Since the 1960’s, public diplomacy has been discussed as a concept. Ever since, it has emerged to become the practiced reality for influential diplomacy in international affairs today. Twitter and Facebook are part of shaping the world, and to gain an influence for a nation state. Taking use of new tools, spreading the influence of a nation, or indeed an international organisation is being done through various means, in a combination of technical tools and ordinary diplomacy. Looking at public diplomacy in the light of the new technologies makes it even more pertinent.

Among world leaders who engage in twiplomacy - the use of Twitter for diplomatic relations - President Barack Obama wins superlatives for the most followers but Pope Francis is the most influential, according to a new survey by Burson-Marsteller. The global public relations and communications firm found that more than three-quarters of world leaders are on Twitter - the online social networking service that limits messages known as tweets to 140 characters.

Five Latin America leaders are on the list of the twenty most followed on Twitter in the world, among them Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, ranking number ten with 2.1 million followers (followers). The eleven and twelve positions are occupied by the Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto and Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos, each with more than 1.9 million followers in the world. The report “Twiplomacy 2013″ was released this week.

For Africa, the period since mobile penetration figures became significant has been characterised by innovation and technology-driven value added services. These are increasingly being tailored to meet the spending and consumption needs of consumers. For example, Kenyan-based Safaricom's M-PESA has tapped into the "unbanked" portion of the population by taking advantage of the country's high mobile penetration levels.

Digital Diplomacy is a topic that, for most people, conjures up images of embassies conversing with foreign governments and broadcasting information, messages and well -- propaganda -- to impact foreign policy goals.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has joined Twitter, poking fun at her own image and keeping political classes guessing about her future.

Over the past several years, the idea of soft power has gained currency with political theorists. It is a way to describe a nation’s ability to persuade others to do what it wants without the hard power of force, threats or bribery. It includes culture, trade, diplomacy and engagement.