The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

M A R C H 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 41 t the September 2007 launch of the State Department’s first Web log, Dipnote ( http://blogs.state.gov/) , Spokesman Sean McCormack welcomed readers to the site. Inviting them to be “active partici- pants in a community focused on some of the great issues of our world today,” McCormack stated that the purpose of the blog was to “start a dialogue with the pub- lic” and to bring readers “closer to the personalities of the department.” Blogging is an Internet communication medium that has taken off in the past few years, providing a means for dis- cussion and more personal interaction with others who need not be in the same room, in the same town, or on the same continent. In April 2007, Technorati, a search engine that analyzes blogging trends, tracked more than 70 million blogs and reported that about 120,000 new blogs are being creat- ed each day worldwide (http://technorati.com/weblog/blog osphere/). But in launching Dipnote, the department was not so much breaking new ground in foreign affairs as playing catch-up. All but unheard of even five years ago, blogging is already well established among members of the Foreign Service. There are currently more than 60 frequently updat- ed, unofficial blogs written by active and retired FS person- nel and their spouses and family members, as well as FS wannabes. Each blog has a different style, format and voice. The FS blogosphere reflects a profound generational shift in the way diplomats see themselves and their work. Its openness and freewheeling character would appear to be inhospitable to the reserved, careful student of protocol and decorum that is the classic image of the diplomat. Yet its population is increasing as the sea change that is ongoing in the broader culture resonates among Foreign Service professionals, whose career profile itself is arguably in tran- sition. Diplomatic Blogging While Foreign Service bloggers are particularly careful not to make public sensitive or classified information, there are no hard and fast rules governing what can and cannot be blogged. How much can be shared when describing condi- tions in a country or at an embassy? Each blogger approaches privacy in a personal way, some choosing not to reveal their name and location while others are more open. Most include a disclaimer stating that their views are not those of the State Department, and they are careful not to share classified or sensitive information. Many FS bloggers shy away from commenting on the workplace at all; a few give some details but remain cautious. In a discussion of the issue at www.consul-at-arms. blogspot.com, one reader commented: W ELCOME TO THE FS B LOGOSPHERE A LL BUT UNHEARD OF EVEN FIVE YEARS AGO , BLOGGING IS NOW WELL ESTABLISHED AMONG MEMBERS OF THE F OREIGN S ERVICE . A B Y M ARC N IELSEN Marc Nielsen was the Journal ’s fall 2007 editorial intern.