Free Essay Example on Twitter Diplomacy

The term Twitter diplomacy denotes the use and application of modern technology in articulating the various foreign policies in place so as to coordinate their efforts and in the end influence the decision-making process of foreign governments across the world (Sobel, Riffe & Hester,2016). One of the most used communication channels is the use of digital communication and information tools and social media platforms, i.e. Twitter and facebook.

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The revolution and growth of the internet have brought a lot of changes in all aspects of life among them being international relations which is a core aspect of diplomacy. The broader use and application of various internet platforms is a very crucial tool that can help project the multiple foreign policies of different states for local and international audiences.

The traditional forms of diplomacy, on the other hand, comprises of physical interactions, i.e. government to government interactions by diplomats in proactively managing and understanding cultures, attitudes, and behavior. The gathered knowledge is then used to enhance relationships; influencing thoughts and consequently mobilizing actions to advance their interests and values. The subsequent paragraphs give some of the key features that make twitter diplomacy superior and outstanding as opposed to the traditional forms of diplomacy

Components/ Principles Governing Twitter Diplomacy

Knowledge management; for the twitter diplomacy to operate effectively, there is need to have and manage the knowledge gathered through the governmental agencies in the proper manner, retain and disseminate the information for the benefit of the broader public population.

External sources and internet freedom: other digital mechanisms of harnessing external expertise and professionalism needs to be created so as to enrich the international policy and decision-making process. Additionally, there is a need to create technologies that are open and free to everyone so as to enhance the freedom of diplomacy and governance across nations.

Public diplomacy: there is need to keep in touch with the potential influencers of the decision-making process. In this case, the general public is considered as critical stakeholders since their views are crucial in influencing foreign policies. It's, therefore, essential to maintain and keep a vibrant network of audiences who are frequent users of the internet. such an audience will help to tap into the modern communications tools which will enable the diplomats to listen and target the relevant audiences.

Policy planning; the twitter diplomacy ought to allow the various governments of the world to coordinate their efforts, oversee the policy instruments in place and eventually plan and implement the international policy across the nation. Proper planning and implementation of any strategy require full involvement of the critical stakeholders and prior consultation with the key diplomats.

Benefits of Twitter Diplomacy

Wider Coverage

Twitter diplomacy has provided the opportunity of most diplomats to reach various audiences across nations in near-real-time (Roos, 2017). This is because the different internet technologies and social media platforms provide enough space and time for interaction hence increasing engagement which enhances the goals of diplomacy. During such communications, dynamic content is put into use such as photos, links among others as opposed to the traditional methods of diplomacy which comprise of hardcopies that is time-consuming and expensive. More so, it's also hard to reach a considerable number of the young population with the use of traditional methods, especially in this digital era.

Better and Faster Data Collection Procedure

Digital technologies and social media platform have made it possible for governments across the world to collect, analyze store and manage information effectively (Jiang, 2016).). The competent use of the digital tool has enabled nations to respond effectively during disasters and emergencies. The use of twitter diplomacy continuously strengthens the other traditional forms of diplomacy such as holding conferences, reporting of relevant information through the use of pamphlets. Such coordination and harmonization of tasks enhances the quality of work and to cut significantly the cost of meeting one on one with governments to discuss policy-related issues/negotiations involving states.

Crisis Management

For real-time response during an emergency or crisis, there is a need to use a digital platform that is convenient and cost-effective. For this reason, Twitter is one of the recommended tools that can be used to help strengthen civilian capability for them to respond and more so prevent the occurrence of such crisis. The use information and communication technology creates a vibrant communication platform whereby discussions are kept alive from various individuals and governments.

Essential updates from organizations and government are conveyed simultaneously availing to participants the various resources which they can use to polish the information shared through the media platform in place (Oliveira & Huertas-Roig, 2019).

Additionally, the proper use of twitter by the government may enhance disaster management strategies. Participants are given room to dialogue for the various relief programs in place; hence, a majority of them will eventually take part in the practical actions to resolve the problem at hand. More to this, the news provided via twitter can attract celebrity support and consequently increase in celebrity action. In the long run, the participatory culture will call for masses to come on board.

