Role of Federal Tech Czar to Be Defined by Obama

On the campaign trail, Barack Obama said he would appoint the nation's first chief technology officer who would, according to his Web site, help federal agencies use technology "to make government work better." But he's given no specifics about the job, leaving the tech community to speculate about the role and who might fill it. Would the CTO focus on technology policy issues such as net neutrality and broadband access? Or would the technology czar aim to update the government's information technology systems and weave the Internet into more agency activities? The Obama camp isn't talking, but during the campaign it proposed using technology to, for example, make government records more accessible, increase network security and digitize health records. Also in question is whether a CTO would be a Cabinet-level position or a post within the White House.