Online Pre-Events During the COVID-19 Pandemic

 Lukasz Swiatek and I have just published a new article in the International Journal of Communication about online pre-events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mega-events such as the Olympics and expo were postponed, prolonging the build-up phase of the events and providing the opportunity to organize pre-events. COVID restrictions and limitations on movement forced these pre-events …

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As trust in social media crumbles, are these platforms still adequate for public diplomacy?

The tension of social media as both a liberating and constraining force has important implications for the study of digital communication in public diplomacy. The challenges and opportunities brought about by social media have been discussed in the third of a series of debates co-organized by the ISA's International Communication Section and the ICA's Public Diplomacy Interest Group. Lisa Tam of …

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Early Career Scholars Debate on Public Diplomacy and Social Media

On the 7th of December, I will be charing the 3rd Early Career Scholars Debate, a joint event of the ICA Public Diplomacy Interest Group and the ISA International Communication Section. The debate will be held on the 7th of December at 8:00 AM London time, 11:00 AM Moscow time, 6:00 PM Brisbane time. Lisa Tam of the Queensland …

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The Spectrum of Listening

It is generally agreed that listening is a critical component of any successful public diplomacy initiative. Listening has become particularly relevant with the introduction of social media platforms in public diplomacy, which has created new possibilities for governments to listen to and communicate with domestic and international audiences. In particular, data-driven approachesprovide diplomats with new …

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Conceptualising public diplomacy listening on social media

Just published in Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. Read the full article (Abstract below). Abstract Public diplomacy consists of the public and interactive dimensions of diplomacy. Although listening is one of its core activities, public diplomacy scholarship has not yet engaged with listening theory. This paper connects public diplomacy scholarship with a new wave of …

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Typologies of social media accounts in public diplomacy

Public diplomacy actors are those who contribute to the projection of a country’s positive international image as a part of the national public diplomacy strategy. These actors are not always strictly diplomats since they may not be explicitly part of the diplomatic organisation. This introduces a differentiation between diplomatic social media accounts which are managed …

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The Australian DFAT Digital Media Strategy and Public Diplomacy listening on social media

On the 5th of December 2016 the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade published the Digital Media Strategy 2016-18. This follows the previous Public Diplomacy Strategy 2014–16 published in 2014 and updated in the last few years. This move has been encouraged by the Minister Julie Bishop -  considered the inventor of the emoji diplomacy …

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Cross-platform communication and Digital Methods: an example

Here's the abstract and the slides of my presentation at the Anzca Conference 2016 in Newcastle. Click here for the slides Cross-platform communication and context: assessing social media engagement in Public Diplomacy Abstract The new computational tools developed in digital methods are really powerful on mapping Twitter conversations related to a particular topic. Nevertheless, there are …

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