Tech policy and presidential politics: Is it a vote getter?
Welcome to the week that is the Democratic National Convention followed by another one with the Republican National Convention. We'll get coverage out the wazoo with a heavy dose of the technology implications from our sister site and parent, News.com and CBS News, respectively. While the technology policies of Barack Obama and John McCain are interesting I have one nagging question: Does anyone vote based on technology policy positions?
Oh sure, the Silicon Valley crowd is certainly interested. And the echo chamber may be revved up dramatically. But do folks really care if Obama VP Joe Biden has a decidedly mixed technology voting record. News.com's Declan McCullagh has a great overview of Biden's tech record, but will that sway your vote one way or the other?
Is it possible that information technology merely matters as a tool--one that may or may not actually result in a vote? Sure, texting a VP selection is cool. It's great marketing. Will it get out the vote?
My personal take: Technology policy rates pretty low on my list of priorities, but maybe that's just me. I'm not going into the voting booth with Net neutrality or the Patriot Act on my mind--an admission that could be construed as disturbing given I write about technology for a living. I'm curious to hear what you as IT folks think.
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Disclosure: I'm registered Independent.