Looks like an interesting gathering ...

Every year at Personal Democracy Forum, the nation's top political and technology innovators gather for two days of networking, schmoozing, intelligence-gathering, networking, skills-polishing, and did we mention networking? But we also try to look at the big picture of how technology is changing politics, and this June we're going to tackle the following big question: Can the Internet Fix Politics?

A majority of Americans thinks the country is on the wrong track. Congress is deeply divided. Legislation is often stalled by gridlock, or packed with pork. Fundraising dominates the time of politicians, while the media cycle speeds up and public attention crashes. Voters are more volatile, when they aren’t sitting out elections entirely.

It’s a troubling picture. But in recent years, a wide array of activists, academics, bloggers, hackers, politicians and visionaries have argued that the Internet can change politics and governance for the better. (With some smart dissents, to be sure.) This year at Personal Democracy Forum, the country’s premiere conference on technology and politics, we’ll explore the question: can the Internet fix politics?

Connect the dots for effective change ...

"A new study has identified a sea of parking lots and vacant space in Long Island’s downtowns, land whose development could bring about the downtown renaissance many locals and politicians have been asking for.

The Long Island Index 2010, a nearly 40-page report by the Regional Plan Association released Thursday, identified 8,300 acres within a half mile of downtown centers as ripe for redevelopment, including more than 4,000 acres of parking lots."

Another potentially useful study in a sea of potentially useful studies divorced from one another.

Until and unless Long Island commits to a dynamic, flexible uniform method of data collection and analysis (common language project) it will be very difficult to reach a consensus on anything of sustainable value.

No one group has all the answers. We handicap ourselves by not working collaboratively and by not reaching out effectively to all Long Island residents.

There is still too much of the "protecting my own turf" mentality from organizations and entities of all types.

There is a basic lack of trust in the populous which can only be overcome by approaching the problem differently. "One Long Island" is a suggested method of doing so.

Change in the environment ...

"Time and time again, New Yorkers have demonstrated the ability to rebuild and renew - that is the promise of the Empire State. New Yorkers have recovered from economic crises and rebuilt after disasters both natural and man made. Every time our capacity for hope has been questioned, every time our faith has been tested, every time we have approached a wall that seemed too high to scale, we have proven that our fight knows no bounds. New York will rebound again."

"To solve these problems in these times will require sustained effort, seriousness of purpose, and the ability to build a coalition for change."

Fixing the problems of New York State is not and should not be the burden of one person.

While it is traditionally thought, and in some ways true, that we elect individuals to "lead" us to a better and more productive society, one person will never have the ability required to effect positive sustainable change.

What one person can do is give his or her constituents the tools necessary to create a dynamic collaborative society.

What one person can do is reach beyond the rhetoric and incorporate ideas and concepts from all sources in order to "recreate" New York.

What one person can do is challenge his or her constituents to be better and work harder for the common good.

What one person can do is create an environment of trust through verifiable information.

This does not require the accumulation of "power" by one person or a small group to complete but rather the "dissemination" of power directly to the residents of New York.

It is an "environmental" change based upon a fundamental rethinking of how we govern ourselves.

"One Long Island" is an attempt to create an environment for dynamic, collaborative, fundamental change.