How Disruptive Technologies are keeping the State Department ahead of the curve!

100 years ago the telegraph was thought of as a disruptive technology.

“The importance of getting ahead of the technological curve is imperative. Otherwise you become irrelevant. Many wars could have been prevented if governments had adopted the telegraph quicker,” said Richard Boly the Director in the office of ediplomacy at the State Department.

Boly has been leading the State Department’s innovative social media and online platforms. His work has made him a Service to America Medal Finalist.

He told Chris Dorobek on the DorobekINSIDER program what exactly the Office of eDiplomacy does.

“We are moving the State Deparment’s mindset from a need to know model to a need to share one,” said Boly.

The Office of eDiplomacy has launched several databases to make the agency more communicative.

Diplopedia: is an online encyclopedia of foreign affairs information. It is a wiki, a kind of Web site that can be edited with an Intranet Web browser. Subject to the principles and guidelines for Diplopedia, anyone who can access Diplopedia is invited and encouraged to contribute his or her experience, knowledge and expertise in the form of articles, discussion or editing of material submitted by others. It is fast becoming a reference and starting point for all topics of interest to the Department and U.S. Government (USG) foreign affairs community.

Blogs: The State Department has more than 100 internal blogs that allow employees to add their voice and experience to a particular issue or conflict. This way it’s not just one team that is giving input on a particular issue. The State Department has also launched public blogs like Secretary Hillary Clinton’s: DipNote.

Virtual Student Foreign Service: is part of a growing effort by the State Department to harness technology and a commitment to global service among young people to facilitate new forms of diplomatic engagement. Working from college and university campuses in the United States and throughout the world, eInterns (American students working virtually) are partnered with our U.S. diplomatic posts overseas and State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) domestic offices to conduct digital diplomacy that reflects the realities of our networked world. This introductory video provides an overview of the VSFS program.