Humor represents a more oblique manner of communicating ideas, and therefore can be a powerful medium to conduct public diplomacy. The beauty of using humor as a means to transmit ideas is that the jovial nature of comedy can indirectly communicate weightier subjects in a lighthearted manner that can diffuse weighty realities.

“If you are going to tell people the truth, you better make them laugh; otherwise, they’ll kill you.”
-George Bernard Shaw

I used to think that humor was one thing that didn’t translate in cross-cultural communication. In my travels, I had watched numerous attempts at jokes fail miserably as they got lost in translation or cultural nuances. Things often ended awkwardly amid the seemingly untranslatable nature of humor.

The FY 2013 Budget elevates America’s global leadership through diplomacy and development. “Leading through civilian power saves lives and money. With the right tools, training, and leadership, our diplomats and development experts can defuse crises before they explode and create new opportunities for economic growth.”

The Senate report, " Latin American Governments Need to 'Friend' Social Media and Technology " was written at the request of U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-IN) in order to assess the U.S. Department of State's use of digital diplomacy.

The American Film Showcase, an international cultural diplomacy initiative that brings people together worldwide through film...a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, brings award-winning American films...to foreign audiences through events worldwide.

A vestige of the “anti-public diplomacy” of the previous decade is likely to get trimmed. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a giant of a compound that dwarfs in physical size and the number of people of any other diplomatic post, U.S. or otherwise, is likely to shrink. According to The New York Times, the compound costs $6 billion annually. (Seriously?)

Today, government and private sector leaders gathered at the White House to highlight progress in answering President Obama’s call to use science, technology and innovation to promote global development.

The Pentagon on Monday launched a new campaign — in bursts of 140 characters per message. The Defense Department (@DeptofDefense) held its first Twitter town hall, and the nearly hour-long session addressed questions from "don't ask, don't tell" to the Middle East to cyber security.