APDS Blogger: Jerry Edling
According to the latest Pew survey, in almost all the countries surveyed, the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter didn't change much from 2010 to 2011. Two notable exceptions were Egypt, where 28% of respondents now use social networks -- up from 18% last year -- and Russia, where social-networking use rose from 33% to 43%.
With 40 percent of Russian adults online, many say social media, including the Russian social networking site VKontakte, has made it possible for a long stalled opposition movement in Russia to organize a rally that size.
The US Embassy in Jakarta has generated a fan base of 430,000 Indonesians with its two-year-old Facebook page. Embassy staffers have been operating the Facebook site as a base for public engagement, conversation, news, culture and tourism promotion.
Caribbean recipients of the prestigious US Fulbright Scholarships will share their experiences throughout November in Facebook chats hosted by the United States Embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
America's got a new tagline: "United States of Awesome Possibilities." The country's new positioning comes courtesy of the Corporation for Travel Promotion, which this summer hired JWT to handle a global marketing campaign and is worked with branding firm The Brand Union to create a logo for Brand U.S.A.
The Israeli army this week launched its official Arabic Facebook page. Joining the military's English blog, Twitter account and YouTube channel , the Arabic site will provide information about the Israeli army's activities in the Palestinian territories and other related issues. It will also serve as a place for conversation with readers.
In a clear act of public diplomacy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on BBC Persian this week to engage the network's Iranian audience on a range of issues regarding the state of relations between Iran and America. In an interview-format program, she tried to address some important issues raised by Iranians living either in Iran or outside the country.