ever know exactly how effective the campaign has been in increasing tourism, @sweden has been successful in accumulating 67,000 followers – almost 20,000 of those during Ms. Abrahamsson’s week.
Meanwhile, it seems the idea of giving the voice of your country to a rotating cast of Twitter users is catching on.
In January a grassroots organization started the handle @TweetWeekUSA, and a similar group began @WeAreAustralia.
In March, online expat community World Irish began @Ireland, while another group of curators, I’m New Zealand, began @NewZealand.
Each group has followed Sweden’s lead and allowed a new person to tweet on behalf of their country each week. While @Sweden remains the most popular, the others are gaining traction.