TheKeystotheWhiteHouse:

ElectronicDemocracy

andthe

RaceforthePresidencyoftheUnitedStates

FredericI.SolopProfessor&Chair

DepartmentofPoliticalSciencePOBox15036

NorthernArizonaUniversityFlagstaff,AZ86011

Phone:+1(928)523‐3135E‐mail:Fred.Solop@nau.edu

Preparedforpresentationatthe21stWorldCongressofPoliticalScience,Santiago,Chile,July12–July16,2009.

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I.IntroductionDemocraticpoliticalsystemsarebuiltuponafoundationofongoinginteractionsbetweencitizensandpolicy‐makers.Thenatureandstructureoftheseinteractionsarelockedintoanessentialrelationshipwithprevailingtechnology.Technologyshapeswhatispossibleandultimatelycreatesnewpossibilitiesbywayofshapingmechanismsofpoliticalparticipation,anddefininghowpoliticalcampaignsandgovernanceareplayedoutinsociety.Thispaperfocusesontheroleoftechnologyinshapingtheoutcomeofthemostrecent(2008)presidentialelectioncontestintheUnitedStates.AsthefirstpresidenttobebornintheVietnamera,BarackObamawascomfortableintroducingnewtechnologiesintohiscampaignforthepresidency.TechnologyplayedacriticalroleinhelpingObamadistributehismessagetoawideaudience,organizevolunteersthroughoutthenation,andraiseunprecedentedamountsofmoney.Obamaisnowbuildinguponlessonslearnednthepresidentialcampaignandintegratingtechnologyintoacomprehensivemodelofgovernance.II.BackgroundPoliticsandtechnologyareinextricablyboundtogether.Whethercampaigningforoffice,organizingconstituencies,orgoverning,strategicoptionsareafunctionofdominanttoolsforconnectingpoliticalactorsandexchanginginformation(Postman1993,Bimber2003).WhenJohannesGuttenberginventedthefirstprintingpressin1440,hecouldnothavepredictedtheimpactthisnewtechnologywouldhaveonmajorinstitutionssuchasreligion,thearts,science,andpolitics(Postman1993).TheintroductionoftheGuttenbergpressmeantthatinformation‐‐ideas,arguments,stories‐‐couldbemass‐producedanddistributedtoalargeaudience.Atthesametimethatcommunicationsbecamemoredistantandremovedfromtheproducerofinformation,ideastookonabroaderscopebringinglargergroupsintoacommonunderstandingofperceptionsandreality.Nationstatessoonrealizedthepotentialofwritteninformationtomaintainorderandhelpbuildthemodernnationstate.Massliteracycampaignswereputinplacetoallowcitizensaccesstothisnewformofexpression(Ginsberg,1987).Atalatertime,thetelegraphenabledinformationtobecommunicatedinstantaneouslyoverlongdistances(Postman,1992).WhenthetelegraphtechnologyreachedmassdistributionintheUnitedStatesinthemid1800’s,thetransmissionofnewswasreducedfromdaystoseconds.Whereasinformationmayhavetakenfourdays,ataminimum,totravelfromcoast‐to‐coastintheUnitedStates,itwasnowdistributedinstantaneously.Thishelpedtoforgeanationshapedbyacommonunderstandingoftheworldaroundus.PresidentFranklinRooseveltbecamefamousforconducting“FiresideChats”ontheradiostartingin1933.RadioallowedRoosevelttocarryonpersonal,informalcommunicationswiththenation.Forthefirsttime,largenumbersofpeoplecouldlistentothevoiceofthepresidentandbebothinspiredandreassuredbyhismessage.Presidentialcampaigningwaschangedforeverin1960whencandidatesJohnKennedyandRichardNixonengagedin

