Let's be Cautious, but Let's do this (Required Post #10)

One of the biggest takeaways I got from this week's discussion was that diplomats in the 21st century not only have to be really good at working with technology, but also they must be very controlled about their actions. This is because everywhere a diplomat goes, everything a diplomat says and everything a diplomat does can be so easily recorded and then shared all over the world. With new technology like YouTube having such a prevalence in todays' world, it is so easy for the actions of an American diplomat to be seen within minutes in just about any country.

If we think back to when Osama bin Laden was found and murdered, the speed with which this information was shared was extraordinary. Not only was it all over the traditional news sources (TV and newspaper) but it was also shared immediately on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and just about any other source you can think of. And it doesn't have to be a big event Osama bin Laden or a big scandal like the Jerry Sandusky case for the news to go global. If we consider the absolutely ridiculous amount of attention that this video got...

This isn't actually the real video, because it only has about 5 million views, as opposed to the original one that had well over 80 million. This whole craze occurred while I was studying abroad in Spain and one of my friends there was trying to do her homework while someone in the apartment below her was blasting this song on repeat for hours on end. Nope--certainly (and perhaps shamefully) not just an American thing.

Today, information flows faster than ever before. If the American government wants to enter into the age of Digital Diplomacy, we will need to be incredibly informed and completely understand the frequency and speed of information sharing. We must be prepared for the implications of this new technological world. One of the articles from this week's readings called Digital Diplomacy by Sam Dupant states: "The hope in all of this is that the U.S. State Department can be a cut above other governments in becoming a technologically adept diplomatic machine." I think this is absolutely essential for America and if achieved, will be a hugely monumental step in the right direction.

As I discussed last week, this is not exactly the easiest problem to solve. When you enter a world where the technology is so new and so controversial, knowing when to step in is hard to do. But I strongly believe that we are going to have to carefully and cautiously step in and attempt to utilize all that the technology has to offer for the diplomacy of today's world.