Soren Dayton has some interesting commentary at NextRight on the candidates’ technology policies and criticisms thereof.
A representative critic on the left engages in “unserious technology fetishism,” says Dayton. His foil is Joho the Blog, who takes after Senator McCain’s technology policy thusly:
There is nothing — nothing — in his policy statement that acknowledges that maybe the Net is also a new way we citizens are connecting with one another. The phrase “free speech” does not show up in it. The term “democracy” does not show up in it. What’s the opposite of visionary?
Joho wants government technology rhapsody, and Dayton has had enough:
Does he really want government policy to regulate the “cultural, social, and democratic” aspects of anything? Should these be the subject of tax policy? Which government agency? Should we make a new “Federal Cultural and Social Regulatory Agency?”
There’s something to this criticism. Too many folks see technology as the story, and they think government policy will write the next chapter.
No. People are the story: the people who invent, build, experiment with, and use technology to do interesting things, have fun, and make their lives better.
A policy that gets the government out of the way is a policy that’s true to technology and its role.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.