CHANGE WITHIN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN BE DIFFICULT FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS

BETH NOVECK, a New York Law School professor, is President Obama's deputy chief technology officer for open government and she got a lot of ink today in the New York Times. There are two good articles online - one, "Ideas Online, Yes, but Some Not So Presidential," discusses the White House's efforts on open government and how all ideas are not worthy - democracy can be messy, especially on the Internet.

The other article is entitled "Can the Wonks Beat the Trolls on Government Sites?" It starts, "People have been crowing about online communities for decades, but creating a space where people feel comfortable talking to one another is actually a difficult task. Successful online sites have found a way to welcome newcomers, make regulars feel at home and manage the provocations of “trolls,” spammers and misanthropes of all sorts.

The Obama administration is running into some eccentric characters of it own as it tries to build Web sites to get citizens talking about public policy."