It is my great pleasure to introduce you to Publicyte, a new Microsoft digital magazine about the people, places, and technologies driving civic innovation in America.
By any measure, the United States is currently facing great economic and other challenges, and for most citizens the current state of affairs represents the most trying times they've faced. Public sector support of society has never been more needed, yet at the same time average people have perhaps never been in a better position to help each other and contribute to the public good.
Through technological innovations happening mainly in the 21st century, people have become more aware of the societies they live in, more widely read (and authored), and more networked, collaborative, and giving. New forms of media, communications, and hardware have massively increased everyone's ability to share what they know, give what they have, and show what they can do.
Right now, three entities contributing to the public good -- citizens, the public sector, and private businesses -- are incredibly dependent on each other. Citizens need support from government and the broader public sector, and jobs from businesses. The public sector needs the support of the private sector through products and services, and needs input, ideas, and other contributions from its citizens. And private sector organizations increasingly seek to stand for something more than merely selling products -- they seek to help the public sector and contribute to citizens' well-being.
Publicyte lives where these three entities meet. If necessity is the mother of invention, there has been no period in our lifetimes during which technological innovation is able to have such a great impact on civic progress. At Publicyte, we will discuss cutting-edge technology, share public sector stories, and provide thought leadership about how American progress and public good are being both disrupted and benefited by the rapid innovation era we are living through.
There's a lot of ground to cover with this digital magazine. Look for information about all kinds of technology, from large companies and small ones, stuff you have to buy and stuff that's free, tech you can carry around with you and some that you can't. Look for information about government from the national to the local level, about democracy and the political process, about education for people of all ages, about health care and healthy communities, about non-profits and philanthropies. All of these and more contribute to the public good - and are innovating faster than most people can keep up with.
The topic matter of Publicyte is exciting. Exciting because we can all have an impact. Exciting because large corporations, small companies, and individual entrepreneurs can leverage technology for the public good and share those best practices more easily than ever before. Exciting because the country will soon get past these challenging times stronger than ever.
Exciting because anyone who activates themselves and rises to these challenges can play an important role in generating their collective solutions.