Nation-branding isn’t a new thing. But the pervasiveness of social media has allowed governments to take ownership of their own social feeds and engage in niche and real-time conversations online, with most countries’ governments having dedicated social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

The United Nations is holding its first ever Social Media Day at its New York Headquarters today, in an event featuring social media professionals, digital diplomacy practitioners and academics who are sharing their experiences, discussing trends and proving insights into their work.

According to law enforcement officials, ISIS and other terrorist organizations are increasingly adept at using social media to recruit from abroad.  Social media companies like Facebook and Twitter face complex criticism.

Thousands of Saudis have poured into the palace of King Salman who acceded the throne after the death of his half-brother Abdullah last week.  But thousands of others have pledged their allegiance to the new ruler online, taking advantage of social media networks.

In the realm of influencing relations between nations, digital media has suddenly unpinned the power to communicate from the almost exclusive control of the state. Thanks to digital platforms such as social media, state actors must now compete with non-state actors for a voice in the international arena as well as for legitimacy in the eyes of the public—including their domestic one.

While Spaso House is not neglecting digital diplomacy under Ambassador Tefft, the online buzz generated by Ambassador McFaul in Russia certainly seems to have dissipated in a big way.

A team of analysts at King’s College in London is building an exhaustive database of western Islamic State fighters – through Twitter and Facebook.

Islamic State social media accounts are circulating disturbing and graphic images seemingly showing the executions of gay men, stoning of an alleged adulterer and other public executions. The barbaric acts of violence seem to have occurred in Iraq’s Nineveh province and Mosul.