US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked for the creation of an online forum for State Department employees to submit ideas directly to the Secretary. The Sounding Board is an intranet blog developed and launched in February 2009 by staff from the State Department's Office of eDiplomacy.
The platform metrics soon generated 27,000 page views a month and serves as a global water cooler for a workforce spread around the planet. It has served as a platform for brain-storming ideas and crowd sourcing non-policy solutions.
Employee response to the online forum varies from enthusiasm to concern for maintaining confidentiality and decorum. Some contributors to the Sounding Board expressed worry that public airing of internal discussion might embarrass the Department of State; comments that were subsequently published in Washington Post reporter Al Kamen's column "In The Loop".
The Sounding Board is an internal platform (discussion forum) for State Department employees to exchange ideas, while DipNote is the Secretary of State's blog on the internet. The use of social media is seen as essential for 21st century diplomacy. The Department of State is "integrating social media into the job descriptions of all the foreign service officers", says New Media Director Katie Dowd.