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Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week – Twitter Accounts Sharing Video From Ukraine Are Suspended When They’re Needed Most (The Verge)Russia Launches Social Media Offensive Alongside Missiles (Foreign Policy)Ukraine’s Volunteer ‘IT Army’ Is Hacking in Uncharted Territory... Continue Reading →
The age of social media is the age of total transparency. Studies have found that the more personal a tweet or Facebook post, the more a user bares his soul, the more Likes they will garner. And as social media users wish to be seen and Liked, they become accustomed to sharing all facets of... Continue Reading →
A paradox, by nature, is hard to grasp. It is a self-contradictory statement that at first seems false, or misleading. George Bernard Shaw’s most famous paradox is that ‘youth is wasted on the young’. This is seemingly contradictory for how can youth be wasted on those who are youthful? Shaw was of course referring to... Continue Reading →
Dead Clade Walking. These three words shook the foundations of the scientific world several years ago. It relates to a theory which argues that some Dinosaurs survived the asteroid impact which triggered their extinction. Notably, the Dead Clade Walking theory did not argue that extinction did not occur, but rather that some Dinosaurs survived the... Continue Reading →
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week – Meta moves to tackle creepy behaviour in virtual reality (BBC News)Facebook owner Meta sees biggest ever stock market loss (BBC News)Can the Technology Behind Covid Vaccines Cure Other Diseases? (Wall Street... Continue Reading →
In the late 1980’s Daniel Dayan and Elihu Katz developed their theory of Media Events. They argued that certain high-profiled Media Events may have prolonged societal impacts. The two scholars were influenced by the historic visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Israel in 1977. Dayan and Katz argued that this Media Event altered the... Continue Reading →
When scholars and pundits discuss digital diplomacy, they tend to equate this term with social media activities. Indeed, the majority of digital diplomacy studies have focused on how and why social media is used by foreign ministries (MFAs), embassies, Ambassadors and International Organisations. Studies have explored the numerous ways in which states use sites such... Continue Reading →
Social media sites are predicated on the concept of reciprocity. When a user follows one of his peers, he expects his peer to respond in kind. The same is true with content engagement. The basis of social media is a social contract where users “Like” and “Share” one another’s content. Given that the ultimate goal... Continue Reading →
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week – Americans widely distrust Facebook, TikTok and Instagram with data, poll finds (The Washington Post)The Metaverse already has a groping problem (MIT Technology Review)How America Can Keep Its Lead in Technology (Wall... Continue Reading →
Recent years have seen the mass migration of MFAs (foreign ministries) and diplomats to social media sites. It is now estimated that 95% of UN Member States have established some form of social media presence. Iran is no exception. Although Twitter, Facebook and other platforms cannot be accessed from Iran, senior Iranian policy makers can... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 