The political community is very excited these days about the forthcoming launch of Barack Obama 2.0, a cutting-edge plan for effective governance in the Internet era. The heady expectation is that the new president will usher in a brave new world of communication, using the power of the web to conduct an unprecedented two-way conversation with citizens, all in the interests of providing the change they seek.
Steps have already been taken to see this revolutionary idea through. Obama delivered his first YouTube address the other day and members of his transition team are talking about their work in videos posted on change.gov, the official website of the president-in-waiting. Obama’s boosters argue that it all makes perfect sense; given the fact that the candidate broke new ground by successfully harnessing the Internet, who’s to say that he can’t similarly revolutionize the art of governing?
Obama’s ambition, a laudable one, is to maximize his political capital by communicating online with the 10 million supporters on his e-list – and, hopefully, doing broadband outreach to millions more. The goal is to engage the citizenry in the unsexy process of governing, to build and sustain support for his policy initiatives, to put pressure on recalcitrant congressman by rallying the grassroots. Regarding the latter, political consultant Joe Trippi recently predicted that the Internet “will be a power that no American president has had before. Congress’ power will be taken over by the American people.”
I think this is an extremely important step, as being the President of the United States now is much different than it was one hundred years ago. Technology is rapidly advancing, and by opening the lines of communication via the internet for the President and the people, the proper steps can be taken to fully realize our potential for communication channels.
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After reading this article I felt very optimistic. I think that it is great that Obama is trying to change the way people view the government. By him posting his first you-tube video it shows that he is aware of the changing times and there is an urgency for the government to change as well. The internet now a days is the best way to reach out to people especially the youth community. The best part of using the internet is the fact that people will be able to leave feedback and their comments. Television is great but there is no way for people to express their thoughts and suggestions unless they go onto a random blog. With things posted on you tube and websites dedicated to whats going on in the government people will be able voice their opinions and be heard. There is a lot that can be done to make advancements in communication between the government and its citizens and I believe that Obama is taking critical steps in opening up this door.
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