By Dr. Philip Baczewski, Director of Academic Computing and User ServicesObama TechFor those who are counting the days to the next U.S. Presidential inauguration, for whatever the reason may be, we are about to enter the last month of counting. In case you hadn't noticed, technology, and in particular Internet technology, played a large role in the success of the Obama campaign, so you may be wondering how the new administration will approach the support and use of technology. As it turns out, that question may have been answered about a year ago. It's been quite some time since Bill Clinton brought Internet technology to the White House with its first Web Page and a presidential e-mail address. And who can forget that Al Gore did NOT invent the Internet (but DID support its development). E-mail and Web pages have gone from being a bit of a novelty at the beginning of the Clinton years to a necessity today. It's not surprising that we see Internet technology playing a large role in political campaigns and the ultimate success of the Obama campaign in particular. Howard Dean first tapped the power of Internet fund raising in the 2004 democratic primaries, drawing the skeptical notice of Michael Wolff writing in New York Magazine: "The Internet -- which has still not revealed how it will ever reliably produce profits for the commercial sector -- turns out to be a remarkable political money machine. A goose laying golden liberal eggs."What a difference 4 years can make. According to America.gov, "Four years later, Internet fundraising has leapt ahead, with prospective Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama enjoying particular success thanks to Web 2.0 interactive and social networking tools that enhance online community participation." (And, it appears that at least a few in the commercial sector have some reliable profits.) Some would say that the Obama campaign's effective political organizational skills combined with the tools of the Web 2.0 wave of technologies, made the difference that mobilized so much support for the candidate. The social network site remains active although there is some question as to the future of the extensive database of supporters or just interested browsers who signed up on the Obama site. The new administration's stance on technology has been stated for quite some time. A year ago or more, the Obama campaign published a position paper on the campaign website with the rather hefty title of "CONNECTING AND EMPOWERING ALL AMERICANS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION". That paper outlined a plan which featured the following goals:
These goals from candidate Obama have apparently survived the nomination and platform creation process to be included in the goals of the incoming administration. So, it appears that Obama and his circle are not only quite well versed in the online world, but have successfully used that world as part of their effort to win the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. It remains to be seen whether this new administration will be able to fulfill its promises, but the Obama campaign's ability to organize and connect people during the campaign really could be the promise of a "transparent and connected democracy" if President Obama figures out how to do technology as well as candidate Obama did. The irony is that President Obama may have to give up his favorite gadget. It appears that his Blackberry may have to be taken away once he moves into the Oval Office. While it's likely he'll stay informed, you have to wonder if he'll stay connected. Plus, there's something comforting to the geek bloc knowing your President shares your compulsion to always be virtually connected. If he does have to give up his Blackberry, he'll just have to hope that his thumbs stay in shape.
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