The Pentagon on Monday launched a new campaign — in bursts of 140 characters per message. The Defense Department (@DeptofDefense) held its first Twitter town hall, and the nearly hour-long session addressed questions from "don't ask, don't tell" to the Middle East to cyber security.

Technological advancements are ushering in new forms of “government to people” and “people to people” engagement. The use of technology to encourage public diplomacy marks a pivotal shift in U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy — and should continue to play a greater role in supporting democracy and improving relations with countries around the world.

What is the role of social media in the modern diplomacy? Yaron Gamburg, the spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Paris and the organizer of the Digital Diplomacy workshop, attempts an answer.

For South Africa, this is the true value of Web 3.0. This is a game-changer in how society works. The web of openness will offer tremendous opportunities for us all. I hope my book will go some way to making sure that we are ready to grasp those opportunities and make the most of them.

The U.S. government’s public diplomacy institutions are running on autopilot. While other nations, such as China, are ramping up public diplomacy and soft-power capabilities, the attention of the political leaders in this country is focused elsewhere: the budget deficit, the economy, the presidential election, etc.

This week the China-watching twitterverse was surprised to discover that Hu Xijin, the editor of the Global Times, was now tweeting. That the editor of the Global Times, an “angry government mouthpiece” that supports China’s policy of Internet censorship...

As a public diplomacy tool, the Internet has become a heaven-sent gift for Foggy Bottom. Clearly, there is a very determined effort underway to upgrade the image of the State Department from a rather staid and slow-pokey bureaucracy to a hopping, hip, and super-connected organization.