Chopra and Silicon Valley: The Video

Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra was in Silicon Valley this week, where he spoke to the Churchill Club, the valley's premier business and technology forum. They liked what he had to say, according to some news reports.

ComputerWorld's take:

The Democrats aren't usually seen as the party of business but the United States' first national CTO, appointed by President Barack Obama in May, got a warm welcome at his first public appearance in Silicon Valley Tuesday.

CTO Aneesh Chopra talked for 90 minutes at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, outlining an agenda that tries to balance short-term achievements that can be made "in 60 or 90 days" with longer-term policy efforts.

"He's a smart guy, he talks our language," said Jeremy Verba of the investment firm Foundation Capital. He liked the broad plans that Chopra outlined but said it's "early days yet."

Before Chopra spoke, Jim Dempsey, vice president for public policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, one of the sponsors of the evening's speech, summed up West Coast technologists' hopes:

We've been talking a long time about the need to build a bridge between Silicon Valley and Washington D.C. I think it's fair to say that the bridge has been built; it's now up to all of us to utilize that. Clearly Aneesh will say that he needs you, you need him in many ways in terms of helping create the policy environment for innovation. And this is a beginning I think of an opportunity to build a dialogue, to hear what he has to say. He's here very much to hear what you have to say. He's in a position to take the message back to Washington and have it heard. That's what this evening is all about.

Here's the video:

Hat tip: Tech Daily Dose