Barack Obama - President 2.0?
First the Obama campaign was sending out text messages to the masses and that whole thing came up about John McCain not using email. Obama was campaigning for those of us who are into the web. He appealed to our technology.
It appears he is going to keep it up. There are Presidential baby photos on the web. And, the President-elect is on flickr. He has released an entire set of election night photos of his family awaiting results in their hotel room. I wonder what will be next.
The Obamas certainly seem willing to let us have glimpses of their world. And they understand how to reach out on the web. No wonder someone took the time to make a flash game for Obama. Let's hope it continues. Maybe there will be a presidential blog.
[Via Lifehacker]
It appears he is going to keep it up. There are Presidential baby photos on the web. And, the President-elect is on flickr. He has released an entire set of election night photos of his family awaiting results in their hotel room. I wonder what will be next.
The Obamas certainly seem willing to let us have glimpses of their world. And they understand how to reach out on the web. No wonder someone took the time to make a flash game for Obama. Let's hope it continues. Maybe there will be a presidential blog.
[Via Lifehacker]













Comments
36
Subscribe to commentsVictor Agreda, Jr.Nov 7th 2008 1:09PM
Does he have a Twitter account already? And I wonder if he used Brightkite if that'd be a security issue? "Here I am in a sekrit meeting, w00t!"
EliNov 7th 2008 3:59PM
yep, twitter.com/barackobama or @barackobama, if you like.
rodan32Nov 7th 2008 2:29PM
I feel like I should point out for the record why John McCain does not use email. Something about him being hung by the wrists with his arms behind his back makes it painful for him to use a keyboard. Have you noticed the odd way that he waves? That's a result of his torture. John McCain doesn't personally spend much time in front of a computer.
This doesn't diminish at all the Obama campaign's use of the web. I just wanted to point that out so there's no misunderstanding.
Christina ClarkNov 7th 2008 2:33PM
Actually, the post that sentence links to points out that McCain does use technology. He apparently likes to grab reporters Blackberries and surf the web. And He reads email, he just doesn't send it.
I was just trying to point out some of the technology things that came up in the campaign. I'm sure McCain has good reasons for not sending emails.
Halo2MasterNov 7th 2008 2:45PM
Yeah, to Christina's point, the reasons for his non-email usage are almost immaterial. The fact is that Obama made a concerted effort to relate to the tech-heavy folks, while McCain did not.
Of course, being largely composed of young people, Obama likely would have won that demographic handily without so much as a campaign website.
asurrocaNov 9th 2008 10:21AM
It's not about President-Elect Obama or Senator McCain being tech-savvy, it's about the people surrounding them being tech-savvy. It obviously wasn't Obama posting videos to YouTube, photos to Flickr, status updates to Twitter, and text messages to his supporters. I think we can expect a White House that is more connected to us than ever before.
Adubs923Nov 9th 2008 9:54PM
EXCELLENT point! I am a middle of the road, conservative Dem. While there are plenty of tech options there for handicapped persons, it is also important to remember that John McCain is a war vet who could have dies but instead was tortured for helping to protect our country. It's a shame so many get stuck in the race game but it is good to see that, whatever your political affiliation, you recognize what that man did for his/OUR country!
Dan McDonaldNov 7th 2008 2:29PM
Presidential blog's already live... http://www.change.gov ;)
JackkerouacNov 7th 2008 2:18PM
August 25, 2010: Made my decision, Iran is toast. Warm up the nukes!
Maybe a Presidential Blog isn't such a good idea ...
downinitNov 7th 2008 3:44PM
and let's not forget he used to have (still does?) a podcast...
sodapopNov 7th 2008 4:15PM
Obama won because he was running against Bush. McCain is one of the most notable aisle crossers, has very similar policies to Obama and greatly exceeds Obama's experience. Palin has more exective experience than Obama. If there had been any other person besides Bush as president, Obama would have lost. It has nothing to do with email. There was plenty of grass roots Republican email.
ljinsaneNov 7th 2008 6:37PM
uh yeah that is...Palin...so much executive experience...like her foreign policy experience...laughable...but dont let me tell you...I'll let the millions of people who felt the same way tell you ...lol
sodapopNov 7th 2008 9:40PM
ljinsane, what's laughable is your inability to read. "Executive experience" ie governor, mayor. Obama took a trip to the middle east. That's vacation, not foreign policy.
Anonymous CowardNov 9th 2008 10:22AM
Throughout history, many of those now considered to be our best leaders have been slammed for their lack of experience. I think that John McCain, Joe Biden and Barack Obama would all make great leaders. Based on what I've seen of her since and before her nomination as Republican VP candidate, it's very obvious to me that Palin is not "Ready to Lead." McCain might have at least held his own against Obama in the election had he chosen somebody who was, or at least somebody with some appeal outside of the Flanders of America and a few disgruntled Hilary supporters.
ntw1103Nov 7th 2008 4:17PM
I don't see how this post is download related. Get a political blog... FAIL.
Christina ClarkNov 7th 2008 4:20PM
The main link in the post is to photos of the Obama family during election night, available on flickr. Technically, you can download those photos. But really, the point is, the President-elect is on the web, just like the rest of us.
Sorry you don't think it's relevant. There are lots of other posts on DLS all about downloading specific software and applications.
RobNov 7th 2008 4:44PM
OR it could be the caliber of marketing team that hundreds of millions of campaign dollars buys you. Marketers today know the effectiveness of interactive marketing, which has evolved to a new level since the 2004 elections. This is really the first time this has been used in a major election. But I guess it doesn't sound as cool and geniune as if he were actually doing it himself.
Christina ClarkNov 7th 2008 4:45PM
Thanks for raining on my parade Rob! Here I was picturing Obama himself sending out those texts... darn. ;-)
MikeNov 7th 2008 5:18PM
Two thoughts ... I certainly hope our president doesn't spend a single moment of his day on a blog. He's got more pressing issues to deal with.
Also, let's be careful about assuming that anyone into technology was into Obama. I adore technology, regularly drive my non-techie wife crazy with it. She liked Obama, I preferred McCain.
That being said, yeah, it's kinda neat we're getting a glimpse. But I as a student of history, I'm also aware of the dangers of cult of personality and I think we have to be careful about viewing him too reverently. He's a man, crass and vain and prideful as the rest of us, who has his own agendas that may belie his words.
MiguelNov 7th 2008 7:05PM
Couldnt have said it better myself.