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Citizenship 2.0, opinion, Washington Post
"We've finally reached something of a left-right equilibrium in the dramatic restructuring of the public sphere that has been underway for the past decade. Against this background, on Nov. 4 the Obama campaign sent an e-mail to supporters from the president-elect signaling aspirations to convert the campaign's success with social networking technologies into a tool not merely for winning but for good governance. Such a conversion would require transcending the factional patterns that currently define Internet-based political communication. It would demand a category shift: to remake the tools of factional organization as instruments of broad, cross-partisan and respectful public engagement."
Editor's note: I ask again: is NASA prepared for this kind of governance paradigm? Is it at all prepared to interact with rank and file citizenry in this fashion? With its own employees?
NASA 2.0, earlier post
It will be difficult for a science and technology entity to be able to fully respond to public opinion. NASA, in my opinion does an excellent job of keeping us informed on overall space research and results. Budget and management issues need public scrutiny, but how to make it both meaningful and effective will be a challenge.
When it gets down to specifics such as the Mars Exploration program versus other equally important space exploration and science issues, I think we need to work up the chain through organizations such as NASA Watch, NSS, Planetary Society, etc. Lastly we must be prepared to work through the Congress to HELP NASA not hinder it, but at the same time make certain the real and critical issues are considered by them. Actually, this is the American way, but it has been severely altered by the acts of corporate special interests groups who may not reflect any part of public opinion.