Every year at the annual Personal Democracy Forum, we pick a theme to help give our ongoing conversation a focus. Two years ago, it was "Rebooting America." Last year, it was "We.gov." This year, we've decided to borrow a little inspiration from our friends at Edge.org and go with a big question: Can the Internet Fix Politics?

Consider: A majority of Americans thinks the country is on the wrong track. Congress is deeply divided. Legislation is often stalled by gridlock, or packed with pork. Fundraising dominates the time of politicians, while the media cycle speeds up and public attention crashes. Voters are more volatile, when they aren’t sitting out elections entirely.

It’s a troubling picture. But in recent years, a wide array of activists, academics, bloggers, hackers, politicians and visionaries have argued that the Internet can change politics and governance for the better. To give just two of my favorite examples:
Al Gore: "I see the Internet as a great source of hope for re-energizing representative democracy, and making it possible for people to really participate. We are seeing the emergence of a digital democracy, an Internet-powered, self-organizing paradigm. It's not a Democrat thing, it's a not Republican thing, it affects everyone."
Newt Gingrich: "By focusing on using information technology to harness the collective intelligence of the American people to solve problems, ...committing to as transparent a government as possible, and insisting on a commitment from our elected officials to continually learn from the world that works, we will achieve a more modern government that delivers more choices of greater quality at greater convenience at lower cost."

Can the Internet fix politics? This year at Personal Democracy Forum, we’ll dig deep into that question. We've got an illustrious group of confirmed speakers who have important things to say, from a variety of angles, on that issue, and we'll be adding and announcing more in the coming days.* Plus we'll be offering our usual array of in-depth breakout sessions designed to serve everyone from new folks who need to learn fast how to make sensible use of the internet in their political work, to veterans and experts looking for the latest ideas and new trends. And, as always, plenty of time and space in the schedule to network, see old friends and colleagues and make new ones.

Right now we're offering a limited number of tickets at our lowest "early-early-bird" registration rates for the conference. Prices are going to start going up February 15th. So, don't delay and register now!

[*If you want to suggest a speaker or a topic, write us a pdf-at-personaldemocracy-dot-com and put "PdF 2010 Suggestion" in the subject line.]