Given the anticipation surrounding the announcement of our first CTO, I figured we could celebrate it in a way that's both fun and symbolic: a prediction market. I've set up a market that includes 14 possible nominees, along with a Field option. To participate, go here. If you don't already have one, you'll have to set up an Inkling account (which has many active markets on other political, cultural and tech subjects).

Because this is just for fun, this is a non-cash market that uses virtual money.

A few weeks ago, a tech advocacy group called the Industry Advisory Council published ideas for how Obama's CTO can promote government IT innovation. Its ideas could create some interesting results, but those ideas don't address the government's cultural opposition to innovation.

While much of the tech industry and blogosphere is pondering who President-elect Barack Obama might appoint as the nation's first Chief Technology Officer--Eric Schmidt? Jeff Bezos? Larry Lessig?--a bunch of heavy-hitting public interest groups in Washington and a couple of civic-minded techies out in Seattle have each launched promising interventions in the discussion.