Today was a historic day on so many levels. Millions descended on the mall in DC to be a part of history. Millions more who could not travel participated online: streaming video, blogs, twitter, facebook, flicker, SMS, real-time news, and just about every kind of media swelled with Obamania. Long ago, Obama promised to appoint a Chief Technology Officer for America. Though there are many pressing urgent matter to tackle first, here's hoping that this one does not fall too far in his priorities. It's impossible to think about any industry or business without technology. If we're going to rebound from this global economic crisis, America must invest in innovation and technology.

In Obama's inauguration speech, the focus was on how we can move this country forward. While thousands of political pundits are pouring over his words, not many have zeroed in on this line that came in the same breath as calling for swift and bold action [to lift us out of this crisis]:

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

Does he mean building lines to bridge the digital divide? Invisible lines to reach the 'last mile?' Does electric grids mean open networks for greater access? Does this mean we'll finally invest in technical infrastructure to bring us up to the speeds seen in Japan and Korea (50Mbit connections are typical in .KR and .JP)? Or does Obama mean to invest in social technology -- in ways that not only drive business but also enable greater participation -- like the digital ferver that united us on this historic day?

[Edit]
Head over to Computer World for a .gov news story roundup, The Obama Administration: Tech Goes to Washington.