When I was 19 I read about Plato's Theory of Forms. The theory, crudely put, argues that everything exists in a metaphysical realm in its ideal form, and that everything we have on Earth is a poor attempt to imitate the ideal. So, a cat on Earth is a poor imitation of the ideal cat; and a picture of the earthly cat is even more imperfect because it is even further away from the ideal.

Google has created a special doodle in recognition of Colombia’s congressional elections. The doodle, live on the Colombian Google homepage since Sunday morning, features patriotic colors and a set of hands casting a vote into a ballot box and invites all Colombian citizens to exercise what President Juan Manuel Santos called their “right and duty” to vote.

Journalists covering the Sochi Olympics have taken to Twitter to air complaints over the state of their hotel rooms. For the past week, some reporters have been tweeting images describing what they say are appalling conditions in the media hotels.

Ex-presidents Felipe Calderon of Mexico, Alan Garcia of Peru and Cesar Gaviria of Colombia brought to Bogota the fad for selfies that has overtaken Hollywood and US President Barack Obama. In charge of posting the dignitaries' picture on the social network Twitter was Calderon, and judging by the look of concentration on his face, he seems to have been the photographer as well.

The rise of Web 2.0 tools created a new, easy-to-use channel for diplomats and public diplomacy bureaus to reach far-flung publics. Many foreign ministries adopted the new technology almost immediately, creating a field called public diplomacy 2.0. New problems appeared quickly though.

Turkey's president on Friday ruled out any ban on Facebook and YouTube after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the sites could be shut to stop his foes anonymously posting audio recordings purportedly exposing corruption in his inner circle.

Social media can be a powerful tool, especially when considering how it empowers regular people with the ability to reach a large audience. It certainly played a prominent role in the Arab Spring protests of 2010, when protestors took to Twitter and Facebook to document the uncensored reality of their experience.

It has had its fair share of social media scandals and been accused of buying fake Facebook likes, but the White House believes the benefits of being an active participant in the uncertain world of social media still far outweigh the risks. It calls it digital diplomacy.