One photographer's global travels recently captured a glimmer of hope within an otherwise bleak landscape in Iraq.  Brandon Stanton, known for his successful blog and best-selling book, "Humans of New York," partnered with the United Nations to venture on a 50-day tour of 10 countries and expand his storytelling series worldwide.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is turning to social media in an effort to engage in online diplomacy, practice “open policy development” and improve international trade ties. The government is also looking to Twitter and other social media to retool what it acknowledges has been a “closed” diplomacy and policy model that “emphasized control over information and access,” show newly released federal documents.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State, formerly known by the acronym ISIS, is actively recruiting Western women and girls. And in the process this “caliphate” that now occupies large swathes of Syria and Iraq is showing, once again, that it’s almost as shrewd with social media as it is ruthless on the battlefield. The tweets and blogs apparently are written by Western women married to jihadi warriors.

Western media observers have been alarmed by the series of Russian laws passed that give the Kremlin an increased ability to police the Internet. For liberal Russians, and bloggers in particular, the newest limitations are just the latest part of a disturbing trend of new restrictions on Internet media that, not coincidentally, began when Vladimir Putin retook the presidency in 2012.

Militants have unleashed a hi-tech social media jihad to radicalise and recruit educated youth for terror activities in the strife torn Jammu and Kashmir.  A highly confidential letter of Jammu and Kashmir police accessed by dna reveals that militant and fundamentalist elements are recruiting and radicalizing the youth thorough different means including the social media.

In the case of the Nigerian girls, they may eventually be rescued. But if they are, it won't be the result of hashtag diplomacy; rather, it will be due to strong and serious diplomacy conducted by brave men and women willing to confront evil head-on.

Public diplomacy means local community education in underdeveloped countries where disease is a stigma and reporting on issues like Ebola is poor. Ebola is now a front-page story and a social media phenomenon.  Let us use that momentum to demand support to create effective village- and community-based education in Africa, Latin America and other places where diseases go unreported.