Edward Hall, in Beyond Culture writes of the problematic nature when engaging in communication cross-cultures. Given that Public Diplomacy 2.0 has increased access for others to learn about our own culture, does this do more harm than good. As this USC article states -http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/newswire/cpdblog_detail/secretary_clintons_culture_complaint/
the perceptions other cultures have are often myopic or skewed. For example, Baywatch is replayed overseas which relays an image of Blondes in Bikinis. That's America. Moreover, the perceptions Americans have are just as skewed, as our information is siphoned off from select footage. Hopefully, with increased social networking, we'll be better able to grasp what other cultures are actually like, not just the sensationalist clips.
I think this culture problem in PD 2.0 came to the fore again this weekend, when the florida pastor, Terry Jones streamed the "trial" that his church conducted of the Quran and their subsequent burning of the book. Since even American news media did not cover the event, new technology was the only reason that Jones was able to reach an audience outside of the country. The effects of this PD action were of course disastrous and this incident illustrates not so much the risk of PD 2.0 in regards to cross-cultural communication, but rather that with PD 2.0 it is increasingly difficult for governments to restrict and shape the actions and messages of non-state actors.
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