Like any powerful tool, the Internet can be used for both good and evil, by citizens and governments alike. It is so powerful that the US State Department is actively tapping social media for public diplomacy. Just check out “It’s me, Kristie” – the blog of Kristie Kenney, the former US ambassador to Manila who’s now assigned in Bangkok.

She said that rumors in South Korea that the U.S. was exporting cows infected with mad cow disease spread through SNS, fueling anti-U.S. sentiment and nation-wide protests, and hindering free trade negotiations between the two countries. Esser said in such cases, however, the majority of the online community tends to shout down the extremists, working as a “self-correcting mechanism.”

Far from being rendered irrelevant by technological progress, where governments can communicate with one another directly on a need-to basis, diplomacy has become an increasingly critical instrument in an age of interdependence and globalisation. Responding to the ever-changing world around it, diplomacy has evolved and adopted new tools and techniques to respond to the new demands and expectations.

But this week, some journalists over at the Agence France Presse have put together a neat interactive online tool, called E-Diplomacy, that shows which countries follow which others, how much social discussion is going on between various countries, diplomats, and world thinkers.

The presence and power of social networks to shape events emerged clearly during the first phase of the Arab Spring, and will continue to evolve as a tool for strategic diplomacy... The e-diplomacy hub opens a real-time window onto this world, and allows the user to interact with it as well.

Amid discussions Tuesday of ways social media can be used to ensure a sustainable future for the planet, one Rio+Social conversation emphasized how technology is accelerating and improving humanitarian relief.

The U.S. government aims to watch social media sites more closely, deepening its involvement in online activities at the likely cost of civil liberties.

The use of nation-branding by middle power states has continually increased as other nations engaged in the policy experience some success and create a name for themselves in the international community. Nation-branding allows states to distinguish themselves from other nations or create a new image due to negative perceptions of individuals across the world.