The decline of Australian public diplomacy capabilities is at a critical point. At its lowest point in years, some have been looking at alternative ways for Australia to engage internationally. The Lowy Institute for International Policy, in particular, has long been lamenting that DFAT does not use digital tools or social media to help promote Australia's foreign policy interests.

The US State Department and the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) are perhaps the most engaged Western governments when it comes to social media. Following them is Sweden and Australia....Does it make sense in this new area called Digital Diplomacy? Very much so and public diplomacy is nothing new. It’s been going on for hundreds of years.

The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has recently announced an expansion of its TechWomen program, an international exchange and mentoring program that is designed to leverage technology as a way to empower women around the globe.

He said the landing was expected to increase overall capacity for transmission of telecommunications data (bandwidth) in Ghana. "This single cable will catapult the country deep into the digital age."

TAMPA --- At the headquarters of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida, some young civilians are pushing back at extremist messages that permeate Internet forums. This Digital Engagement Team’s members, who are fluent in Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu, comb through online postings in their respective languages looking for incendiary or inaccurate commentary about U.S. military operations or related activity. When these messages are found, the team prepares “engagements” that challenge the writer’s logic or facts.

At the headquarters of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida, some young civilians are pushing back at extremist messages that permeate Internet forums. This Digital Engagement Team’s members, who are fluent in Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu, comb through online postings in their respective languages looking for incendiary or inaccurate commentary about U.S. military operations or related activity.