of the Internet, e-mail, and other new technologies to connect with networks of voters across the country and around the world. Media outlets, historians, and other social commentators have taken to repeating with gospel-like certainty that his presidency promises to invite an unprecedented tech-savvy approach to shaping national and global politics. Yet for all the talk about potential rewards, this “e-originality” has also given rise to concerns about the risks embedded in such a promising portfolio.
Virtual Commitments and E-Accountability This particular concern should primarily bother members of the President’s Cabinet yet also carries wider social implications. Promoting entire political agendas over the Internet and, even more, concluding gentlemen’s agreements with voters on blogs or personal websites, ultimately means that these commitments will leave permanently accessible e-traces. Consequently, it is not inconceivable that Mr. Obama might in
Blogging and Rich Media President Obama and his team proved during the presidential campaign that they have a winning formula for using YouTube, Facebook, and blogs to generate buzz and promote critical policy positions. What, pundits wonder, will happen if they decide to take advantage of the accumulated database of supporters (a veritable goldmine complete with personal data, including e-mail and address details) and mass-mail them on a regular basis with videocasts featuring the President or commentaries published online? As failproof as the idea may seem, there remains the question of whether the government can legitimately use people’s private data to serve political ends. Equally pressing is the logistical question of whether Mr. Obama, once engrained in the midst of his traditional presidential duties, will have the time to blog or post videocasts himself. If these messages were communicated to Obama supporters by hired typists, would they lose their impact of “change”?
...as political commentators have taken to repeating with gospel certainty, his will certainly be the most tech-savvy White House ever
Social Networking The Obama campaign wisely chose to use social networking sites to attract public attention to his platform and address controversial issues in the techlanguage of the new voter generation. Some critics have claimed that Obama’s dependence upon these networks to secure public approval for his desired policies is an unwarranted attempt to bypass proper Congressional processes. On the other hand, Mr. Obama could persuasively respond that such methods actually fulfill the pressing demand for all democratic politicians to stay in touch with citizens.
the future face a public outcry fueled by his virtual footprints, should these turn out to mark empty words and broken promises. On a related note, is the White House truly ready to face civic criticism in the raw and blatant form that many citizens routinely dish out? One look at the negative comments posted under any political ad available on YouTube reveals that relying on the average Internet user for civil feedback is rather optimistic. Yet paradoxically, the Obama campaign’s very use of the Internet has reshaped people’s perception of their own political effectiveness. Thus in the fine tradition of political innovations coming back to bite their inventors, President Obama can surely expect to face strong political pressures online.
Security Devising new ways to attract citizen involvement through a 21st century, digital platform for government is all well and good. Nevertheless, concerns over the security of this platform and the efficacy of the defenses fortifying it have already been voiced. How secure is it, for example, to post projected tactics on Facebook and organize public polls on them or openly talk about them via YouTube or videos streaming directly to thousands of your supporters’ Blackberries? President Obama’s office will also have to calm critics who feel that it is not the most clever tactic to publicly announce renewed targeting of Al Qaeda, because you ring the alarm for them to be on alert. Additionally, being a pioneer in Internet politics, the Obama White House will need to ease both domestic and foreign concerns that—since technologies such as the Blackberry are being developed by ‘their own guys’— they will not exploit the know-how they possess in order to compromise the use of these technologies by other governments worldwide. The French government has already panicked and blocked the use of Blackberries by its officials. As I conclude this piece, the inauguration party for President Obama is well underway with a group of highprofile Americans praising his virtues and promised change in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Undoubtedly just hours from now, this footage will be available online for anyone across the globe to see and judge, watch and criticize, approve or condemn. Whether the promised change truly materializes, we’ll be able to tell in four years. We can already say, though, that Barack Obama has through his campaign inagurated a new mode of participatory politics by tapping into a wealth of now ubiquitous communication forms including e-mail and text messaging. Whether this new concept of politics can legitimately lead to change, however, is up for you, American voters, and the citizens of the world to decide. You are unavoidably the target of many of these messages: as citizens of the 21st century you should also seize on the privilege to broadcast a response. BT