Macon Phillips

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Macon Phillips

| image = Macon Phillips official photo.jpg

| office = 6th Coordinator for International Information Programs

| president = Barack Obama

| term_start = September 23, 2013

| term_end = January 20, 2017

| predecessor = Dawn McCall

| successor = Position abolished

| office2 = White House Director of New Media

| term_start2 = January 20, 2009

| term_end2 = September 23, 2013

| president2 = Barack Obama

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|6|29}}

| birth_place = Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Democratic

| education = Duke University (BA)

}}

Macon Phillips (born June 29, 1978){{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26grassroots.html|title=Melding Obama's Web to a YouTube Presidency |access-date=January 28, 2009|date=January 25, 2009|work=The New York Times|author=Rutenberg, Jim and Adam Nagourney}} is an American political strategist who served as the Coordinator of the United States Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs from 2013 to 2017. He reported to Rick Stengel, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas-digital-guru-to-revamp-digital-diplomacy-at-state-department/2013/09/19/9dee2e5e-212c-11e3-b73c-aab60bf735d0_story.html|title=Obama's officials to revamp digital diplomacy at State Department|access-date=March 16, 2014|date=September 19, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|author=Rucker, Philip}} Phillips is the former White House Director of New Media, in which capacity he had oversight responsibility for WhiteHouse.gov.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012004060.html?sub=AR|title=Democracy Online: WhiteHouse.gov Turns the Page|access-date=January 28, 2009|date=January 21, 2009|newspaper=The Washington Post|author=Vargas, Jose Antonio and Sarah Cohen}}

Phillips' work on WhiteHouse.gov closely coordinated with internet operations at the Democratic National Committee, which has responsibility for administration of the BarackObama.com domain and website.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29069515|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006234206/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29069515/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 6, 2013|title=Democrats take control of Obama's 'Web.org': DNC aims to nourish Internet-based organization that helped elect him|access-date=March 2, 2009|date=February 7, 2009|publisher=Microsoft|work=NBC News|author=Curry, Tom}} At precisely 12:00 p.m. ET during the inauguration of Barack Obama, Phillips oversaw the conversion of Whitehouse.gov, the official website of the President of the United States. At 12:01 p.m., he posted the site's first blog entry, titled: Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012002153.html|title=Whitehouse.gov Has A New Face, And a Blog|access-date=January 28, 2009|date=January 20, 2009|newspaper=The Washington Post|author=Schonfeld, Erick}}{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/change_has_come_to_whitehouse-gov/|title=Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov|access-date=January 28, 2009|date=January 20, 2009|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|author=Phillips, Macon}}

Early life and education

Phillips is a 1996 graduate of the Randolph School in Huntsville, Alabama, and a sociology graduate of Duke University.{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue-macon-phillips-new-mediafeb24,0,6751735.story|title=Macon Phillips: The man behind WhiteHouse.gov: President Barack Obama's new media director addresses both transparency, technology in office|access-date=February 24, 2009|date=February 24, 2009|work=Chicago Tribune|author=Benderoff, Eric}}

Political career

Phillips is a former director of strategy and communications for Washington, D.C.–based Blue State Digital, a private web design firm that eventually became closely tied to the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign for whom he worked for as an internet strategist. Phillips had previously worked for Democratic Florida State Senator Rod Smith as a senior strategist during the 2006 Florida gubernatorial election.{{cite news|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:FTUB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1141C966D6B4BA98&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB579A3BDA420|title=Web packs political punch The top four Florida governor hopefuls have sites they hope will click with primary voters|access-date=January 29, 2009|date=August 26, 2006|publisher=Newsbank|work=The Florida Times-Union|author=Rushing, J. Taylor}} He had also worked for Ted Kennedy.

