Ed Felten named FTC's Chief Technologist (ftc.gov)

Here's his own post on Freedom to Tinker: http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/felten/dr-felten-goes-...

I still can't figure out what a Chief Technologist does beyond "advise".

I know that this is rather cynical, but could the purpose of this appointment be to subdue Felten? His advice could certainly be ignored for the most part and his activities outside of the agency will receive less attention.