change.gov: A Web 2.0 Political Transition

The Office of the President-elect has launched change.gov to be the public face of a much watched and anticipated political transition.  Like its content, the web address -- "change" being the watch word of the Obama campaign coupled with the exclusive dot-gov top level domain -- blurs the once bright line of distinction between campaigning and governing.

National Public Radio ran a good piece on how the web tools that served the campaign so well can be applied to advancing the new administration's objective.  NPR correspondent Mara Liasson points out that one of the effects may well be to disintermediate the media by creating citizen activists who advocate directly with congress on the administration's behalf.  It is worth noting here that the conventional media is not the only institutional interest at risk of disintermendiation -- you can and should add entrenched bureaucracies to the list.  For them, this is a change that they can believe will happen to them, whether they like it or not.

It is followed by an clever little essay by comedian and NPR regular Paula Poundstone on what she is willing to do to breath life into the promise of change ... at least for now.