Broadcasting meets eDiplomacy

International Broadcasting in the Social Media Era

Photo Credit: International eDiplomacy - Charlie Firestone on Diplomacy and Technology

Digital diplomacy, also referred to as eDiplomacy, has been defined as the use of the Internet and new information communication technologies to help achieve diplomatic objectives. Digital diplomacy can be found in all types of ways, from digital stratgies to digital diplomatic creatives in all sorts of fields. The most recent discovery has been diplomacy through social media. The whole world is slowly converting to the Internet; making the World Wide Web the most effective way of spreading information by the masses.

Digital diplomacy has evolved exponentially from generation to generation. Broadcasters that are apart of major media corporations have the ability to influence and affect change by communicating in both social media and television programming. The power of the Internet has affected our everyday ways of life. The amount of followers and fans television personalities acquire throughout their careers establishes a set audience for international broadcast outreach, which makes it easy to promote awareness and diplomatic objectives.

Now when people want to know what’s happening around the world they log on to the Internet and not only visit major news corporations websites, but also follow up by visiting credible professionals twitter accounts. We as a generation are at the point where everyone is capable of being a reporter or a news source. The age of the prosumer, which is a popular term that refers to a person who produces content and consumes it as well. MAP2Digital diplomacy can be distributed in forms of video, in text, a photo or even an audio recording that provides viewers/listeners with sense of diplomatic information. A perfect example of the use of digital diplomacy is a broadcaster spreading awareness via social media on the tragic earthquake outbreak in Haiti. Terrence Jenkins popularly known as Terrence J who is a famous host for E News traveled to Haiti and took pictures and shared his information through live tweets. He also talked about it once he got back to ‘106 and Park’ a music show he previously hosted in his career.

The technological age we live in today really elevates the amount of information that becomes relevant to the masses. If everyone is talking about one political issue or philanthropy the public will eventually follow the issue as well. Digital diplomacy ultimately has an impact on society and will continue to evolve with time.

 

About the Author

Jonathan Peña
Jonathan Peña
-Fairleigh Dickinson University Alumni -Communications in Media Arts -Montclair State University Student Diplomat #DigitalDiplomacy
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