Popularity Aside, State's Blog Criticized

The State Department's official group blog for diplomats worldwide took it on the chin today. Washington Post columnist Al Kamen, in his "In the Loop" column, wrote, tongue in cheek, that the Dipnote blog's goal -- to offer an alternative to mainstream media reports on U.S. foreign policy -- "is what we've all been waiting for! ... Unbiased news directly from the federal government, a news source long noted for truthful, unbiased reporting."

However, Kamen acknowledges that "the blog appears to be getting a tremendous response worldwide and -- with the exception of people complaining that the type is too small and that the white print on a black background makes it hard to read -- readers have been overwhelmingly positive."

Dipnote didn't receive any tip of the hat from Wonkette, the Washington, D.C., political blog. Wonkette posted an item today calling Dipnote "an almost comical failure" and that the blog is a "fine new diplomatic propaganda effort."

Typically, in the interactive world of blogs, you'd expect a response. None from Dipnote, yet.