Should we have democracy on demand? Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Egypt have experienced forms of it. What other country might be next to feel the wrath of people power? In the past few years, TV news cameras have gone from capital to capital to film the anger of people demanding change from their governments.

Digital democracy is here. We no longer passively watch our leaders on television and register our opinions on Election Day. Modern politics happens when somebody comments on Twitter or links to a campaign through Facebook. In our hyper-networked world, anyone can say anything, and it can be read by millions.

In the last few weeks of July, the story of a young transgender couple who transitioned together, which had previously gone viral in the Western media, trended on Sina Weibo, China's popular microblogging platform. Although some Chinese people were puzzled by the story, many praised the couple for their bravery and the quality of their relationship. Chinese reactions to the story on Weibo were generally positive. Wrote queer news organization @淡蓝同志新闻: "Everyone has the right to love. Be yourself! Good luck! Others can learn from your experience as a #genderswapcouple."

Earning the title ‘City of the Year 2012′ the capital of Antioquia has been and praised for having implemented innovative and sustainable measures for improving the quality of life for its close to 2 million inhabitants. As Colombia’s second largest city and one of the vital engines of economic growth in country, Medellín has always taken pride in being a key hub for banking and mining companies as well as an attractive place to do business, given an ideal location close to the coffee axis and the coasts of both the Pacific and Caribbean.

One of the reasons for the success of social media’s Twitter platform is its ability to summarize a major issue in a few characters, while at the same time providing a link to give more details and credibility to the few words. This week a political activist used some clever research to reveal the hypocrisy and double standards of a politician. Twitter user @bunghan11h juxtaposed two quotes of maverick U.S. Senator John McCain regarding the situation in Egypt.

The office has the look and feel of an Internet start-up. The workers are young, the dress is casual and the computer of choice is an Apple notebook. They inhabit a single open room. The walls have whiteboards for scribbling ideas when inspiration strikes. But the office in Manhattan is not dedicated to the latest app. It is the base camp of the United Nations Global Pulse team — a tiny unit inside an institution known for its sprawling bureaucracy, not its entrepreneurial hustle.

Allegations of mass, indiscriminate government surveillance have sparked a global spat about its proper limits. In defending their programs, the United States and Britain have exposed a troubling, two-tiered approach to the right to privacy in the digital age. Neither government seems willing to recognize the privacy interests of people outside its borders. One thing is clear: as our lives become more connected through the Internet, the right to privacy has never been under a greater global threat.

The US has criticised a new internet decree in Vietnam that would restrict online users from discussing current affairs. The law, announced last week and due to come into force in September, says social media should only be used for "[exchanging] personal information". The US embassy in Hanoi said it was "deeply concerned" by the decree.