The State Department takes on Blogging
Ever since Dave Winer came to the Berkman Center in 2003 preaching the promise of weblogs, we have been able to put them to a number of great uses - from the Berkman Weblogs for the Harvard community to the blogs of our fellows and projects. Recently others have caught the blogging bug, including, most recently, the United States Department of State.
The New York Times reported last week on the creation of "Dipnote," the State Department's first foray into blogging. The blog plans to prompt visitors to respond to pending foreign policy issues with their opinions on how to deal with them. They also highlighted the government's use of YouTube in sharing foreign policy information – along with some less sensitive materials – with the public.
Although the candidness of such discussions is up for debate, the use of live technologies to engage the public is a promising application. Whether it's your own citizen journalism or official policy debate, the move towards openness and live discussion exemplifies the benefits of blogging in much the same way Dave Winer, and many since, professed.
The New York Times reported last week on the creation of "Dipnote," the State Department's first foray into blogging. The blog plans to prompt visitors to respond to pending foreign policy issues with their opinions on how to deal with them. They also highlighted the government's use of YouTube in sharing foreign policy information – along with some less sensitive materials – with the public.
Although the candidness of such discussions is up for debate, the use of live technologies to engage the public is a promising application. Whether it's your own citizen journalism or official policy debate, the move towards openness and live discussion exemplifies the benefits of blogging in much the same way Dave Winer, and many since, professed.