The techniques used in commercial social media campaigns don't always translate to the field of international development. Global development is a niche sector, so its communicators don't need tens of thousands of followers to be successful. Even for commercial outfits, a followership of 30,000 is not in itself an indication that the campaign is being effective: what if only 15% of those followers are from the target audience? 

We learned first-hand from Promote Iceland that travel surpassed their fishing industry only four short years after the disruptive actions of eruptions of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2009. In response, 2010 was the first time that Iceland’s government, businesses, and citizens collaborated on a joint digital promotion effort. According toInga Hlín Pálsdóttir, Director, Tourism and Creative Industries at Promote Iceland, the message was “Iceland is not for everybody, but are for people who have the spirit of adventure, exploration and creativity.”

Turkey's top court on Thursday ruled that a ban on YouTube is unconstitutional, paving the way to lift the two-month blockade, after the government cut off access to Google Inc. GOOGL +0.02% 's video-sharing website for publishing leaked state secrets just days before critical March elections.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has taken steps to reach the country's powerful youth constituency since his election in June 2013, using Twitter and talking about the importance of the Internet in an effort to connect. The country has a young, tech-savvy population, more than half of which is under the age of 30, making it an important voice in determining the country's future.  But despite Rouhani's outreach, using the Internet remains difficult in Iran amid government repression.

Women rule social media. They dominate Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, and stand click-to-click with men on Twitter and Tumblr. It's not all pretty pictures. This is the breakout year for hashtag activism on issues around women and girls. 

The US State Department has launched an experimental unit to fight al-Qaeda ideologists on Twitter across the web. But can it actually stop terrorism?