On July 17th, Israel's Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer held a Q&A session on twitter aimed at answering questions relating to the current outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas which now includes a ground offensive by the Israeli Army into the Gaza strip named Operation Protective Edge. Twitter followers were asked to... Continue Reading →
How Governments Frame on Digital Diplomacy Channels
Framing theory has been a focal point of research in the field of communications for several decades. According to Robert Entman, framing is the result of selection and salience. Thus, to frame is "to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as... Continue Reading →
The Social Network of Arab Twiplomacy
A Disconnected Arab World Last week I attempted to explore the world of "follow-mies", countries that are enemies in the geo-political world yet follow one another on twitter. An interesting finding was that in the age of twiploamcy, the Arab world is a disconnected one. I found that the majority of Arab countries do not... Continue Reading →
“Follow-mies”- Do Enemies Follow One Another on Twitter?
I have often wondered if a foreign ministry's decision to follow another foreign ministry on twitter or Facebook is regarded as a political decision. In attempt to answer this question, I decided to search for "follow-mies", countries that are enemies in the go-political world but that follow one another on twitter. This was made possible... Continue Reading →
Palestine- Tweeting its Way to Statehood?
Social Networking Sites such as twitter and Facebook have long since become a fixture in our lives. Whether they are used as a tool for maintaining and deepening friendships, seeking new employment opportunities or even gathering information on past lovers, social networks have impacted numerous areas of daily life. Yet what is truly remarkable is... Continue Reading →
On Virtual Embassies in the Age of Digital Diplomacy
For some years now, foreign ministries throughout the world have been experimenting with virtual embassies. In 2007, Sweden established a virtual embassy in the popular virtual world Second Life. Meant to serve as a cultural embassy, visitors could learn about Swedish culture, view Swedish art and even participate in seminars hosted by the virtual embassy.... Continue Reading →
A Twitter Profile of Sweden’s Mission to the United Nations
Over the past few months I have analyzed the twitter accounts of various embassies and ministries of foreign affairs. A recurring finding is that Sweden is a world leader in the field of digital diplomacy. As the United Nations headquarters in New York is one of the most important hubs of diplomacy in the world,... Continue Reading →
Digital Diplomacy Literacy
The term Digital Literacy reflects the immense impact the digital revolution has had on our lives. While some originally thought that the digital world would be separate from the physical one, it is now clear that the digital world is but an extension of the physical one. Revolutions that start on-line impact the physical world... Continue Reading →
A Twitter Profile of Israel’s Mission to the United Nations
Last week I attempted to visualize world embassies to the United Nations in New York as a social network. Using a sample consisting of the twitter accounts of 56 embassies to the UN, my analysis explored which embassies are the most popular in this network, which embassies are most connected to other embassies and which... Continue Reading →
The United Nation’s Social Network
Several weeks ago I wrote a blog post in which I attempted to illustrate and analyze the social network of the world's foreign ministries. This analysis was the result of a series of interviews I have been conducting with foreign policy practitioners at the Israeli foreign ministry who told me that they use social media... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 