Welcome to the next version of ZDNet Government

Hello and welcome to the next version of ZDNet's Government IIT Blog.

This forum is a big area with tentacles that span the globe with challenges, controversy and change. Governments, individuals, groups, and business are often at odds and rarely are the groups on the same page or view unless it is to their direct benefit or cause.

Since the invention of the printing press in the early 1400’s, the role of government changed in how it functions as an institution. The world has come a very long way in 600 years; history is filled with the different paths political leaders have decided its people should follow.  The world is becoming more integrated with common laws and how commerce and people intertwine. The dynamics of role of government is rapidly changing. Our direct input as individuals is (slowly) beginning to have direct influence in how we are governed.

I’ll focus on a wide variety of topics rather than just a few mainstream hot button subjects.  Areas such as privacy and management of information have become key political hot potatoes that every political institution knows can be lethal to their survival. But there are other areas that truly need to be covered and have been the past – I’ll just emphasis them as importantly as equals. Areas like Internet neutrality, oversight and regulatory requirements are just as important -- as is patent, copyright and free speech.

Just as government leaders are becoming more “open" to debate and dialogue, the same will be true here. I want your input to the blogs I publish. I want you to recommend what subjects need to be addressed. The Government blog will be an international one. I won’t just cover industrial nations that have significant economic and social infrastructure but also those that are fast becoming connected to a singular world connected by the Internet.  I’ll cover government on all sides, not just areas that are the obvious choice such as Commerce, Trade or Regulation, but Health, Technology, Privacy, Security, International affairs, and other arenas that tie back to technology, communications and information.

I’ll of course cover how companies and associations influence government in policy and law. I’ll also blog stories that are not necessarily front page news. There will be stories that are personal and how government interacts impacts us. Some of them, I hope, will surprise you.