I'm very excited to share I have a chapter in the new O'Reilly Media book Open Government (US Link & CDN Link). I've just been told that the book has just come back from the printers and can now be ordered.

Also exciting is that a sample of the book (pictured left) that includes the first 8 chapters can be downloaded as a PDF for free.

The book includes several people and authors I'm excited to be in the company of, including: Tim O'Reilly, Carl Malamud, Ellen Miller, Micah Sifry, Archon Fung and David Weil. My chapter - number 12 - is titled "After the Collapse," a reference to the Coasean collapse Shirky talks about in Here Comes Everybody. It explores what is beginning to happen (and what is to come) to government and civil services when transaction and coordination costs for doing work dramatically lower. I've packed a lot into it, so it is pretty rich with my thinking, and I'm pleased with the result.

One of the smartest people I know has a chapter in the new O'Reilly book on open government.

The upside: he's in smashing (and well-deserved) company, the book looks fascinating and the timing couldn't be better.

The downside: no animal cover! Okay, so there's a lovely shot of a cupola from some legislature or other. But why not some animal that conveys social behaviour, openness of information and networked awareness?

An ant? A bee? A Borg-ified ant-bee hybrid? Suggestions?