Blogging Ambassadors
December 16, 2007 :: by Lee 0 responses
Under the youthful David Milliband, the UK Foreign Office is doing a number of things to recover its reputation after the dark days of the late Blair era. Traditionally, the FCO has regarded itself as an institution that is capable of talking to and understanding other nations and peoples, and it remains less politicised than you might imagine, given the UK Government's recent role as a US military subcontractor. In a sense, the FCO is a relatively geeky branch of government, where obscure but useful specialisms are still valued.
So it should be no surprise that the FCO blogs are one of the better, more intelligent government blogging projects in the UK. There are soem good examples of how blogs can provide an insight into some of the less well-known activities of the FCO, such as the Hajj mission blog and Maria Pia Gazzella's Santiago trade mission blog.
Blogging brings a new dimension to the work of the Ambassador, whose circle of interaction has traditionally been limited by convention and how many people you can fit into a cocktail party. Reaching out on a blog is a great way to let the people of a country get to know you and your work. Matthew Rycroft, the British Ambassador to Bosnia, has bravely started a blog about his experience in the country called Ambasadorov dnevnik. But Matthew's blog highlights one of the clear and present dangers of blogging in a society such as Bosnia: his first post resulted in a stream of invitations to coffee and baklava that could pose a serious threat to his sporty physique.
Maybe one day running a blog will be as much a part of an Ambassador's role as wine selection and canapes were in the past.
