...If we want our people-to-people exchanges to remain central to our public diplomacy engagement, we have to open new channels. We have to communicate government to people, and people to people. And one of the best ways we can leverage those conversations is through social media and other connective technologies, such as video teleconferencing.

Mr. Schwartz is a career public diplomacy official who has served in Pakistan, India, Israel and South Africa... Some said Mr. Schwartz was among the first in the U.S. government to understand how the U.S.-made online clip would likely fuel unrest in the Mideast.

Delegates will continue to explore the sub-working group’s three main themes: the Business of Media; the Evolving Practice and Profession of Journalism; and New Media Technologies. These themes will be encompassed in discussions on ethics, entrepreneurship and education, respectively, as well as the expanding role of social media.

We like to think we are a leading force in Asia, culturally and diplomatically. We might just be kidding ourselves. You have to give credit to the artist. Gangnam Style has set a new standard for music videos. Since its July release on YouTube, Gangnam Style has received more than 390 million views - and counting. The song has topped charts across the West, including here and in Britain.

Psy, a portly 34-year-old rapper with a penchant for silly dances, brought central Seoul to a standstill last week as he gave a free concert for 80,000 adoring fans, including two renditions of his global hit “Gangnam Style.”

Embassies perform a crucial role in maintaining diplomatic ties with foreign governments, but their function is to maintain economic, political and cultural engagement with people living in distant lands. There have been a few experiments with virtual embassies -- the United States has one for Iran.