The Foreign Service Journal, November 2009

Organizing Principles Keeping up with Foreign Service blogs is not as difficult as it might seem. For one thing, despite its global reach, the FS blogosphere is a rather insular community. One FS blog typ- ically links to others of similar focus, particularly when dealing with the most-read sites. Ultimately, the blog continuum leads the intrepid Internet user, in a remarkably Escheresque fashion, back to the site where he or she started. The catalog of major, en- during blogs below is divided into three broad categories — FS mem- bers’ journals, family-member ac- counts and, finally, critical or analytical offerings. Within each, there are var- ious subsets. The largest category, accounting for more than 50 blogs, encompasses those that act mainly as journals of an FS member’s experiences at a post, describing conditions, family, travels, etc. Many of them last only two years or so, until the author moves on. These writers feel little need for anonymity because they rarely voice criticism of their posts (though they do sometimes gripe about furnishings, traffic or an interminable Fourth of July celebration). While these accounts may seem of interest only to the writer’s family and friends, they often have wider appeal (for instance, to FS bidders weighing the pros and cons of possible onward assignments). Many are well written and offer up detailed travelogues, amusing slice-of-life stories and other cultural/regional insights. The second grouping, accounting for approximately 30 of the currently tracked blogs, are those written by trailing family members. These blogs, as with those written by Foreign Serv- ice employees, focus on issues of daily life, travel and culture shock. How- ever, the accounts of spouses and part- ners often take an introspective bent, shedding considerable light on the challenges of FS marriages, relation- ships in transition and families abroad. At the same time, they often offer so- lutions to those problems. Generally speaking, these blogs have a longer shelf life than those of Foreign Service members and tend to be updated more regularly. Curiously, however, this group of blogs is eerily void of the voices of youth. With children more wired than ever before, it is surprising that there are so few blogs expressing their per- spectives. The final category is a somewhat amorphous group of 40 current blogs that, for lack of a better term, we’ll call “critical.” Because many of these au- thors speak out against or question practices by the State Department or the U.S. government, they frequently retain anonymity. Their flexible content, increased reader feedback, online discussion fo- rums and occasional use of multiple bloggers to generate content all allow them a longer life than either of the other groupings. And as a bonus, many share how-to guides, tips and tricks on surviving FS life. These critical blogs have endured the longest and garnered the most reader attention; but, oddly enough, they have the lowest rate of expansion. This low rate of growth in the most rich and fascinating field of FS blog- ging is due, most likely, to the time commitments required. Technorati estimates that the average active blog- ger spends between three and 10 hours a week working on their con- tent, which may be more time than the Foreign Service employee already juggling a job and a family can sacri- fice. The following sample of sites is simply a snapshot of the FS blogo- sphere at this writing. Distinctions be- tween types of blogs are somewhat blurred, as many span multiple genres; but the categorizations have been made based on the content of the ma- jority of the posts on any given site. Neither the Journal nor the author can vouch for the continued existence of any of them, although efforts have been made to note only vibrant and enduring blogs. For a complete list of FS blogs, with brief descriptions, go to www. afsa.org/fsj/2009/cfm#Nov. The Journal Changes and Colours (www.chan gesandcolours.blogspot.com) – The author of this blog presents a broad overview of her life in and the culture of Iceland, combining travel writing, social commentary and personal sto- ries. Well-written and interspersed with photos for effect, this blog offers up insights on life as a diplomat. At Post (www.at-post.blogspot.com ) – This is not a traditional journal blog in two respects. First, there are few to no words. The stories of At Post are told through exceptional photographs of the monumental and the mundane. And second, though a single person edits and maintains the blog, it con- tains posts by Foreign Service mem- bers from all over the world, creating stark, compelling contrasts in loca- tions, styles and tones of photographs. 240 to 120 (www.240to120.com ) – A rather simple but elegant blog, 240 to 120 tells the story of a Foreign Serv- ice specialist currently in Vladivostok, along with commentaries on Russian society, embassy life, travel and all the other run-of-the-mill details of any 44 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 9 Even by a conservative count, the FS blogosphere is growing at a faster rate than the blogosphere as a whole.