Twitter and Diplomacy
State leaders and diplomats are in the process of negotiating a working relationship with social media. There’s a lot on the table – a variety of tools and platforms, each with their own advantages and limitations, and a range of actors using them to connect. Twitter is proving to be the most contentious negotiating point – how to use it most effectively, and to what end. In this series, we asked our contributors to consider the past, present, and future of Twitter and Diplomacy, and to continue the global conversation on social networks and diplomacy in a digital age.
Feature Essay
The Digital Diplomat: Connected and on Twitter
Matthias Lüfkens on the new tools of “21st Century Statecraft” and how diplomats are using them.
Why It’s So Tough for Embassies to Get Social Media Right
Brian Fung why the 21st century is a tough time to be a control freak.
Social Media, Diplomacy, and R2P
Sean Aday on the power of social media as a witness to atrocities.
Twiplomacy: Worth Praising, but with Caution
Philip Seib on the good and the bad of Twiplomacy.
Using Canada’s Voice in the Age of Digital Diplomacy
Renee Filiatrault on the importance of maintaining a disciplined voice online.
Social Media as a Tool for Public Diplomacy
Jennifer Charlton on the reach and transparency social media can bring to governments.
Theoretical Challenges, Practical Realities
Fergus Hanson on the challenges diplomacy faces in a wired, real-time world.
E-Diplomacy Beyond Social Media
Andreas Sandre on how technology as a whole – not just Twitter – is changing diplomacy.
From Diplomat to Twiplomat
Danish diplomat Karen Melchior on learning how to be a Twiplomat.
What It Takes To Become a Twiplomat
Anja Türkan on getting your government’s message heard by foreign audiences.
FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION ON TWITTER AT #TWIPLOMACY
WATCH MATTHIAS LÜFKENS, BRIAN FUNG, AND TAYLOR OWEN ON GOOGLE+ HANGOUT ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 AT 10:30AM EDT
RECOMMENDED LINKS
Twiplomacy.com
Which world leaders are taking advantage of the opportunity to develop connections via the social network? Findings from the first-ever global study of world leaders on Twitter conducted by PR and communications firm Burson-Marsteller.
E-Diplomacy
AFP’s E-Diplomacy Hub visualizes, analyzes and measures the presence and influence of diplomatic actors on Twitter in real-time.
British Foreign Office Digital Diplomacy
British Foreign office maintains a “Digital Diplomacy” blog where they articulate their e-diplomacy policy and update on a number of online events and digital initiatives
Digital Diplomacy: Virtual Relations
The Economist welcomes you to 21st-century-statecraft where the U.S. is leading the pack and most other countries are lagging far behind.
