Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate whether the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Bishkek uses social media effectively in the context of digital public diplomacy activities. The posts and contents of the official Facebook account of the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Bishkek between January 1, 2019 and February 21, 2020 were collected and analyzed in the context of digital public diplomacy. Accordingly, the posts made on the official Facebook account of the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Bishkek were analyzed by content analysis method in categories such as daily, monthly, posts by subject (bilateral relations, economy, trade, culture, education, health, activities, etc.), likes, comments, number of shares, etc. As a result of the research, it was observed that the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Bishkek does not use Facebook effectively.
TopConceptual Framework
In the conceptual framework of this study, diplomacy, traditional diplomacy, public diplomacy, traditional public diplomacy, tools used in traditional public diplomacy, digital public diplomacy and tools used in digital public diplomacy are discussed.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Social Media Posts: Social media posts means any information or data submitted by a Third Party to a social media outlet or platform that is capable of then being displayed using the software or approved hardware.
Public Diplomacy Activities: Various government-sponsored initiatives aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics.
Social media: Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks.
Bilateral Relations: Consists of the political, economic, or cultural relations between two (2) sovereign/independent states.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA): TIKA is a government department subordinate to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey). Focusing on development cooperation, TIKA works in more than 150 countries.
Culture and Arts: Set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that define a group of people, such as the people of a particular region. Culture includes the elements that characterize a particular peoples' way of life. Vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts, and the performing arts.
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Bishkek: Diplomatic representation of the Republic of Turkey in Kyrgyzstan.
Facebook: Is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities and, since 2006, anyone over 13 years old. As of July 2022, Facebook claimed 2.93 billion monthly active users, and ranked third worldwide among the most visited websites as of July 2022. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.