Hillary Clinton, was made painfully aware of the power of social media when she lost the Democratic nomination to a tech-savvy Barack Obama in 2008. Photo/ AFP
Hundreds of Chinese netizens posted comments marvelling that the Canadian envoy at the time — David Mulroney — was driving a relatively inexpensive car compared to the luxury vehicles favoured by their own officials.
In just one click, Ottawa had managed to engage a wide audience in a debate about corruption and transparency, using one of China’s hugely popular social networks.
“Digital tools — including social media — are being used by an increasing number of countries,” said Antonio Deruda, author of “Diplomazia Digitale”, a book on the topic.
“It is an important process that can be very useful for administrations… Through social media, the goal is to establish a dialogue with the foreign public.”
Dubbed “21st century statecraft” by the United States, the use of digital tools to help achieve diplomatic goals is on the rise in a world where the web has changed how people engage with each other and higher authorities.
Washington is at the forefront of this trend — led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was made painfully aware of the power of social media when she lost the Democratic nomination to a tech-savvy Barack Obama in 2008.
There are now around 300 State Department-affiliated Twitter accounts globally — which include those run by ambassadors or embassies — over 400 Facebook pages and 180 YouTube channels.
US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, for instance, has used the embassy’s Facebook page to post declassified satellite images showing troop movements in civilian locations, in a propaganda tug of war with the Damascus regime.
The State Department has also organised Google+ Hangouts — group video chats — to engage with people in Iran on issues such as sanctions and studying in the United States.
“One of the benefits of using these technologies is we’re in places where we don’t have a diplomatic presence on the ground,” said Victoria Esser, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Digital Strategy at the State Department.
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