The Coming Digital Presidency

[Lithos]

Disregarding the politics, this is still an interesting article in terms of the social tools being employed. I am presenting it purely from this last reason which I find an interesting trend.

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Marc Andreeson, the cofounder of Netscape, met Senator Barack Obama in early 2007. Mr. Andreeson recalls, “In particular, the Senator was personally interested in the rise of social networking, Facebook, Youtube, and user-generated content, and casually but persistently grilled us on what we thought the next generation of social media would be and how social networking might affect politics — with no staff present, no prepared materials, no notes. He already knew a fair amount about the topic but was very curious to actually learn more.” (see Mr. Andreeson’s blog post)

As a social organizer and a lover of new technologies, Mr. Obama could be expected to make good use of such tools in getting elected, and he has done so. What may not be as obvious is that Mr. Obama appears to have a keen interest in using such technologies in the act of governing. And whether Mr. Obama becomes president, or Mrs. Clinton or Mr. McCain do, these new tools have the potential to transform how a government of the People, by the People and for the People communicates and operates. Let us consider the effects of Internet tools on the act of governing by first considering the effect of such tools on the election process.

Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign has made an unprecedented use of Internet tools. At my.barackobama.com Mr. Obama’s supporters can create a profile (complete with name, phone number, email and zip code), blog about their campaign experiences, track the latest campaign news and videos, plan, attend and discuss events, find other supporters, and help raise funds for his campaign. More than 90% of the Obama campaign’s cash has come through donations of $100 or less, much of it through the Internet (see WSJ article). The website can also be used to request further funds from prior contributors, which has likely helped Mr. Obama maintain a significant fundraising advantage. Most importantly, the Obama campaign has put supporters to work not as passive volunteers but as empowered organizers. On my.barackobama.com supporters are given the tools to find, convince and organize other supporters among their neighbors.

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