Still, some things really amaze me:
- ex cathedra speeches from leading eu. officials, reading stuff instead of (at the very least) having some kind of overview in ppt.
- a eu.official explaining about the importance of the post 2010 Information Society Policies' highlights, announcing a 'public consultation' starting on May 15th this year on policy issues that are important. Everyone of us meanwhile has been passing hours listening to the importance of new social media and the role they can play in empowering the public, resulting in more transparancy and an better democracy... So someone does ask the Obvious Question. "Are You Going To Use A Social Media Means To Organize This Public Consultation?"
The answer is, to my ears at least, rather unexpected: "Of course not! This is a big event! We can't possibly let the result of it depend on what the public is saying." Or words of that meaning.
Now, this really made me feel that the gap between the Thinkers (Social media will help solve the democratic deficit, enable citizens, empower them, ...) and the Reality (the EP, nor the NHS, nor the average Football trainer want peeping toms) is very much a Gap indeed.
Mind the Gap.
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