The 2008 election was monumental in part because a relatively young candidate was raising money and awareness using the Internet, his Blackberry, and Twitter. Four years later, having survived the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, America is poised for another round of technological greatness. All the coolest, most innovative stuff requires some form of technology, from cellphones and cars to industrial manufacturing and architectural design. Consumers and customers are increasingly an active part of corporate strategy (http://bit.ly/18jWbT) and, indeed, are becoming themselves empowered through technology to create the world...

I lived and worked in a small Chinese city for a year, returning to the NY metro area in late 2006. A large part of my return came from a then-new appreciation for America’s civil liberties, which are far too often taken for granted by the average American. I know: I was one of them. I changed my tune after enduring the subtle terror of Big Brother in China (). We’re taught through dystopian literature (like 1984) and the US media’s propagandized coverage of dictatorships (like North Korea) that the specter of totalitarianism is brutal, blatant, and impossible to happen here. The true story is far more insidious and far more terrifying...