To vent their frustration with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, whose crackdown on the country’s uprising has killed an estimated 2,700 civilians since mid-March, the ambassadors have taken to slamming the regime on the embassy blog, embassy Facebook page, and online interviews, Storyful reports.

There are government agencies such as the police forces in Delhi, Indore and Meerut which use Facebook creatively to track crimes and keep citizens informed . The ministry of external affairs has come in for praise for using Twitter as a tool for public diplomacy. But such examples are few and far between.

It's inevitable that the economic problems have put a dent in our soft power," he says. "In material terms, it's almost a non-story. The math in the Standard & Poor's downgrade was incorrect.

The European Union - through the European External Action Service - should engage citizens, both inside the EU and around the globe, through the same medium which enabled protestors to topple autocrats and dictators. That being social media.

Part of the plan is to hire nationals of the target markets with right skills and networks to head the charm offensive instead of sending Kenyans with little or no connections...he move not only marks a major shift in the country’s diplomatic positioning but also makes a significant departure from the way Kenya has traditionally staffed its embassies and high commissions abroad.

Israelis studiously track public opinion in the United States and Europe, and Israel's military has taken to using YouTube, Twitter and bloggers to disseminate real-time updates around the world, sometimes in the middle of battle.

TİKA is widely considered a key public diplomacy instrument for Turkey, with the agency website defining development assistance as “a significant instrument that allows new avenues for classical diplomacy in economic, social, cultural and humanitarian fields.”

Going forward, vendors will not rely on pricing or hardware specifications for a competitive edge, but rather on their ability to engage in demand-creation programmes, mobilise channels, and articulate a message that their products will provide an unmatched user experience notes the research firm.