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aseriesofteleviseddebate,usheringintheeraoftelevision‐orientedpolitics.Interestingly,thoselisteningtothedebatesontheradiothoughtRichardNixonhadwon,whilethosewatchingthedebatesonTVthoughtKennedyexhibitedthebetterperformance.Thisexperiencedemonstratednotonlyhowtechnologyshapesthedeliveryofamessage,buthowtechnologyshapesperceptionofthosemessagesaswell.ThenewesttechnologytoredefinehowdemocraticnationscommunicateistheInternet.MuchhasalreadybeenwrittenabouthowtheWorldWideWebandtheInternethaveinfluencedpolitics(Davis1999,Wilhem2000.Solop2001,BimberandDavis2003,KerstingandBaldersheim2004,OwenandDavis2008).ThisdiscussionhasfocusedlargelyontheimpactoftheInternetonballoting,oncandidatefundraising,andthebroaderimpactoftheInternetonpoliticalparticipation.ContemporaryresearchersagreethattheInternethasusheredinaneweraofpoliticalcommunicationsandgovernance.Aswedelvefurtherintothistopic,weseethattheInternetissignificantlydifferentfromtechnologiesofthepast.Previouscommunicationtechnologieshavehadastaticstructure.Theprintingpresswasessentiallythesamein1840asitwasin1940,or2009forthatmatter.Radioinvolvedthecentralizedbroadcastingofamessageacrossairwaves.Thewavesarereceivedusingradiosandlistenedtobypeopleresiding,working,orrecreatingwithinarelativelyclosedistance.Radiotechnologyhasbeenrelativelystaticbetween1930and2009.Thesamecanbesaidabouttelevisiontechnology.Atelevisionsignalisbroadcastfromacentralizedsourceandpeoplewithareceivercapturethesesignalsandviewthebroadcasts.ThesamecannotbesaidofInternettechnology.ThestructureofinformationdeliveryontheInternethasfundamentallychangedinjustthelastfewyears.WhendiscussingtheInternet,itisvaluabletodistinguishbetweentwotypesofInternettechnologies:Web1.0andWeb2.0.Muchlikeradioandtelevision,Web1.0involvesaone‐wayflowofinformationfromacentralinformationsourcetoabroadnumberofinformationconsumers.Peoplepostinformationtoawebsite,forexample,andInternetusersreadtheinformation.TheInternetisdifferenttoday.Web2.0involvesafundamentalshiftininformationflow.Wenowhavea2‐wayflowofinformation.Informationconsumersarenowinformationproducersintheirownright.Regularpeople,youandme,ourneighborsandcoworkersnowreadinformationpostedonwebsitesandcommentorposttheirownideasforotherstocomment.Overtime,acollectiveunderstandingofknowledgeandwisdomemerges.InformationisdemocratizedintheWeb2.0world.ItgoeswithoutsayingthatWeb2.0hasfundamentallychangedthenatureofpoliticalexpressionandpoliticalcampaigningattheendofthefirstdecadeofthe21stcentury.WhereaspoliticalexpressionusingWeb1.0technologyissimilartoanarrowlaunchedtowardabullseyetarget,expressionintheWeb2.0worldfeaturesthebackandforthvolleycharacteristicofpingpong.

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Web2.0technologyliesbehindthesuccessofsocialmedia.Theterm‘socialmedia’encompassesthetoolsthateasilyallowforinformationsharingusingtheInternet.Beyondsimplyallowinguserstopostinformation,thesetoolsallowuserstonetworkwithoneanotherandformpersonalrelationships.Thetoolsfacilitateformationofcommunitiesbroughttogetherbysimilarinterestsandperspectivesoftheworld.Socialmediatoolsincludesitesthatallowforbloggingandmicroblogging,photosharing,videosharing,socialnetworking,publishing,podcasting,andparticipationinvirtualworlds.Many,manysocialmediasitesforavailableforpersonalandbusinessuse.PresidentialcampaignsintheUnitedStatesbeganaccessingWeb1.0technologyin1996whencandidatesBillClintonandGeorgeBushfirstconstructedcampaignwebsites.Theseearlycampaignwebsitesweremoresimilartocampaignbrochures,thoughinadifferentmedium.Candidatesidentifiedtheirstrengths,postedissuepapers,andmaybepostedphotographstocreateapersonallookandfeeltothesite.ThepowerofwebtechnologybegantoberealizedwhenJohnMcCain,2000Republicancandidateforpresident,madehistoryraising$2.7millionovertheInternetwithin72hoursofwinningtheNewHampshirepresidentialprimary(Price,2004).TheMcCainexampledemonstratedthatcampaignwebsitescouldplayasignificantroleincandidatefundraising.Campaignwebsitereaderswerewillingtonotsimplybepassiverecipientsofcentrallypostedinformation,theymightabsorbtheprovidedinformationandtranslatethatinformationintoanactualfinancialdonation.TheworldofpresidentialpoliticsandtheInternetintheUnitedStateschangedsignificantlyin2004withthecandidacyofHowardDean,anindependentlymindedDemocraticPartycandidate.DeanhiredJoeTrippiascampaignmanager.OneofTrippi’sfirstactivitieswastoofficiallybeginpromotingtheDeancandidacyusingalittleknowweb‐basedservicecalled“MeetUp.com”(Trippi,2004).Meetup.comisaninternationalsitethatfacilitatesreal‐timemeetingsbetweenpeoplewhoshareacommoninterest.Today(in2009),morethan63,000meetupgroupshavebeenorganized.TheDeancampaignencouragedfollowerstojointhesiteandthen‘meetup’inlocalcommunitiesaroundthenation.Meetup.comcapturedtheimaginationofanindependentlyminded,highlymotivated,youngconstituency.VolunteermeetupsbecameplacesforDeanfollowerstoengageotherDeanfollowersandtoorganizelocalactivitiesthathelpspreadinformationaboutDean’scandidacy.ThenatureofpresidentialcampaignsintheUnitedStateswasalreadyundergoingchangewhenWeb2.0technologywasintroducedinthemid‐2000’s.SomemaydatetheoriginofWeb2.0tothelate1990’swiththeintroductionof‘Weblogs,’laterknownasblogs.By

