As part of the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to advocate for so-called net neutrality, the agency has launched the website openinternet.gov to solicit comments and engage the public.

The homepage features an introductory video, posted on October 22, of FCC chairman Julius Genachowski discussing the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding net neutrality.

In the video Genachowski reassures visitors that the FCC and the U.S. government are on the side of the user, hoping to protect freedom of speech and consumer choice via proposed rules that would prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from intentionally blocking or limiting legal web traffic. Previously, comments regarding the proposed rules would have had to be filed through traditional channels at the FCC. With this new model and website, non user-generated content is continually updated through the site's blog, all of which can be commented upon.

Ten principles of the proposed rules have been identified in the forum, which was created by crowdsourcing software firm Ideascale. In the Web 2.0-style forum, users can start threads (called Ideas), leave and reply to comments, and vote the ideas up or down. In a nod to true Gov 2.0, comments from both the blog and the Ideascale page will be entered into the official public record of the Open Internet Inquiry, along with those filed through traditional means.

In the week and change since launch, the FCC's Ideascale site has garnered 142 “ideas,” almost 1,000 comments and over 13,000 votes in the ranking system that allows visitors to vote ideas “up” or “down.” The ranking system allows visitors to see the ideas sorted by popularity as a default, and as a result ideas in support of the FCC’s efforts are all that can be found on the forum’s first three pages.

Several of the ideas posted oppose net neutrality, and most of these have been denounced by commenters as being the work of lobbyists for the ISPs, fake grassroots or “astroturf” campaigns meant to confuse the issue. Still, the site seems to be relatively free from the attacks found in typical forums, and the unpopular ideas quickly get voted down and relegated to the bottom of the pile.

The openinternet.gov site also links to the FCC bio pages for each commissioner, as well as the FCC’s Twitter, Facebook and Youtube pages, and its RSS feed.

Additionally, openinternet.gov offers a page of transcriptions from three speeches given by Genachowski in the past few weeks: “Preserving a Free and Open Internet: A Platform for Innovation, Opportunity, and Prosperity”,  “Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit”, and “America’s Mobile Broadband Future.” One thing's certain: Genachowski is taking the "communications" part of his FCC job very seriously.

Openinternet.gov represents a crucial understanding of the workings, power and opportunity of the web 2.0 on the part of the FCC, and hopefully a glimmer of how government in this new century will run.