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March 14, 2005
Dan Drezner, Public Diplomacy, & Academic Blogging
Dan Drezner is on a roll. First, he notes an op-ed in the Boston Globe that ties in very closely with Lloyd Axworthy's "information-based public diplomacy," discussed here previously. In it, Hampton Stephens notes the importance of public diplomacy, broadly considered, and praises the president's proposed increase in public diplomacy-related funding for FY2006. Increased funding, of course, does not necessarily translate into increased efficacy. A potential solution? Nothing less than blogs and other "information-based" modes of communication and dissemination. Turns out the web ain't just for Canadians (apologies for my earlier subtle, well-intentioned, but nevertheless smart-ass jabs at the Canadian psyche).
Second, and in a decidedly more introspective flavor, Dan recounts and summarizes his comments at a recent roundtable on the question of "Can Academics Be Bloggers?" Clearly, for those reading this now, I think the answer to this question is most definitively yes -- the entire premise of this Watsonblogs community rests on that assumption. Indeed, Dan stands out as a premier example of academic blogging done right, and he has made the blogging case in convincingly academic terms before. But Dan also offers some very insightful conditions and caveats (tenure sure seems like a hell of a thing ... ) that could be very useful for those Watson Institute faculty signing-up for their own Watsonblog.
Posted by Daniel Widome at 10:19 PM to Trans-geographical