Phillips was the Director of New Media for the Presidential transition of Barack Obama and had oversight responsibility for Change.gov.{{cite web|url=http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1226744176239320.xml&coll=1|title=Randolph grad is Obama aide|access-date=January 28, 2009|date=November 15, 2008|publisher=Alabama Live LLC|work=The Huntsville Times|author=Campbell,Steve|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512102824/http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews%2F1226744176239320.xml&coll=1|archive-date=May 12, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} In fact, he turned the website on the morning after the 2008 Barack Obama election victory speech. Prior to that he was involved in BarackObama.com and directed the technological initiative to announce the selection of Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee to be Vice President of the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012002276.html?sub=AR|title=Obama texts warn of parking, train problems|access-date=January 28, 2009|date=January 20, 2009|newspaper=The Washington Post|author=Elliott, Philip}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Philips' new media efforts during the 2008 United States presidential election helped raise vast sums of money for the Obama presidential campaign, while his text messaging, online videos and social networking skills led the campaign in many organizational and informational ways.{{cite web|url=http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/33140/obama_transition_names_new_media_staff |title=Obama Transition Names New Media Staff |access-date=January 28, 2009 |date=November 12, 2008 |publisher=Personal Democracy Forum |work=Tech President |author=Sifry, Micah L. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124152533/http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/33140/obama_transition_names_new_media_staff |archive-date=January 24, 2009 }} Blue State Digital created and managed Obama's campaign site, which brought in a million Facebook friends and about $500 million.{{cite news|url=http://louisville.bizjournals.com/louisville/othercities/washington/stories/2009/01/26/story13.html|title=A wired White House|access-date=October 28, 2009|date=January 23, 2009|publisher=American City Business Journals, Inc.|work=Washington Business Journal|author=Darcy, Darlene}} In 2012 Phillips featured in TechCrunch's list of "20 Most Innovative People in Democracy."{{Cite web|title=The 20 Most Innovative People in Democracy|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/11/03/the-20-most-innovative-people-in-democracy-2012/|website=TechCrunch|date=November 3, 2012 }}

In early August 2009, Phillips was publicly criticized for asking members of the public—via a blogpost at whitehouse.gov—to forward "fishy" emails regarding healthcare reform, raising privacy concerns in the process.{{cite press release|url=http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ForPress.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=ebc2c77d-802a-23ad-4ae4-6ccf4c7a255c|author=Sen. John Cornyn|title=United States Senator John Cornyn, Texas |date=August 5, 2009|access-date=August 20, 2009|author-link=John Cornyn}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/08/flag-whitehousegov/22707/ |title=Flag@Whitehouse.gov|access-date=August 20, 2009|date=August 4, 2009|work=The Atlantic|author=Ambinder, Marc}} On August 17, 2009, the White House closed down flag@whitehouse.gov, the e-mail address created to receive those reports.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/08/white-house-website-makes-security-changes-amid-email-flap.html|title=Political Punch: Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper|access-date=August 20, 2009|date=August 18, 2009|work=ABC News|author=Miller, Sunlen and Jake Tapper}}{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0809/WH_cant_assuage_Cornyn.html|title=W.H. can't assuage Cornyn|access-date=August 20, 2009|date=August 19, 2009|work=Politico|author=Thrush, Glenn}}{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/An-Update-on-Reality-Check/|title=An Update on "Reality Check"|access-date=August 20, 2009|date=August 17, 2009|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|author=Phillips, Macon}}

In September 2013, United States Secretary of State John Kerry hired Philips as the head of the Bureau of International Information Programs in order to spearhead the overhaul of America's "digital diplomacy" efforts.{{cite news|url=https://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-19/politics/42215028_1_diplomacy-macon-phillips-radio-show|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019053838/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-19/politics/42215028_1_diplomacy-macon-phillips-radio-show|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 19, 2013|title=Obama's officials to revamp digital diplomacy at State Department|access-date=December 9, 2013|date=September 19, 2013|author=Rucker, Philip|newspaper=The Washington Post}} On November 20, 2013, he met with the Russian participants of the U.S.-Russia Young Journalist Exchange.{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/11/217796.htm|title=U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission Successfully Concludes Second Young Journalist Exchange|access-date=December 9, 2013|date=November 20, 2013|publisher=United States Department of State}}

Personal

Phillips is the brother of Metropolitan Opera lyric soprano Susanna Phillips. He is married to Emily Price Phillips.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/macon-phillips/gIQAQf159O_topic.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029062541/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/macon-phillips/gIQAQf159O_topic.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 29, 2013|title=Macon Phillips: White House Director of New Media (since January 2009)|access-date=October 5, 2013|date=July 25, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post}} They had a son, Max, in November 2012. His parents are Dr. Macon and Barbara Phillips.{{cite web|url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/05/huntsvilles_macon_phillips_pla.html|title=Huntsville's Macon Phillips playing key role in Obama White House as director for new media|access-date=October 5, 2013|date=May 31, 2013|publisher=AL.com|author=McCarter, Mark}}