Networks of Freedom, Networks of Control

At the time of writing, approximately 1 billion internet users participate in the vast global network of social media networks and are responsible for approximately 1 billion Facebook posts and 190 million tweets per day. ¹ These myriad social media users are connected across cultures and across territorial boundaries in a complex web of associations with close friends, acquaintances, and family members and nonprofit, business, and government organizations. Facebook users alone are connected through more than 100 billion “friendships:” ² but these social media platforms are only the tip of the iceberg. An infinitely more vast and complex web of individuals connect daily via the 6 billion registered mobile phone and 2.3 billion internet subscriptions worldwide. ³ Given that, on average, the number of iPhones sold (377,900) per day now rivals the number of babies born (377,900), these trends in connectivity are only likely to increase. ⁴ The sheer size and scope of internet and mobile networks dwarf any traditional one-way mass communication outlets and far outpace any and all interpersonal communication efforts. Not surprisingly then, the proliferation of internet and mobile networks has facilitated a corresponding preoccupation among diplomats and academics as to how to leverage these electronic networks for “networked public diplomacy.” They increasingly view social networks as the primary conduits between governments and foreign publics, and between foreign publics and domestic publics, and actively seek to build networks of fans, followers, and friends.