The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

“I’d imagine the reason there aren’t dozens of FSOs blogging is that it would be very, very difficult to blog without at some point giving away what post you’re at. Then, once everybody at post knows it’s you, it becomes impossible to ever say any- thing critical of the department, much less individual officers. “…At best, the officer would be forever pegged as ‘the Blogger’ and he’ll have a hard time getting a good assignment in the future if every prospective supervisor in the FS thinks he could end up as the butt of some joke on this guy’s blog. “…Then, of course, if the blogger is a consular officer, and word gets out about his identity, there’s the possibili- ty of harassment from visa applicants, both prospective and already-denied ones.” In response, Consul-At-Arms, an established blogger, explains: “Quite. Thus, in the time-honored tradition of ‘X,’ Yours Truly chooses to be as discreet as possible, both con- cerning the department, myself, my post, and my fellow officers and staff members. My colleagues’ personal business is their own; nor will I often delve too deeply into my own person- al issues — at least I hope not. “I take considerable care to never blog regarding personalities at my current or former posts. My identi- ty isn’t precisely a secret (although I’ve been discreet enough that Mrs. At-Arms only yesterday learned I’ve been blogging), but it seems only reasonable and prudent not to publi- cize the fact, especially while serving overseas, for reasons you state quite well. “When I first began blogging, my initial concern was more for OPSEC (operational security), especially as I’d only recently returned from Iraq. Enough time has passed that I’m not giving anything away by posting pic- tures from my tour, although I review each with OPSEC in mind before posting. I spent a certain amount of my Army Reserve career in an OPSEC position so that review is pro- fessional-grade. “Similarly, I make a point of not criticizing the department. The department has a sufficiency of critics already, [so] I’d rather act in an explanatory fashion, commenting on events and so forth. Like Dr. De- marche and Smiley before me, I don’t think it’s out of place to comment or discuss immigration and visa issues in general, without giving away any ‘secrets of the trade.’ “So far, no visa applicants have come ‘a-knocking’ at this Web log. Those who might consider doing so should bear in mind that little brings me greater joy than finding a good 42 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 8 The essentials of blogging are straightforward. If you want to start your own blog, there are several things to consider. Template. Bloggers use all kinds of templates for updating their blogs. The most popular are: www.livejournal.com/ , www. blogger.com/ and www.wordpress.com/. Google’s Blogger is by far the most common, but bloggers who want a more profes- sional look graduate to WordPress or TypePad (www.type pad.com/ ). Some companies charge a monthly fee to host a blogger’s Web site. Disclaimer. Most Foreign Service bloggers include a visible disclaimer on their blogs. It can be simple: “The views and opin- ions expressed in this blog are exclusively those of its author, and are not in any way meant to reflect the opinions or policies of the U.S. government” (http://diplodocus.wordpress.com/) . Or, it can be more pointed: “…If you’re looking for gossip, for breaches of operational security or privacy, for public criticism of the declared foreign policies of the United States of America, leaks or other treasonous disloyalty, the reader is invited to look elsewhere” (http://consul-at-arms.blogspot.com/ ). Privacy. If you just want your family and friends to read your blog, Google’s Blogger allows you to select readership by requir- ing interested parties to e-mail you for access. Only when you have confirmed their request can they read your blog. For example, one junior FS officer serving at her first post in Dhaka has detailed the process of getting into the Foreign Service, life during A-100, Consulate General Rosslyn training and subsequent language instruction. Her site, www.yrstruly.net , is password-protected. To read it, simply send her an e-mail stat- ing who you are and requesting access. She is happy to give out the information. Pictures. While you can post pictures, if you want to down- load entire albums on the Internet your blog may not be the best place to do it. Most bloggers use either flickr (www.flickr.com/ ) or Picasa (www.picasaweb.google.com ) to manage and share their pictures. Both sites offer slideshow applications that can link to the actual photo albums. Other Applications. Many bloggers like to keep track of how many people read their blog and where they are from. Site meter (www.sitemeter.com/) , Stat Counter (www.statcounter.com/) , and Web Stats (www.webstats.motigo.com/) are free applica- tions that track readership. ClustrMaps (www.clustrmaps.com/) is one site that actually maps out where your readers are located. A little thumbnail map can be added to your blog for all to see. Also, if you want to make sure you get credit for any photos you post that are used by others, a Creative Commons Attri- bution-ShareAlike 2.5 License is available at http://creativecom mons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/. — Marc Nielsen Blogging 101