Commercial Blogging

Web logs ("blogs"), once the sole domain of self-indulgent diarists and wannabe journalists, are fast taking on serious corporate and military applications. Rhode Island-based Traction Software produces "enterprise blogging" software for corporate and government clients. Using Traction’s software, a group of engineers developing, say, a new fighter jet can use newspaper-like, searchable blogs containing project ...

Web logs ("blogs"), once the sole domain of self-indulgent diarists and wannabe journalists, are fast taking on serious corporate and military applications.

Web logs ("blogs"), once the sole domain of self-indulgent diarists and wannabe journalists, are fast taking on serious corporate and military applications.

Rhode Island-based Traction Software produces "enterprise blogging" software for corporate and government clients. Using Traction’s software, a group of engineers developing, say, a new fighter jet can use newspaper-like, searchable blogs containing project information and colleagues’ updates. (To see a sample enterprise blog, go to www.tractionsoftware.com.) The technology eliminates the thousands of faxes and e-mail messages a development team might otherwise exchange.

The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) (www.onr.navy.mil) is exploring whether blogs can help the Pentagon adopt new technologies more quickly. ONR is testing Traction’s software on a pilot project to develop night-vision technology. On a single blog, defense contractors and engineers can exchange test results, ask each other questions, and swap ideas.

Last year, the Western States Information Network (WSIN), a U.S. federal program that connects law enforcement data and criminal information across five states, adopted blogs as its preferred information medium. "It was frustrating to lose important e-mails or to not have access to them when we traveled," says WSIN Assistant Director Karen Aumond. "Now we have all of our information in a single, searchable place on the Web ."

Jaideep Singh is Foreign Policy’s Web editor.

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.