Packer dismissively discusses Google's work on developing smart parking meters for San Francisco, but doesn't mention that the company has a former State Department staffer running an internal think tank working on topics ranging from media coverage of the Mexican drug war to human trafficking.

As Barack Obama gave a speech defending the US use of drone attacks abroad, Pakistanis talked back on Twitter. On Thursday, the US president addressed criticism of his administration's use of drones in counterterrorism policy and proposed new policy guidelines for strikes.

So what does that mean about the influence of Korean culture, the image of Korea and the popularity of Korean artists worldwide? Are the viral videos of PSY a testament to Korean soft power? Or reflective of the changing landscape of new media in which hundreds of millions of netizens decided to share this humorous music video by a ‘funny Asian guy’ with their friends?

Over the past several years, the idea of soft power has gained currency with political theorists. It is a way to describe a nation’s ability to persuade others to do what it wants without the hard power of force, threats or bribery. It includes culture, trade, diplomacy and engagement.

Translations of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s remarks on Japan’s wartime sex slaves posted on Facebook by a women’s group have provoked heated reactions from all over the world. All Japan Obachan Party, a group set up by Osaka-based middle-aged women in November, translated Hashimoto’s recent remarks into seven languages…and posted them on the online social-networking service.

Amid her travels around the world, Clinton always made time for town hall-style meetings where she could directly engage with the public. She recognized that such events were essential because these people had formed and discussed opinions about the United States by connecting with the larger world.

US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine said Thursday that while the US will continue to campaign for internet freedom as important channel for public discourse, the same shouldn’t be used as a tool to attack others.

The creation of equalizing platforms like computers, smart phones, and tablet notebooks with access to the internet has superseded the need for the customary ingredients of open societies. The entire world is slowly becoming an open society, and even reclusive dictatorships scan Google Earth to see what was recently discovered.