U.S. State Department Starts a Real Blog And It’s Only Somewhat Boring

The U.S. State Department is really getting into this blog thing. This week, they launched their first official blog “Dipnote.” (Apparently, this is short for “diplomatic note” in diplomatese).

According to its first post, the State Department is “hoping to start a dialogue with the public. More than ever, world events affect our daily lives–what we see and hear, what we do, and how we work. I hope Dipnote will provide you with a window into the work of the people responsible for our foreign policy, and will give you a chance to be active participants in a community focused on some of the great issues of our world today.”

The blog will post stuff by State officials like Jeffrey Krilla, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, who offers some thoughts on Burma. It will also offer visitors the opportunity to submit comments directly to State officials. So far the comments are pretty snarky, but we’ll see if State is able to make this interesting. I am skeptical, largely because government service often strips otherwise interesting people of their ability to quickly and freely express their views. But that is what makes blogs interesting…But it is worth continuing to check out.