Influencing Public Opinion

Governments that have continuously been using twitter diplomacy have ripped several benefits among them being an increase in civic participation. The organization have used the Twitter platform to centralize its discussion by choosing the relevant topic and identifying the ideal network. The benefits are evident based on the enormous volumes of retweets seen at the website. The platform is free and fair since it gives all the participants equal chances to take part in the discussion and present their personal opinion (Golan, Manor and Arceneaux, 2019). Unlike the traditional forms, which only provides a top-down flow of information, thus sounds discriminatory. The views and opinions from the key stakeholders and the public are crucial in influencing government decisions that are of interest to the host country, which eventually promotes a positive brand of the government in place.

Advancement of Foreign Policy Goals

Twitter diplomacy has become the world's essential tool in foreign policy formulation. Every nation in the world is competing for power and influence over the same online space. When put into proper use, twitter diplomacy can offer much more benefits and hence used as a timely and persuasive supplement to the traditional forms of diplomacy. Additionally, it can be used to advance the foreign policy goals of different nations and furthermore, extend the international coverage through the building of strong partnerships (Adesina, 2016).

Opinions and views from different crucial stakeholder, including the general public, can help in policy formulation and consequently its adoption both locally and internationally. Several people can access the internet quickly, which makes it possible for most governments to increase engagements at the same time, reduce their expenditure and demands. Twitter is also one of the most powerful social media platforms that increases the chances of reaching out to the young population. Creation of awareness and sensitization of the youth is currently the primary goal of public diplomacy efforts.

Low Financial Cost

Continuous technological advancement has significantly reduced the cost of using and adopting new technologies (Rashica, 2018). Therefore good use of the twitter diplomacy can yield to a reduction in the value of the overall management cost of dissemination and collecting information. Twitter enables government and organizations to investigate and identify the various problems experienced and after that, expose those responsible. One could then advocate for the relevant authority to take action through the political-diplomatic engagement. Every organization desires to reduce its operational cost to a manageable level while at the same time, increase its output by meeting its customer's demands.

Despite the many contributions that twitter diplomacy offers, there are some weaknesses that the same diplomacy tool possesses. One of the challenges is that the general public may be less interested in whatever the state actors post on their web page. The disinterest maybe because some of the tweets may appear too official and rigid. Most of the time, the relevant government agency in charge communicates official statements which may not go well with the public since them to use a non-normative communication. Most diplomats and state actors have to endure their public diplomacy creatively so that they keep the open views on the right track alongside the policy of that particular state.

Twitter diplomacy is also considered an effective and efficient way of reaching out to a large number of people as it offers real-time communication. Even so, the information can be distorted, especially when the conversation is coming from different states, yet reaching the participants all over the world at the same time. Wrong information may negatively affect the brand and reputation of that particular organization/government and in the long run, affect the effectiveness of its foreign policy (Gorka, 2018). Misinterpretation of a kind piece of information by different viewers may also lead to false or wrong information being discussed and passed across.

Globalization has consequently encouraged networking and connections which may be misused by other people with evil intentions to cause chaos. For instance, vigilante groups such as xenophobic and terrorist can use the same platform to recruit and mobilize people to join their group and cause havoc to the innocent people. People disguise themselves using the various social media platforms and convince masses to join the group, later on, commit heinous crimes.

Misinterpretation of Information on the internet since some people decide to alter or distort some comments found on the twitter page and use them to spread false information. The comments on twitter page by various key stakeholders have had both the negative and positive impacts on the general public. According to Melissen and de Keulenaar (2017), lack of proper knowledge on how to use the social media platform, i.e. twitter has led to severe conflicts among governments leading to dismissals of some diplomats. There is thus the need to conduct proper training to all diplomats on the use of digital communication platforms to avoid further damage.

Hacking; many of the cyber optimistic have turned into pessimistic as a result of an increase in digital pervasiveness (Adesina, 2017). Several institutions have been attacked, leading to leakage of very critical and private information. Making twitter diplomacy to be also at risk since its one of the digital tool that assists in international relations issues jeopardizing the career of many diplomats.

The culture of anonymity; anyone using the internet may pretend to be someone else and thus cause harm to the innocent people. Furthermore, such hatred may lead to complicated issues arising from publications which contain untrue/conflicting information. It thus becomes hard to manage such kind of scenario as the much time and resources are required to clear such information from the web site page.