I got a call just before Christmas that I was accepted as a 2010 USA Eisenhower Fellow. I was nominated by Steve Welch (thanks Steve!), applied, was interviewed and accepted. I had never heard of the Fellowship before I was nominated, but it’s an impressive group.Essentially, I get to go abroad (expenses paid) to study topics that I defined myself. Mine are:

1. What’s the implication of the flattening of the world on U.S.-based tech start-ups? What are the opportunities and threats? How will we change?
2. How will Internet advertising models develop in different geographies?

Fellows study by traveling to one or more countries and doing 3-4 meetings a day with people who can help. The organization has extensive resources and an amazing network of alumni and they help Fellows design and set up these meetings. They are typically with businesspeople, academics, and government officials.  My next step is to sign an acceptance letter and request travel dates and a country, or multiples. I’m leaning towards requesting China and Taiwan or maybe Korea, and breaking the trip into two parts to make it manageable for both my family and ClickEquations.  I’m extremely excited (Fellows describe the experience as life-changing), honored, and apprehensive about the logistics back home.I’ll blog here as things develop, and try hard to write daily once I’m there.