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January1999,23weblogswereinexistence(InformationWeek2009).Theideaofweblogs(laterknownsimplyas‘blogs’)tookofflikewildfire.AccordingtoInformationWeek(2009),byJuly2004,over3millionweblogsexisted.Atthesametimethatbloggingwasbecomingpopular,othersocialmediasitesbegantoappearandbeembracedbylargenumbersofInternetusers.Bymid‐2000’sthatmajorsocialmediasitesbecamecommon:MySpace(2003),Facebook(2004),Flickr1(2004),Digg2(2004).O’ReillyandAssociateslabeledthesesocialmediatools“Web2.0”whentheorganizationsponsoredaWeb2.0conferenceinOctober2004.Today,morethan100millionblogsarebeingactivelymaintainedandhundredsofsocialmediasitesareinexistence.III.BarackObama’sSocialMediaStrategyThereisnoquestionthatBarackObamafeelscomfortableusingtechnologyandunderstandsthevalueoftechnologyforshapingfutureevents.AsreportedbyStelter(2007),theblackberry‐wieldingcandidatehadthistosayaboutthetopic:

“Oneofmyfundamentalbeliefsfrommydaysasacommunityorganizeristhatrealchangecomesfromthebottomup,andthere’snomorepowerfultoolforgrass‐rootsorganizingthantheInternet.”

CandidateObamaturnedtooneofthemostsuccessfulsocialmediafiguresintheworldtodevelophissocialmediastrategy.ThatfigurewasChrisHughes,oneofthefoundersofFacebook.Facebookisarguablythemostsuccessfulsocialmediatoolinexistencetoday,withmorethan200millionactiveusers,100millionofwhomlogineveryday(Singer2009).ApopulationofthissizeelevatesFacebookintoessentiallybeingthefifthlargestnationintheworld,behindtheUnitedStatesandaheadofBrazil.3HistoriesofFacebook,oftencreditMarkZuckerberg,a23yearoldstudentatHarvardUniversitywithdevelopingandpromotingtheconceptofasocialmediasiteallowingforinteractionamongcollegestudents(Phillips,2007).ButthefullstorydiscusseshowZuckerbergworkedwithhistwoHarvardroommatestodevelopthesite.GiventhealmostovernightsuccessofFacebook,ItisnotsurprisingthatBarackObama,atechnology‐savvycandidateforPresidentoftheUnitedStates,turnedtoChrisHughes,oneofthefoundersofFacebook,todirecthisonlinesocialmediacampaign.HughesbeganworkingwiththeObamacampaigninFebruary2007(Stelter2007).ThecenterpieceofHughes’workwastocreateanonlinesocialnetworkingcommunity,muchlikehademergedonFacebook.Hedidthisbytakingchargeofawebsitetitled“mybarackobama.com”or“myBO”forshort(Stelter2007).MyBOallowedvisitorstocreatepersonalprofiles,createblogs,shareinformationwiththeirneighbors,organizeandadvertiselocalevents,andsolicitdonations.ByJuly2008,thesiterecordedmorethan900,000subscribers.Stelter(2007)writesthatthesitewasparticularlyusefulduringthe1<Flickr.com>Photoarchivinganddistributionsite.2<Digg.com>Newssiteallowinguserstoshareinformationandpreferences.3ThankyouJasonBaerforframingFacebook’ssuccessintheseterms.

