Susan Crawford Tweets Again

Amid the cacophony of tweets Thursday night on President Obama's health-care speech to Congress, tech policy enthusiasts -- yes, there are lots of us -- got a jolt of excitement when Susan Crawford came out of hiding to post a brief message that said little more than that she was also tuning in.

Her brief tweet: "on the couch in the eeob watching the big speech." It was less than informative, but for followers of technology regulation, it was a sign that, after more than one year off Twitter and off her blog, she might be itching to return to her Web 2.0 ways. Other Obama appointees who were active on social media Web sites have quieted since joining the administration.

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said Crawford's post "was just her as a person" on the microblogging site. He said the administration doesn't have guidelines on staff participation on Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Crawford is Obama's closest technology adviser in the White House and was once a prolific blogger and Twitter user before she was drafted to work on Obama's campaign and transition. Her writings while she was a professor at the University of Michigan were often in strong support of net neutrality and stronger government rules to ensure network operators such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast can't block or slow applications on their networks. Some sources within the telecommunications industry have expressed concern that her role in the White House might lead to stronger rules that would lessen their control over their Internet networks.

By Cecilia Kang  |  September 10, 2009; 10:43 AM ET  | Category:  Cecilia Kang
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