via Workbench

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer appears to have begun legal proceedings to take the domain names eliotspitzer.com and eliotspitzer.org away from Eric Keller, a New Jersey online candy retailer who registered them in 2001.

A Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) arbitration began today regarding the domains at the National Arbitration Forum. Arbitrators will decide whether the domains were registered and used in bad faith, whether Keller has legitimate rights in the names, and whether Spitzer has used his name as a trademark in commerce. He must prevail on all three to take the domains.

We did it because ... well ... we just couldn't let slip the idea that our governor-elect was soliciting ideas from the people (a good move) - but then just reprinting them back to us (a tad lame). What's the use of this whole technology bit - if you don't push it to the nth degree, or at least to Day One, 2004?

If everything's going to change on Day One, 2007 - I hope that everything includes Eliot's interactions with the blogosphere as well. There's a real opportunity for Eliot to revolutionize the meaning of government entirely.

And for that, we shall see!