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primaryelectionseasonallowingObamatoraisemorethan2milliondonationsof$200orless.Bythetimethecampaignwasover,accordingtoEllenMcGirt,morethan2millionprofileswerecreatedonMyBO.Inaddition,volunteers“planned200,000offlineevents,formed35,000groups,posted400,000blogs,andraised$30millionon70,000personalfund‐raisingpages”(McGirt2009).MyBOwasanunqualifiedsuccessinsolicitingdonations,organizingvolunteersandpromotingthecandidacyofBarackObama.Understandingthepowerofdifferentsocialmediatools,ObamaandHugheswerenotcontenttostopthere.TheycreatedahugepresenceonothersocialmediasitesandemployedotherInternettoolstodistributetheObamamessage.LikeMyBO,thesesiteshelpeddistributetheObamamessageunfilteredbythemainstreammediaandcreatedanimageofObamaasayoung,tech‐savvycandidate.a.SocialNetworking:Facebook/MyspaceFacebookisthepremiersocialnetworkingsiteusingtheWebtoday.Individualsopenaccounts,interactwith‘friends’thattheyauthorizetoseetheirinformation,postblogs,sharepersonalinformationandphotos,anddistributeinformationaboutupcomingevents.LikeFacebook,MySpacepromotesasimilarsetofsocialnetworkingtools,butappealstoayoungerdemographic.WhileFacebookhas200millionactiveaccountsasofMay2009,MySpacehasjustover56millionactiveaccounts(Compete.com2009a)Tobesure,Obama’sopponent,JohnMcCain,alsotriedpromotinghismessageonsimilarsocialmediasites.But,Obamahadabettergrasponhowtousethetechnologyandmetmoresuccessdoingso.Bytheendoftheelection(November2009),Obamahad844,927MySpacefriendscomparedtoMcCain's219,404.JustbetweenNovember3rdandNovember4th(electionday),Obamagainedover10,000newfriends,whileMcCainonlygainedabout964.(ReadWriteWeb)GiventhesheernumbersofpeopleusingFacebook,thissiteisadifferentanimalaltogether.Today,BarackObamahasmorethan6.4millionsupportersaccessinghisFacebooksite.Interestingly,however,hedidnotputtoomuchenergyintomaintainingthissitebeforethepresidentialelection.ScanningthroughmessagesthathavebeenpostedtoBarackObama’sFacebooksitedisplaysaseriesofpostsinMay2007.ObamathanpostedonemessagetothesiteinOctober2008andanotheronelectioneve:November4,2008.ThenextmessagetobepostedisdatedFebruary24,2009.Obama,oranObamastaffperson,hasaddedinformationtohissiteatregularintervalssince.ManyofthepoststodayarecomingfromtheDemocrat’sOrganizingforAmericasite,showingtheconvergenceofdigitaltechnologiesintoacoordinatedstrategyforpromotingamessage.ContinueduserofMyBOreflectswidespreadawarenessofthepotentialofthetechnologytocommunicatewithandmobilizebroadconstituenciesovertime

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b.TwitterTwitterisarecentnewcomertotheworldofsocialmedia.Alsoknownas“microblogging,”twitterallowsuserstocommunicatemessagesofupto140charactersinlength.UnlikeFacebookwhereusersasktobefriendswithanotheruserandmustbeauthorizedtoaccessinformation,twitterusers‘follow’informationpostedbyothertwitterusers.Nopermissionisneededtofollowsomeone’stwitterfeed.Twitterusersfollowwhicheveraccountstheypersonallyselecttofollow.Twitterusersdonotauthorizeotherstoseetheirinformation.Despiteonlybeing3yearsold,twitteriswidelyacceptedtobethefastestgrowingsocialmediatoolavailabletoday.Almost20millionpeoplenowhavetwitteraccounts(Compete.com2009b).Manyoftheseusershaveestablishedtwitteraccountsinthelastfewmonths.AtthetimeoftheNovemberelection,onlyabout3.5milliontwitteraccountswereinexistence(Compete.com2009b)

