Technology and the New Administration
A long time ago, sometime during the last election cycle, we banned political discussions on the SFWOW discussion list. It was probably for the best. Threads and discussions would get out of hand, and flame wars would erupt, complete with name calling and time-outs. It was an ugly time. Interesting. But ugly.
But we are now in a new era. It’s not about politics. It’s about technology.
Last week we elected a new President here in the US and although none of us in SFWOW really knows how many in the group think this might be a wonderful thing, I’d be safe to say that more than 50 percent of us do. Now that the election is over, it’s time for everyone to get on the same page and get with the program.
The exciting thing about Barack Obama being elected President is that he is ready to move us in many ways into the future. This is evident in the way he used the technology of the internet and the web during his campaign and in his plans for expanding technology during his administration.
During the campaign, Obama had a presence on the web unlike any politician before him. His web site was not only about him, but filled with facts and figures, policy information and a lot of boring political content. Obama’s web site used every aspect the technology had to offer. He used text messaging and email to announce his VP pick. His daily stump speeches were streamed live, he created a community among his supporters by giving them a place to not only blog about their concerns, but also to network with each other. Within each member’s profile they could also work on the campaign with the nifty “Neighbor to Neighbor” program - calling voters in swing states to garner support and get out the vote from the comfort of your home. Within this community the discussion and networking groups where people could create events, pass along information, and find details on the issues are still viable and will remain so for some time in the future.
Obama also has a youtube channel where the campaign posted stump speeches, television commercials, and interviews with campaign supporters.
The day after the election the Obama camp launched Change.Gov, a web site where it is shown that the President-Elect wants to use technology to engage the American public in the workings of the government. Currently there are two important parts of the site, the blog which publishes the important daily news of the President-Elect, and a section where you can apply for jobs in the Obama administration. There is also a section for you to let the President-Elect know what you want for the country.
Obama has also said that he wants to appoint a Chief Technology Officer as well as get true broadband to every community in the country.
Two of the goals from the technology plan posted on BarackObama.com:
Protect the Openness of the Internet: A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.
Bring Government into the 21st Century: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will use technology to reform government and improve the exchange of information between the federal government and citizens while ensuring the security of our networks. Obama and Biden believe in the American people and in their intelligence, expertise, and ability and willingness to give and to give back to make government work better. Obama will appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will ensure the safety of our networks and will lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.
Whatever happens, I think we’re all looking forward to as much transparency in our government that the Internet will allow.
What do other people think about the Obama Administration and technology? Will this create new business opportunities in technology for women? Will it help with individual communication with our government? What are your thoughts?
Probably like everyone that voted with him- I’m super excited to see changes. Thanks for posting this tech-centric informational, Kimba. I’m hoping he embraces net neutrality, and I’d love for services- like healthcare, and other govt. stuff, get online and accessible. The voting situation alone, that I witnessed last Tues., needs some web2.0 help.
Comment by Anna — November 10, 2008 @ 3:09 pm
They are definitely going to want a bunch of web and tech savvy people working for them, which I think will be good for us.
Comment by Kimba — November 10, 2008 @ 5:01 pm
Just reading this post gives me hope. It’s about time we graduated from ‘The Internets.’ Thanks so much for writing this, Kimba.
Comment by sarah browne — November 10, 2008 @ 5:23 pm
You know what I like most about the quote? It cheers me greatly to see that intelligence and willingness to give back are called out as important and valued qualities. Ask for the best from people, and perhaps you get it. Expect the worst, and maybe you would get that also.
Comment by Vicky — November 11, 2008 @ 9:30 am
I think Obama’s campaign and the way he is looking to run his administration is truly the wave of the future. Dean set the stage in his campaign, but Obama’s team ran with it and threw 110% into their efforts and it paid off big. I’m sure some will call this new site at change.gov another step toward socialism, but I say it’s a trues step towards democracy. A democracy where the people really do have a say in their government.
Comment by Janet — November 11, 2008 @ 11:01 am
I think another interesting thing that is arising from this election, is the power of social networks for grassroots activism. Thousands of people have been mobilized to protest Prop 8. through Twitter, Facebook, etc. So this may prove to be a very interesting dialogue between a sophisticated use of technology by the government itself, and ease the people have in organizing on a grass roots level.
Comment by Mary Davis — November 11, 2008 @ 12:08 pm