S4 Inc. VP Pfeifle Joins Social Media Debate at Oxford Union

May 31, 2012 - PRLog -- Mark Pfeifle, Vice President of S4 Inc., and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Global Outreach, will be debating at the Oxford Union Society on May 31, 2012. The Oxford Union is one of the world’s most prestigious venues for open forum debate, previously hosting the Dalai Lama, Sen. John McCain, Pervez Musharraf and Stephen Hawking.

Pfeifle will debate whether, and how, individuals are able to use social media to promote political and social activism within their communities and the world. Pfeifle will argue that social media has successfully reinvented social activism.

Pfeifle will be joined in his advocacy by attorney and U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA); Benjamin Cohen, C4 technology correspondent and founder of jewishnet.co.uk. Arguing in the negative will be author and creator of the Justice in Conflict Blog Mark Kersten; Western Illinois University Communications Professor Dr. Christopher Carpenter; The Telegraph Consumer Technology editor Matt Warman; and English PEN Head of Campaign and Communications Robert Sharp.

While in the White House from 2006 to 2009, Pfeifle helped spearhead the effort to communicate the successful surge of forces in Iraq. In 2009 Pfeifle created an online stir when, in the wake of the impact of social media in bringing about an uprising in Iran, he suggested that Twitter be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. That caused best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell to lash out at Pfeifle and Twitter in an October 2010 New Yorker piece. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said Gladwell was “keen to downplay” Twitter’s efforts -- and that Pfeifle seems “to have ruffled his feathers.”

Pfeifle participated in the 2011 “Retweet Revolution” panel at the Kellogg School of Management’s annual Tech Conference; the Homeland Security Department’s 2010 conference on "Public Perceptions of Emerging Security Technology" at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC; the 2010 "Political Communication, Media, and Good Governance: A New Era" conference in Guadalajara, Mexico; the 2009 Moscow State University "Conference on Cybersecurity and Information Warfare", in Germany; and the 2009 "Personal Democracy Forum" in New York City.

S4 Inc. is a professional services and consulting firm catering to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, as well as private entities. The company’s broad range of services includes Global Influence Consulting, Communication Strategy Development, Enterprise IT Solutions, and Advisory & Assistance Services (A&AS). Headquartered in Burlington, MA, S4 has locations nationwide, including Arlington, VA; Colorado Springs, CO; Dayton, OH; and several other project sites. For more information about S4, please visit http://www.s4inc.com