TwitterusagehastakenoffastwitterapplicationshavebecomeavailableformobiledevicessuchastheiPhoneandBlackberrydevices.Peoplecannowauthor‘tweets’ontherun.TwitterusershavebeenthefirsttoreportdisasterssuchasanairplanelandingintheHudsonRiverandaplanemissingtheSchipholairportrunway,crashingoutsideofAmsterdam.MobiletwitterusersactivelysharedinformationandcoordinatedstrategyintherecentMoldoviarevolutionandIranuprising.But,perhapsthegreatestimpetustothegrowthoftwitteruseintheUnitedStatescomesfromcelebrityuseoftwitter.TwitterusespikedafterOphrahWinfrey,apopulartalkshowhostintheUnitedStates,signedupforanaccountandwroteherfirsttweetwhileonair.Today,twitterisbeingusedforavarietyofpurposes,includingindividualsdiscussingnewsandeventsgermanetotheirlives,newsoutletsgeneratingcurrenteventfeeds,companies

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advertisingproducts,entrepreneurspromotingthemselvesandtheirservices,andorganizationsdistributinginformation.Obama’sfirst‘tweet’waspostedonApril29,2007.ThistweetwasamessageaboutendingthewarinIraq.InitiallyObamausedtwitterlargelytoannouncewherecampaignappearancesweretakingplace.Asprimarywinsbeganmounting,Obamaannouncedhissuccessesontwitter.InApril2008,ObamapostedaYouTubevideoofanaddresshemadetotheCommunicationsWorkersofAmerica.ByJuly,ObamawasregularlypostingYouTubevideosonthistwittersite,onceagaingivingtestamenttotheconvergenceofthetechnology.Onemediumreferencespoststoothermediumswiththegoalofmultiplyingtraffictoallsites.Intotal,Obamaposted260tweetsduringthepresidentialcampaign.Thefinaltweetsaid“Wejustmadehistory.Allofthishappenedbecauseyougaveyourtime,talentandpassion.Allofthishappenedbecauseofyou.Thanks.”Obamahascontinuedtousehistwittersiteafterthecampaign,thoughsometimepassedbeforeObamabeganregularlypostinginformationontwitter.Asofthiswriting,thereare32post‐campaigntweetsonObama’stwittersite.Fewcameoutimmediatelyafterthecampaign.Today,Obamatweetsregularlyaboutpolicyissues.Obamahasnowshiftedtoaccessingthis

technologyforpurposesofspeakingtodifferentconstituenciesandgoverningthenation.ByElectionDay,Obamahad118,107followersontwitter(twittercounter2009),gaining2,865followersbetweenthe3rdand4thofNovember(ElectionDay).Inall,JohnMcCainonlyhad4,942followersbyElectionDay.Today,BarackObama’stwittersiteshows1.6millionfollowers.Thismakeshissiteoneofthe

