I recently called the hype around the prospective National CTO the geek equivalent of the future White House puppy, but Jim Harper might have me beat by calling the concept of him/her Santa Claus.
It's what you get when you have very enthusiastic techies assuming that someone with a "Chief" in front of their name can wave a wand (or make reindeer fly) to solve all our tech policy related issues.
Harper says he is skeptical of the policy suggestions for the CTO on the site ObamaCTO.org. He notes the top suggestion and then comments below...
Ensure the Internet is Widely Accessible & Network Neutral.
The Internet is one of the most valuable technical resources in America. In order to continue the amazing growth and utility of the Internet, the CTO’s policies should:
Improve accessibility in remote and depressed areas.
Maintain a carrier and content neutral network.
Foster a competitive and entrepreneurial business environment.
I’ve got some news or you: These are policy proposals that would be beyond the purview of any CTO. Policy proposals go through Congress and the President, advised by his policy staff. They do not go through a CTO.
If the Baltimore Ravens asked the team physician to kick field goals, the results would be about what you’d get from asking a federal CTO to carry out these policies.
Harper concludes:
Don’t expect too much from a government Chief Technology Officer. A federal CTO would run the government’s technology portfolio just a little bit better than a cork runs the ocean. Anyone who thinks a CTO would bring dramatic change is fooling him- or herself....
So please. Doff your rose-colored glasses, people! Understand what a CTO could and couldn’t do, and consider more carefully what you really want from a CTO and your government. Wish-lists are for Santa Claus.
Taking a cue from Harper's post, I went ahead and created a new thing to vote on ObamaCTO.org "bring expectations for CTO in check. CTO is not Santa": http://obamacto.uservoice.com/pages/general/suggestions/75153
Posted by: Devan | November 20, 2008 at 08:37 AM
It's so nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easier!! Thanks.
Posted by: MBT Shoes | July 15, 2011 at 01:37 AM