Ah, I should mention that we're running a poll over on TechPresident, on the subject of "Does a Connected World Need a Connected POTUS?" (POTUS being shorthand for President of the United States). As I discuss in my introductory remarks to the poll, in my mind the question goes far beyond whether or not Candidate X carries his or her own Blackberry. Where once nation states were the organizing unit that presidents had to worry about, I think that you can fairly convincingly argue that we're today as much (if not more) organized around networks.

Now, does a politician really need to understand online social networks or wifi networks to understand how to handle a terrorist network like Al Qaeda? Dunno. Thank god we're running a poll. But consider that the response to 9/11 by some politicians was to storm into Iraq while the response of others was to focus on cutting off the global financial spiderweb that powers Al Qaeda. One, I'd argue, is a response rooted in a nation-state mindset, and the other is one that is at least informed by an understanding of the importance and power of networks.

Anyhoo, take the poll and let's get a discussion going in the comments.

Jun. 30, '08
Al Qaeda, electoral politics, network science, networks