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mostpopularsitesontwittertoday.4c.YouTubeYouTubeisapopularvideoarchivingsitevisitedby76millionpeopleamonth(Compete.com2009c).OnescholarcharacterizedObama’spresenceonYouTubeasnothinglessthan“overwhelming”(Frantzich2009).ByJuneof2008,fivemonthsbeforethegeneralelection,JohnMcCainhadplaced208videosonYouTubeandthosevideoshadbeenviewed3.7milliontimes(Vargas2008a).Atthesamemoment,Obamahadposted1,000videosonYouTubeandhisvideoswerevisited53.4milliontimes(Vargas2008a).ItdidnottakelongforObamatounderstandthatYouTubeopenedadirectchannelofcommunicationwiththevotingpublic.Obamacouldpostvideosofcampaignappearancesandmajorpolicyspeechesanddirectlydeliverhismessagetolargenumbersofpeople.Hismessagedidn’thavetobefilteredthroughthemediaorvettedbytalkingheads.Whencontroversysurroundinganti‐AmericancommentsmadebyReverendJeremiahWright,BarackObama’spastor,hitthefrontpagesinMarch2008,ObamarespondedonMarch18withamajorpolicyspeechaddressingracerelationsintheUnitedStates.TheObamacampaignpostedthisvideotoYouTubeandmorethan4millionviewsofthisspeechwererecorded(Vargas2008b).Today,inthepost‐campaignera,Obamahas1,852videospostedonYouTube.5Twentyofthesevideoshavebeenviewedmorethan1milliontimes.CandidateBarackObama’sOctober30,2007appearanceontheEllenDegeneresShowisthemostviewedvideo.Asofthiswriting,thisvideohasbeenviewedmorethan7.6milliontimes.All1852videoscombinedhavebeenviewed21.8milliontimes.d.TextMessagingAlthoughtextmessagingisacellular‐basedtechnology,ratherthananInternettechnology,candidatesforpublicofficehavecometorealizethattextmessagingisarelativelyinexpensivemediumforquicklydistributingacraftedmessage.Obamalaunchedamobiletextmessagingstrategyearlyoninhispresidentialcampaign.Throughoutthecampaign,Obamainvitedvolunteersandsupporterstosharetheircellularphonenumberswiththecampaigninordertoreceivetextmessages.Accordingtoonejournalist,Obamacollectedhundredsofthousands,ifnotmillions,ofphonenumbersthatreceivetextmessages(Manjoo2008).ThegreatestachievementoccurredincandidateObama’spledgetofirstinformsupportersbytextabouthisselectionofavice‐presidentialrunningmate(Stetler4AfterObama,themostpopulartwittersitestodayincludeOphrahWinfrey‐‐1.65millionfollowers;BrittanySpears‐‐2.1million,EllenDegeneres‐‐2.2million;andAshtonKutchner‐‐2.5million.5<http://www.youtube.com/user/BarackObamadotcom>.

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2008b).ObamadidannouncehisVPrunningmatefirsttothislist,givinghimdirectaccess,onceagain,toalargevoterbase.NielsenestimatesthattheVPannouncementwastextedto2.9millionpeople(McCarthy2008).TheObamacampaigncontinuedtousethislistofnumberstoregisterpeopletovoteandtoencouragepeopletogotothepollsandcastaballot.e.E­mail

E‐mailisaWeb1.0technologythatpreviouscandidatesandpoliticalorganizationsusedtokeepintouchwiththeirsupporters.TheuseofWeb2.0toolsdidnotreplaceorsupplante‐mailormakee‐mailinconsequential.Onthecontrary,BarackObamaactivelysoughtoute‐mailaddressesofhissupportersinordertoregularlysendcampaignupdatesandfundraisingappeals.Bytheendofthecampaign,Obamahadcollected13millione‐mailaddressesandthisbecamethepoolfromwhichheraisedanunprecedented$745million(Elliott2009).III.FromCandidatetoPresidentWeb‐basedtechnologiesplayedacentralroleinBarackObama’spresidentialcampaign.ThesetechnologiesallowedcandidateObamathefreedomtodirectlydeliveracraftedmessagetovotersandnonvotersalike.Itallowedhimtheabilitytoconnectwithahugedonorbaseandshapeamessageofbeingayoung,modernleaderintouchwiththefutureofthenation.BarackObamadidnotabandonthisperspectiveoncehewonelectiontotheofficeofPresidentoftheUnitedStates.Heisnowemployingthesesametechnologiesinhisefforttogovernthenation.

Obama’scampaignwebsite<mybarackobama.com>isstillonline,onlynowitisknownas“OrganizingforAmerica”anditisfundedandmaintainedbytheDemocraticNationalCommittee.ThegoalofOrganizingforAmericaisto“enlistcommunityorganizersaroundthecountrytosupportlocalcandidates,lobbyforthepresident’sagendaandremainconnectedwithsupportersfromthecampaign”(Elliott2009).ThesiteconnectsuserstotheDemocraticPartyandtolocalevents.Usersareencouragedtologinandsharetheirprofileswithotherusers.Fundraisingstillplaysanimportantroleinwhatthesiteofferstousers.Moreover,itlinksuserstoBarackObama’sothersocialmediasitesonFacebook,MySpace,YouTube,Flickr,Digg,Twitter,Eventful,LinkedIn,BlackPlanet,Faithbase,Eons,Glee,MiGente,MyBatanga,AsianAve,andDNCPartybuilder.ManyofthesesocialmediasitesarepopularwithspecificconstituenciessuchasAfricanAmericans,Latinos,Asians,GaysandLesbians,andFaith‐basedgroups.Almostinparallelwith<mybarackobama.com>,theObamaWhiteHouseisveryactivelyengagedinsocialmediaeffortstoday.TheofficialWhiteHousewebsitecanbefoundat<www.whitehouse.gov>.Thissitedeliverscurrentinformationaboutlegislation,positionpapers,personalinformationaboutkeyadministrationfigures,bloginformationaboutwhatthepresidentisdoing,informationaboutgovernmentagencies,andcontact

