The rise of Netions

My talk at MEA’s International Conference on Public Diplomacy 2010

Last week I spoke at a conference in New Delhi on how the proliferation of social networks is creating new imagined communities—that I call Netions—and how they are profoundly changing international politics.

Video recordings of all the sessions are available at the conference website.

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7 Responses to The rise of Netions

  1. Ankur Dular 17th December 2010 at 12:14 #

    Probably Assange is not fool! Media and intelligentsia around the world is diagnosing the great colume of classified and non classified information. Its unprecedented that common man now has come to know how things get communicated across the corridors of power.
    All the information released is not to be chewed and assimilated by a single person. Everybody is free to take what deems fit for him/her.
    Secondly, its enlightening to listen your thoughts on new age public diplomacy and its new contexts. I think “internet ambassadors” is a great concept.

  2. Vineet 17th December 2010 at 16:40 #

    Wonderful words from you there about the importance of internet diplomacy. I see you were kind of nervous in the first few minutes. Nevertheless, awesome six and half minutes.

  3. SR 18th December 2010 at 03:48 #

    Great to put a face to a name whose work I have been reading for the last 6 years now!
    Awesome speech – great job – something to think about – how does one represent one’s case to a large online group as you rightly pointed out….the future will be fun!

  4. Nerus 18th December 2010 at 23:51 #

    I must commend you on your creativity. The term that you have coined – “Netions” – very effectively captures the essence of what you intended to say.

    I am also reminded of other terms that you have coined (“competitive intolerance” comes to mind instantly).

    Your blog will leave a lasting impression on the world of linguistics.

  5. Rationalist 19th December 2010 at 00:35 #

    May be if Wikileaks succeeds in its AIM then people like you would become jobless.
    Is that right Nitin? link

  6. Rationalist 19th December 2010 at 10:10 #

    There are equally valid supporting arguments for Julian Assange and your labeling him as arrogant and reckless speaks very little of you and your premature analysis. link

  7. Paranoid Android 19th December 2010 at 18:56 #

    Wow, remarkably interactive and boisterous crowd, Nitin. ;-)

    In any case – taking texas hold’em facebook group and talking about it in the same vein as Assange & Co. seems like a bit of a stretch. Wikileaks has once in a decade kind of an impact, where as e-groups have existed since god knows when, and even in their most benign form (reddit) and most vicious (4Chan) forms hardly create anything that nations need to think about. Yes, perhaps wont be a bad idea to have one group of young civil servant have responsibility for monitoring these largeish communities to reinforce some positive bias. But anything more than that I would have a tough time believing in.

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