Not Yet The Era Of Grassroots Governance

Dean 2004 - and I was part of it - was a little too early. But Obama 2008 finally had the grassroots lay a claim to the presidency. So the electioneering part is done. But we are not yet in the era of grassroots governance. 2009 did not feel like 2008. 2010 has not felt like 2008. It is because we are not there yet. Data.gov is a big step in the right direction, but we are not there yet. Not enough data has been released. And not enough data is being served in compelling ways for the grassroots to munch upon. A thing to do is to make it possible for the people at the grassroots to follow the debates and discussions and votes on Capitol Hill in meaningful ways. Who is saying what? What are their track records? What are the implications of what they are saying and how they intend to vote? What would be the Web 2.0 version of the Congressional Budget Office?

Reverend, What Do You Do?

Image via Wikipedia

A black comic once asked Jesse Jackson on national television, "But, Reverend, what exactly it is that you do!"

Let me try and answer that question for my well wishers.

Me and my small team are exploring the idea of a microfinance tech startup, one a microfinance junkie currently at Wharton, another a techie. Clean tech, bio tech, nano tech, microfinance: microfinance might be at the bottom of that sexy ladder in some ways, but I believe it is in the same league. It is one of the next big things. And it is very real. Education, health, credit: all of humanity deserves to have access to those three things. The term computer has not meant the same thing year after year, decade after decade. The term microfinance is not stagnant either.