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information.ThesitealsolinkstotheWhiteHousepresenceonFacebook,Twitter,Flickr,MySpace,YouTube,Vimeo,andiTunes.USATodaycommentedthattheWhiteHousethinksofthispresenceas“WhiteHouse2.0.”(Cooper,2009).IV.ConclusionInthebookDownsizingDemocracy,MatthewCrensonandBenjaminGinsberg(2002)lamentthelossofademocraticsystemthatrequirespublicofficialstoactivelymobilizeconstituenciesinordertomaintainaccesstopower.DemocracyintheUnitedStates,theynote,movesaccordingtoitsownmomentum.Thepublichasalmostbecomesuperfluoustowhatisrequiredtogovernanation.BarackObamaisathrowback,inCrensonandGinsberg’sworld,toatimewhenpublicofficialstookconstituentorganizingseriously.Inthissense,ObamaremainstheconsummateorganizerandtheInternetremainsakeybuildingblockinthisprogram.InvolvementinWeb2.0mediahasexplodedinrecentyears.Thetechnologyencouragespeopletofeelpartofbroadercommunities.Whenpeopleinteractusingsocialmediatools,theyrevealsomethingaboutthemselvesandremainsensitivetothelivesofothers.Socialmediatoolshelppeoplebuildnetworksandtofeelpartofacommunitylargerthanthemselves.BarackObamaunderstoodthisduringthecampaignandunderstandsthistoday.TheObamacampaignusedsocialmediaandothertechnologicaltoolssuccessfullytowincontroloftheWhiteHouse.Thetoolsformedacornerstoneoftheefforttodeliveranunfilteredmessagetobroadpublicsataverylowcost.ThetoolsalsoencouragedObamasupporterstostayconnectedtothecandidateandtoparticipateinabroadercommunityofsupporters.WhileitwouldbenaïvetosaythatObamawonelectiontoofficesolelybecauseofhissocialmediapresence,hissocialmediainvolvementwaspartofabroader,winningequation.Oneareawherehiswebsiteandtechnologypresencebenefitedhimtremendouslywasinfundraising.Hisonlineactivitiesledtohisabilitytoraisesignificantamountsofmoneyfromlargenumbersofdonorseachmakingrelativelysmallcontributions.ThenextmostimportantsuccesstoemergefromtheObamacampaign’suseoftechnologyistheimagecreatedofObamaasayoung,technologicallysophisticatedleadercommittedtoconnectingindividualvoterstoabroadermovementofchange.AscandidateObamanowtransitionsintobeingPresidentObama,thereisanunderstandingthatthesametoolsthatweresohelpfulinthecampaign,areimportantforastrategyofgovernance.ThesesocialmediatoolsarebeingusedbyPresidentObamatodeliverhispolicymessages,torallysupportforhisinitiatives,andtocontinueconnectingpeopletobroadercommunitiesofchange.InCrensonandGinsberg’sworldview,PresidentObamatakesseriouslytheimportanceoforganizingandmobilizingconstituentsnowthattheelectionisover.Thisorientationhasbecomeacentraltohisgoverningstrategy.Itisaninvestmentintodayanditisaninvestmentintomorrow.Today,theelectorateisdominatedby“digitalimmigrants,”peoplewhogrewupinananalogworldandlearnedtoaccessdigitaltoolslaterinlife(Prensky2001).Bythetimethenationmovesintothenext

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presidentialelectionandPresidentObamabeginscampaigningforreelection,theelectoratewillincludeagreaterproportionof“digitalnatives,”peoplewhogrewupinthedigitalworldandarenativetoaccessingandunderstandingthepowerofthesetools.Asthistransitionoccurs,PresidentObamaandtheDemocraticPartyareinpositiontosolidifytheirfootholdwithintheelectorateandtocontinuecontrollingthereinsofgovernmentforsometimetocome.

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