Today is a much anticipated day in America. I actually think today is a much expected day in the whole world, as Barack Obama becomes the USA’s 44th president.
Barack Obama has many firsts to his name, he is the first African American president of the United States, and he is also the first president to have a Facebook page and a YouTube channel. As such, it is clear that Obama is the first president that will truly be able to communicate directly with his audience in a way that previous presidents could not even dream of doing.
During his campaign, Obama has been savvy in the use of social networking websites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, and judging from that, we can expect to see a president who will be able to reach out to citizens directly, and will no longer rely solely on the media to get his message across. He will be able to watch the way people react to his government, and he will be able to respond immediately, giving democracy a whole new meaning.
Unlike his predecessors, Barack Obama is expected to have an interactive White House website for his presidency, where users can be immersed in the political experience and where they can truly feel close to their commander-in-chief. Not only that, but he makes use of his personal website (www.mybarackobama.com) to let visitors know which events he will be attending, to rally their support and raise money.
It is not difficult to find millions of Obama supporters on the internet, as you can befriend him on MySpace or influence millions posting your support on a blog. And Barack Obama knows that, which is why he makes every effort to reach his audience wherever they might be. It is no wonder that he has so many younger supporters, who were ignored by candidates in previous campaigns. Barack Obama sees the value in each and every citizen, and he wants to communicate with them regardless of political affiliation, age, race, sex or age.
Obama has quite a challenge ahead of him. Being able to communicate and truly get the national (and worldwide) sentiment has never been so important, and I am sure that his enlightened view of technology will be one of his many marks as the 44th president of the USA.