Kevin Werbach: Co-leader of the FCC review team for the incoming Obama administration, assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics… and experienced World of Warcraft raider.

It’s the truth. Mr. Werbach took an interest in World of Warcraft as an emerging communications medium a couple years ago.

I’m also playing because I believe MMOGs will be one of the primary forms of social software for the next decade. Defined broadly, they may become the dominant form of social software. And you can’t understand games without experiencing them first-hand.

However, if you check out his public armory profile, you can see he did more than pop in for a quick visit. He’s at level 70, the maximum level before the new expansion came out this month. He’s also wearing gear from Karazhan, the haunted wizard tower that serves as an introduction to the 10-man dungeons. He’s even got a drop from Gruul, the first 25-man challenge. It’s exactly poopsocking, but it shows many, many hours of play.

The FCC does, in fact, have some purview over the broadband pipes that MMOs run on, and are the center of the net neutrality debate. (Werbach and his co-leader Susan Crawford are big pro-neutrality avocates. I’d say that’s a pretty good sign.)

Honestly, with video games as pervasive as they are, and with World of Warcraft as pervasive as it is, it was only a matter of time before gamers started taking government positions. The perk here is that Werbach started playing to specifically flesh out his area of expertise… an area he’ll now shape the future of. 

Government appointees with experience applicable to their positions: Why does that seem like such a refreshing change of pace?

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