Palestinian business leaders seek to create ‘national brand’

The PLC is listed by both United States and Israel have both listed the political group as being terrorist group, this certainly does not help in terms of image for Palestine and the initiative to brand is therefore a very good idea. As the head of PADICO would agree that: 'there is a lack of knowledge and understanding about how we operate and behave, and what we believe in… Outside Palestine, people either see us as a primitive community and a third world country, full of gangsters and terrorists. Or they don’t have an impression at all.’

The world needs to know what Palestine is about and who are Palestinians, the negative image attributed to the country of extremism, violence and hunger long shown by the media or NGOs, will be a challenge before it to be turned into something positive.

Nation branding has played vital role in economies of countries, it is the way that a country is perceived that motivates investors or even holiday makers to visit or pay for services in or for a particular country. This has created competition for countries selling themselves like brands more than ever before.

Google executive says social networking was vital in Egyptian revolt

What the world is going through is certainly the age of social networking. This interconnectedness that social networks bring to the world shows how public and cultural diplomacy has a place in world politics. What started as a small campaign on Facebook spread not only in Egypt but across North Africa and elsewhere.

As the google executive who started the campaign stated: 'You can't keep a dictatorship alive in the highly connected century'. The egyptian sent a strong message, the one that public opinion is what matters the most. There are certainly waters and mountains separating citizens of the world, this great tool called social network brings them closer together in oder to act united. For instance in Egypt, the article states 'the internet was so pivotal to the revolt that Mubarak's forces cut access to citizens in a futile attempt to suppress dissent. Google was able to get around the internet censorship by enabling a phone to tweet service' which is a positive point for human development.

Communication is a vital tool in PCD if not the only one, finding ways by which to communicate effectively with people is what will give PCD its leading role in world politics, social networks are not just useful to individuals but also governments. Not only has twitter served for the great change in Egypt but it showed to what extent state boundaries between people of different nations are becoming slightly non existent.

President Obama before and after his campaign has shown how useful social networking was, and most recently with him answering questions live on Tweeter in the White House. If he can understand and see the opportunity that these forms of communication hold then it certainly shows that the world has found important tools by which people can share values, cultures and much more, it therefore should not be undermined.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Read more: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2073381/google-executive-social-networking-vital-egyptian-revolt#ixzz1TU0IOQ3L

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/05/egypt-rebirth-of-a-nation

Barack Obama faces first Twitter 'town hall' questions

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/07/27/youtube-twitter-the-new-age-diplomat’s-tools.html