ALKHOBAR: We’re a week into the eagerly awaited world of change heralded by US President Barack Obama. The first indication of Obama change occurred in the virtual world, when the website of the George Bush White House was torn down immediately after noon in Washington D.C., to make way for the Obama White House website —. www.whitehouse.gov.
The first blog post at the White House site was dated Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 12:01 p.m. – before Obama took the oath of office. This is evidence of the fact that transition is generally easier in the virtual world than the real one. Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House, one of the people who will be contributing to the blog, wrote in his post:
“A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House’s new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.”
The website is promising to be just the beginning of the new administration’s efforts to expand and deepen its online engagement with US citizens. The Obama administration’s new media efforts are to center around three priorities:
Communication — The site will feature content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated. People can sign up for e-mail updates from Obama and his administration to be informed of major announcements and decisions.
Transparency — Obama’s executive orders and proclamations will be published on the site. There’s also information about some of the senior leadership in the new administration and about the President’s policy priorities.
Participation — One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the US President. All non-emergency legislation will be published on the website for five days, and the public will be able to review and comment on it before the President signs it.
Note though that this isn’t a site that’s interested in creating an environment for true online sharing. Reading the White House blog is encouraged but there’s no forum at the site for an online debate about White House blog postings. There’s a contact form at the site but it emphasizes that “questions, comments, concerns or well-wishes can be sent to the President or his staff,” in 500 characters or less. Please write your remarks politely, ensuring that even a hint of violence can’t be implied in your message. Otherwise it can be assumed that either men in dark suits will be at your door or you’ll be placed on a terrorist watch list somewhere.
Making changes in the WhiteHouse.gov website has become a tradition with each new administration. The first White House website was started during the administration of Bill Clinton in 1994. When he come in to office, George W. Bush made sure that most everything about Clinton’s years was removed from the WhiteHouse.gov website. That doesn’t mean that those materials were lost. The US National Archives and Records Administration archived the contents of the Clinton website. Both public and private organizations have archived the contents of the White House website during the Bush years. In fact the web grab of the Bush version of WhiteHouse.gov illustrating this report was captured from an archival source after the new Obama site had been posted.
The information and communications technology used by the White House is far from cutting edge. Brian Chen has a nice blog post on the topic, “White House Tech More Tired Than Wired,” at http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/01/wired-or-tired.html.
Many companies and organizations have posted tributes or congratulations to the 44th US President on their websites. One of the most amusing is Marvel’s “Amazing Spider-Man” comic book #583, now in the fourth printing variant. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Obama named Spider-Man as his favorite super hero. Download a free computer wallpaper featuring the Obama/Spider-Man encounter from http://www.marvel.com wallpaper/?character=Spider-Man.
And don’t miss the new video from Amber Lee Ettinger. Best known as “Obama Girl,” she’s now elevated herself to be “President Girl.” Talk about riding on someone’s coattails! Check it out at http://obamagirl.com/video/136/yes-we-did.html.
As of yet, most folks haven’t remembered that Obama is both a politician and a lawyer. According to numerous polls, these are two of the least trusted professions. Once people are ready for an objective assessment of this President’s performance, they can simply click to www.politifact.org/truth-o-meter/promises/ to get an up to the minute report.
PolitiFact has compiled about 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on an Obameter. The status of each promise is rated as No Action, In the Works or Stalled. Once an action is considered complete, the promise is rated as Kept, Compromise or Broken. As of this writing no broken promises are registered, but one action is stalled and there’s been one compromise made.
Finally, if you’re a hard working soul but a presidency doesn’t seem to be in your future, don’t get depressed. Give yourself or someone you care about an emotional pick-me-up. Asia-based The Message Group, is showing the power of viral marketing through a website, www.worldsgreatestbusinessmind.com. Nominate yourself or someone else for this “prize.” It’s easy to do. I was nominated and chuckled the entire time I watched the report of my “award.” It’s a super mood booster. See mine at http://www.worldsgreatestbusinessmind.com/20090118-Molouk-Ba~~Isa-create.html&WT.mc_id=WGBM%7CCreate.