Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians may be deadlocked, but an online community of young Israelis and Arabs from across the Middle East is hoping for better results in the virtual world. Using Facebook, a virtual peace and economic cooperation conference seeks to transcend borders by sharing ideas on the Internet.

Social media users can easily mobilize demonstrations of millions in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt. However, to see the real prospects for political and economic reforms, we must examine the nature of the grass-root movement, the core issues that the newly-emerging governments face and the choices they are likely to make.

The State Department on Monday launched a new Turkish-language Twitter account, its 10th official feed designed to spread the word about US foreign policy in a language other than English. The Turkish account is @ABDTurk and will be used by the U.S. Embassy in Turkey.

An asymmetric world is rising in which leaderless protesters can oust their national leader; and where one of the smallest countries in the Middle East, Qatar, can become a key player by virtue of its soft power. To address the challenges, we need to consider: the power of the people, the power of cities, and the power of countries that are regional or sub-regional locomotives of social and economic progress.

The government of Kazakhstan seems eager to counter any negative perceptions about the Central Asian nation. It has spent substantial sums on global public relations, striving to shape an image as a modern, open and investment-friendly nation by relying on a stable of top-tier public relations firms and international advisors.

For Western broadcasters collectively, 2011 was the most potentially devastating year in more than eight decades on the air. Now, because of fiscal uncertainties in their host countries and rapidly evolving competition from both traditional and new media, they face huge cuts in airtime and operations. Can America step up to help fill the gap?

Through more aggressive public diplomacy elements such as listening, cultural and educational exchange, advocacy, and broadcasting, Spain is in a good position to foster understanding and goodwill with its Latin American counterparts.

Second, the rapid and frightening militarization of the conflict has seriously reduced the space for public diplomacy, as Embassy personnel (and Ford himself) have few opportunities to get out to engage.