SocialGov Talks: Leveraging Pop Culture With Paul Lester of the DOE

Join Paul Lester, Digital Content Specialist for the Department of Energy (DOE), to discuss how DOE leveraged the popular TV show, Stranger Things as a conversation starter about the agency’s mission and work using digital media (social media, blog, podcast, etc.). Paul will also discuss how he got management buy-in to use a pop culture phenomenon to promote the agency’s work.

A list of the blog posts we’ll be talking about:

• The blog that started it all… https://www.energy.gov/articles/what-stranger-things-didn-t-get-quite-so-right-about-energy-department
•  …that resulted in press like this Wired interview: https://www.wired.com/2016/08/energy-department-responds-stranger-things/
•  We kept it going with our #StrangerThings-themed Halloween! https://twitter.com/ENERGY/status/793185809549631488
• The next year, we delved deeper into the Upside Down and the work DOE is doing in particle physics with a podcast segment… https://www.energy.gov/podcasts/direct-current-energygov-podcast/s2-e7-energy-secrets
•  …and blog post from the director of High Energy Physics: https://www.energy.gov/articles/searching-upside-down

Paul Lester is a digital content specialist in the Department of Energy’s Office of Public Affairs. Paul was born in Ohio but spent most of his life in Florida, where he worked as a news researcher-slash-archivist and online editor for the Orlando Sentinel.

He moved to Washington in 2008 for a web editor role with The Guardian before working as a contractor for the Wind and Water Technologies Office, the Small Business Administration, and DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Paul joined the Energy.gov team in March 2015, contributing to Energy Blog and assisting with managing the Energy Department’s social media channels. When he’s not in the office, Paul can be seen slowly running around D.C. training for his next half marathon.

Questions about this event or future events? Send them to digitalgov@gsa.gov.

This SocialGov Talk is hosted by SocialGov, the federal government’s social media Community of Practice (CoP). SocialGov has over 1,200 members from 90+ departments and agencies across the federal government. 

Our team will send a reminder email prior to the event that includes your link to join the video. 

This event will be held and recorded over Zoom. Make sure you install the Zoom Client beforehand. (See the Zoom computer and device requirements, and FAQs)