Since the late 1990s, websites on the World Wide Web (part of the Internet) have become a main force of communication and source of information as the world continues to "go online". As technologies evolve, new types of websites emerge and become mainstream: blogs, discussion forums, live chat, portals, social networks, micro-blogs, wikis, archives, media-sharing sites, ecommerce centers and news outlets. They serve the information and communication needs of commercial entities, communities, the corporate world, political groups, governments, and personal individuals. In brief historical terms, while the first period of Web development focused primarily on transferring print-type content to digital form in a static environment, "Web 2.0" refers mainly to those sites and content that are created dynamic, interactive, collaborative, and community-centered. Even though technical infrastructure and converging technologies constitute its essential foundation, the Web is clearly social in nature. Entities such as the Berkman Center have been researching and documenting the social implications of cyberspace, while others such as Global Voices Online have been promoting citizen journalism through Web technologies and translation. As globalization continues to manifest itself across the planet, communication has relied more extensively on translation (human, machine) and localization. Localizing websites into multiple languages became widespread during the early 21st century.

Romani communities have been very active on the Web, and for those who have access there is much material, social interaction and networking. One of the pioneer Romani websites, Patrin, was created in 1996. It provides substantive information on Romani history and culture. In 1999, the Roma Virtual Network was created as a public, non-profit initiative and news portal under the auspices of the International Romani Union (IRU) and (in 2003) the European Roma Information Office (ERIO). The news aggregator IDEA Roma Buzz Aggregator, sponsored by the Open Society Foundations, was conceived to collect and link automatically to Romani-related articles, blogs, photos, and other online materials. Given the multiple countries, languages and cultures that comprise Romani identity globally, and the difficulties inherent to assembling collectively in one physical space locally as a territorial nation or ethnic group could do, the Internet and computer technologies have proven fundamental for cultivating and supporting a transnational identity. Many organizations and associations now have an online presence. Alliances and virtual communities have formed and collaborate in solidarity with one another, inspiring timely circulation of relevant information and participation in activism, advocacy, and diplomacy. Romani news and information centers like the RomNews Network reflect the multilingual character of the "Romani nation", i.e. a Romani identity conjugated through a diverse array of local cultures, histories, languages, and increasingly, global English ("World Englishes"). Romani community and cultural centers have progressively been gaining access to the Web and its technologies, and consequently, to dynamic hubs of information, education, and centers of political organization. The International Romani Union, for example, uses the social network Facebook to maintain its Web presence. The Roma National Congress has a blog, while the Unión RomanÍ and Mundo Gitano (Gypsy World) make substantial use of multimedia. The Romani Archives and Documentation Center is on Facebook as well, and provides a multilingual interface and online database on its website. The academic Romani Project at the University of Manchester has produced "Romani Language - An Interactive Journey", localized into 18 languages and downloadable as DVD. Finally, government institutions involved in legislation concerning Romani communities have created information sites and portals, as exemplified, in the context of Europe, by such sites as the European Roma and Travellers Forum (2004), the EURoma Network (2008), the European Roma Rights Center (1996), and initiatives like the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005-2015).

References:

Hancock, Ian. "Our Need for Internal Diplomatic Skills." RADOC.

Novoselsky, Valery. "Internet and Public Diplomacy in the Formation of Non-Territorial Roma Nation." 2006. Brussels, Belgium.

Wikipedia. "Internet Studies."