RHetoric

So, I’ve finally done it. I’ve finally set up a Twitter account and begun using it–@delisadavis if you’re so inclined to become a follower. This could very well be the most productive waste of time since Scrabulous! I’m currently following some pretty incredible marketing/PR/tech greats: Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki), Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan), Robert Scoble (@scobleizer), Steve Rubel (@steverubel), and many more.

So, as many of my friends have asked, “What the hell is Twitter?” The answer is, it’s a bit like text messaging on steroids. People on Twitter keep in touch with one another by answering the basic question, “What are you doing?” Answers can be uploaded from cell phones, but are limited to 140 characters–forcing brevity and, ideally, poignancy.

For me, it’s been an incredible way to keep abreast of cool social media and tech advances the minute they are unveiled. Seriously, the minute! I’m also following the NY Times (@nytimes), CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk), and Reuters (@reuters), all of which put out links to stories that are breaking as soon as they occur—making Twitter a lot like a RSS feed.

One of the recent new tech tools I discovered via Twitter is an app that converts PDF to Word. Thank you for tweeting that, Guy Kawasaki!

The founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, defends and explains Twitter well in this interview conducted via Twitter and published here on MIT’s Technology Review.

Twitter has spawned what seems like a billion other ridiculously named tech tools that work with it; the merits of each also highly debated: Tweetsville, FriendFeed, Twinkle, Twittelator…the list goes on.

So while some like Scott Karp may argue that Twitter is just a big waste of time; others, like me, see promise in productive time-wasting. Besides, how else would I have known about this cool new search engine that populates results as quickly as you can type?

Of course, I’m open to comments…

It is T-minus 20 days until RH Strategic DC picks up and moves around the corner.  More information will be forthcoming, but as of today (fingers crossed), everything seems to be progressing nicely.

Couple of notes about our move:

• Date of move - December 15
• Movers - Olympia Moving
• In-suite wiring - Mary Jones
• VOIP & Internet - Cypress Communications
• New Address - Barr Building: 910 17th Street, NW Suite 1170, Washington, DC 20006

More updates to follow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jokes about Jerry Yang as our new federal CTO aside, it’s unrealistic to think that a big shot high tech CEO would ever want the job. In fact it’s a good bet the person who fills the slot will be someone most of us have never heard of.

Why? Let’s make some guesses about the actual authority this person will have.

At the top of the list, we have no idea what authority the CTO will have because Congress hasn’t authorized the position, given it a mandate, or outfitted it with a budget. It would be a shame to take the job expecting to shake things up, only to discover your scope is as Policy Advisor to the President.

Second, if you look at the top priorities for the new CTO being suggested on the Obama CTO site, they all fall in Congress’s purview, not the Administration’s. An Administration official cannot repeal the Patriot Act or the Copyright Act, or impose net neutrality. Again, back to CTO-as-Policy Advisor.

The federal government’s tangible role in I.T. is largely limited to federal I.T. purchasing (e.g. Blackberrysfor bureaucrats), some grant-making, regulation of advanced telecommunications, and enforcing existing law (such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act).

Third, where the feds to touch I.T., they do it within the construct of the departments and agencies (Department of Homeland Security, FCC, etc.). Don’t expect these agencies to give up much authority to a CTO, other than to make I.T. decisions in accordance with executive orders and policy directives from the President (again, back to that nagging Policy Advisor role!).

Now, this is not to say a CTO could play an important role in our government. In fact, a CTO could be a huge advocate for everything from introducing I.T. into our healthcare system to equipping students with the skills they’ll need to compete in the 21st century. However, the only realistic scope for a CTO is as an advisor - someone who helps the White House set broad policy and lobby Congress to make it happen.

While it’s an important role, it would be enormously frustrating to most CEO’s. More insight on the actual job description can be found in Larry Dignan’s excellent blog on this subject.