The Dream Reborn

Without a doubt, most of Barack Obama's success should be attributed to the internet. He was the only candidate who made such extensive use of social networks online. He made a strong presence on social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook and even created his own over at his website. Now that he is the President-elect I am hearing a lot of people saying that he should no longer have a presence online. How ridiculous is that? The American people voted for the candidate that best represented progressive change and it would be a shame if said candidate stops using the internet which has become one of the most important tools for communication in recent history.

I made a joke a few weeks ago on Twitter saying that Barack Obama has abandoned the social networking service. I honestly thought that he was just taking a well deserved break after winning the election. Although we all know that he wasn't the person actually typing those tweets. It gave you a sense of community, knowing that you were getting instantaneous updates about news on the campaign trail. In my opinion, this is something I would love to have from the President of the United States, especially because of the numerous problems this country is facing at the moment.

After being elected, Barack didn't totally disappear off the face of the internet. He created a new transition website, www.change.gov to inform people of who and what to expect on January 20th. A very good idea in my opinion. He also started to make weekly radio addresses to the nation which he also uploads to YouTube. Another genius idea if you asked me. When was the last time you listened to President Bush's weekly radio address? I wasn't even aware that he had one. To be honest, I wasn't even aware that he was a real person until he did something silly to a foreign leader and made America the laughing stock of the world once again. Barack has vowed to continue posting his weekly radio addresses on the internet via YouTube once he becomes President. I am looking forward to it.

Final Thoughts

I am sick and tired of hearing people say that the President using Twitter and other social networks is not "presidential". This same argument was made by similar narrow minded people when the president started making radio addresses and television addresses. Get with the times. The economy is tanking. There is no room left for conservatism at the moment. You have lost sight of who the President is. He is your employee and you should be informed of every decision he makes or more importantly, is about to make.

If you believe Barack should govern the way he campaigned, you should NOT be against the use of social networks to make the government more transparent. This is the reason he won the Presidency. He made the American people a part of his campaign, unlike a certain other candidate I don't think I need to name.