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John Kerry and Digital Diplomacy

John Kerry delivered his first remarks as the new U.S. Secretary of State. In his first speech at the State Department, he noted: 
"...We get to talk about empowering people through our ideals, and through those ideals hopefully they can change their lives..."
This is really important to underline;  given that public diplomacy now has a much more crucial role to play. In utilising new and social media, people now have the opportunity to engage through digital diplomacy. 

As Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine has said: 
"...we have to introduce more and more virtual exchanges and the use of social media particularly to reach young people where they are..."
Secretary Kerry Tours the Ops Center
Also, I came across a tweet from the State Department which informed that #SecKerry will be tweeting from the +U.S. Department of State twitter account.
Interesting to note, since John Kerry also has his own verified twitter account: @JohnKerry

I look forward seeing in practice what John Kerry will do in terms of public and digital diplomacy. I hope that new initiatives will built upon the solid work from the previous administration, and in particular, the work done by Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Innovation to Hillary Clinton.

Here you can watch U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry upon his arrival to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2013
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