My plan was to be drunk for 7 days straight. To really give you guys an honest view from a binge drinking swede’s perspective.
— @sweden / Tobias (@sweden) July 16, 2012
I’ll be honest: I know almost nothing about Sweden except their soccer team’s jerseys are blue and yellow, the insanely popular Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book originated there, and their citizens rule at crafting pop earworms (i.e., Robyn, Peter Bjorn & John, Icona Pop, etc.). Among the items I know nothing about, regrettably, is a binge-drinking Swede’s perspective. But I am learning from the comforts of my laptop/cell phone this week.
I first heard about @Sweden from my former roommate/unpaid social media adviser Scottie the Genius several weeks earlier. The Pride of Newberg, Ore., repeatedly informed me I needed to follow Sweden’s Twitter. “It’s amazing,” Scott said, unable to hide his mischievous glee.
Sweden’s Twitter account is a tourism bureau vehicle to promote the country to yokels like me who know next to zilch about it. A different Swede manages the account each week. This leads to ridiculous tweets like the one I posted from the current handler, as well as offensive ones like a string of anti-Semitic tweets from a previous user. You take the good with the bad and you get Sweden, according to the country’s tourism bureau.
While I might not always agree with @Sweden’s message I do enjoy how accessible and off the cuff its gang of tweeters are. If the United States did something like this on Twitter – i.e., offered a different resident a chance to manage the country’s tourism account each week – it would be restricted and boring. Not Sweden.
Here’s an exchange Scott had with Lars, the head Swede in charge (HSIC) last week, after Lars tweeted a picture of the Swedish Royal Family looking lame as hell:
@hesedogg Agree. Some craziness would do the trick. Popularity is decreasing.
— @sweden / Tobias (@swede/hesedogg”>hesedogg Agree. Some craziness would do the trick. Popularity is decreasing.
— @sweden / Tobias (@sweden)July 14, 2012
This week’s head Swede, Tobias, has also been busy tweeting about his Crohn’s Disease and how it makes him fart. But the account is not all shits and giggles. I’ve actually learned something about Sweden – which is more than I can say about most Twitter accounts. The exchange below happened between Lars and I.
@CajunTomato I don´t know Robyn personally, but I know&like the stuff she does. Does her thing & doesn´t make much fuzz about it. @hesedogg
— @sweden / Tobias (@sweden) July 15, 2012
@CajunTomato Stockholm, Göteborg and/or Malmö. From Malmö it´s also easy to go to CPH. Visit a smaller one too, like Visby, Kalmar,Varberg.
— @sweden / Tobias (@sweden) July 15, 2012
I can only imagine what wisdom Tobias will pass along. I have learned one thing from him already: Always trust a binge-drinking Swede firing off blurry-eyed Twitter advice. Always. 
PS: Just so we’re clear: I do not condone anti-Semitic tweets. I do, however, appreciate the freedom the Swedish tourism bureau (aka Curators of Sweden) have provided their citizens using the @Sweden account.
