Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is looking toward the Internet as a way to communicate globally. "There is no doubt in my mind that we've barely scratched the surface as to what we can use to communicate with people around the world," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at a Feb. 4 meeting with agency staffers in Washington.

Clinton went on to acknowledge that the government "is behind nearly everybody, except in certain discrete areas, in terms of technology. And we are, in my view, wasting time, wasting money, wasting opportunities, because we are not prepared to communicate effectively with what is out there in the business world and the private world."

The government has a long history of relying on one-way communication tools such as print or radio to shape debate within other countries. But the Internet has made it possible to change that dynamic and have a two-way conversation. Clinton said in her Feb. 4 remarks that the U.S. government should turn to new technologies that may work.

"Signs are there that Secretary Clinton will lead us in a direction to use technology to advance our communication mission," said Jeremy Curtin, coordinator of the State's Bureau of International Information Programs.

For more on the State Department in the Internet age:
Check out this Nextgov.com article