In this day and age, public diplomacy is all about social media. Any grass-roots effort that could help shape public opinion on the world stage while condemning and rebuking the acts of terror should be encouraged.

The situation in Iraq has gone from bad to worse. But one app is still available: Whisper, an anonymous secret sharing app often used by adolescents. And young Iraqis have taken to it, sharing their feelings about what's happening in Iraq in the one of the only ways they can. 

Israelis and pro-Israel activities started a social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter Friday to raise awareness about the kidnappings of the three young yeshiva students who were kidnapped late Thursday night in the Gush Etzion area in the West Bank.

An hour before Game 4 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James was talking about the World Cup. A couple of Brazilian journalists nodded excitedly as he spoke, perhaps in part because soccer’s signature event is being hosted in their futbol-mad country. Chinese journalists were there as well, logging every word that James was saying because of his enormous following in their homeland.

While the international outcry is gratifying in its endorsement of human rights and its outrage at the Islamic jihad and Sharia law, hashtag diplomacy has distinct limitations; it may serve as a starting point provided it doesn’t merely fade away after serving only to vent emotion, and it is no substitute for action.

Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are expected to be busy during the Brazil tournament, which an Adidas exec predicts will "undoubtedly be the most social World Cup ever and probably the most social event in history."

Social media campaigns (such as Kony2012) are frequently dismissed as superficial and a displacement for real engagement – labelled "slacktivism". Yet, despite some difficulties, #BringBackOurGirls does appear to be a case where the worldwide outcry voiced through Twitter has had a genuine impact and promoted meaningful action. It has put the story into the mainstream, largely because it is now framed as a simple humanitarian drama – "horrible terrorists snatch innocent girls".