Participant

Michael Nelson

In Spring of 2008, I have been teaching courses and doing research on the future of the Internet, cyber-policy, technology policy, innovation policy, and e-government. Prior to joining the Georgetown faculty, I was Director of Internet Technology and Strategy at IBM, where I managed a team helping define and implement IBM's Next Generation Internet strategy. My group worked with university researchers on NGi technology, shaping standards for the NGi, and communicating IBM's NGi vision to customers, policy makers, the press, and the general public. Until recently, I served as the Internet Society's Vice President for Public Policy. I recently became Chairman-Elect of the Technology Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Trustee of the Institute for International Communications. Prior to joining IBM in July, 1998, I was Director for Technology Policy at the Federal Communications Commission, where I helped craft policies to foster electronic commerce, spur development and deployment of new technologies, and improve the reliability and security of the nation's telecommunications networks. Before joining the FCC in January, 1997, I was Special Assistant for Information Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where I worked with Vice President Gore and the President's Science Advisor on issues relating to the Global Information Infrastructure, including telecommunications policy, information technology, encryption, electronic commerce, and information policy. From 1988 to 1993, I served as a professional staff member for the Senate's Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space, chaired by then-Senator Gore. I was the lead Senate staffer for the High-Performance Computing Act. I have a B.S. in geology from Caltech, and a Ph.D. in geophysics from MIT.


My Posts

Session Proposal: Church 2.0 – How social media can strengthen religious communities and foster interfaith dialogue

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 | MikeNelson

This paper builds on the limited body of quantitative work that has been done on how American religious institutions are using the Web.  It compiles data on how hundreds of different churches are using the Web and social networks such as Facebook to connect existing members and reach out to new members.  The focus of this work is not on “brochureware,” parish Web sites, mailing lists, and “Godcasts” that provide a one-way means for churches to broadcast information to parishioners.  Rather, this work examines how the Internet and social media are being used for many-to-many communication between parishioners and clergy.  This study reveals how the use of social media by religious institutions is influenced by the size of congregation and denomination. 

In addition to being used to foster discussion within a single church, social media are also being used to enable discussion between different faith communities.  Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affair has funded an undergraduate research project, led by Professor Michael Nelson and Sara Lichterman, a CCT graduate student, which is examining how social media can be used to foster interfaith dialogue.  While  the Bridging Bable project is only a few months old, early findings reveal both the potential and challenges of using Facebook and similar sites to bridge religious and cultural barriers.