Fine Print

The Department of State’s first blog, Dipnote, was launched as a way to encourage dialogue between a U.S. government agency and its citizens. WebGuild’s headline — U.S. Government Using Social Media For Counter-Intelligence — is a bit strong, I think, but if a country is using a blog to “influence foreign policy and to change the perception of the United States with the rest of the world,” then maybe that is akin to heading off subversive influence by enemy states.

The Department recently launched a Facebook page and has 444 fans. That intrigues me. Who joins these type of groups? Are they fans of the policies? Or a meeting place for historians and politics-lovers to congregate?

I applaud their initiative in trying to be more transparent. If Number 10 Downing Street can have a Twitter account, then it’s open season on more government immersion in social media.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada