At the prompting of an email from Voices for Innovation yesterday, I took a look at the brainstorming session of the Open Government Dialogue.  I even registered and voted on a few ideas.  There are a lot of ideas posted -- 873, as of now.  Some are detailed, thoughtful, and substantive.  Other ideas seem cranky, and the topics range widely.  The Obama Administration is testing ways to engage citizens in dialogue with technology.  Perhaps the Open Government Dialogue is too "open," but it could be unfair to impose greater moderation on the discussion.

Two ideas caught my attention that coincided with some of the issues highlighted by Voices for Innovation:

One long-titled idea, "The technology the government uses is far less important than the tools and technologies the government enables," offers a strong argument for technology neutrality.

Another idea, "First, Do No Harm," notes that the federal government spent $80 billion on IT contracts in 2008.  This is a significant sum that has the power to sway markets, which means the government should be wary of elevating and locking in any one technology over another.

My hope is that the Dialogue might become more useful and focused in the next stage, which begins in early June. No website for that phase has been announced, so far as I could figure out.