How technology brings the country together.

The 2008 elections were possibly the most anticipated elections of all time. But things were vastly different about it. No longer was door to door campaigning as big. Debates were different. It was a year of change indeed. Now-President Barack Obama embraced new technology to help bring the country together for a singular cause. He used many tools. Facebook, Youtube, as well as Twitter. Leading up to the election there were debates on youtube that were made interaction with people online. People would be able to submit their questions for the candidates to answer. Pres Obama would send out text messages and messages via facebook to his supporters to get them rally information. Some interesting stuff by pew internet online shows some great statistics about this past election season.
• 40% of all Americans (internet users and non-users alike) have gotten news and information about this year’s campaign via the internet.
• 19% of Americans go online once a week or more to do something related to the campaign, and 6% go online to engage politically on a daily basis.
• 23% of Americans say they receive emails urging them to support a candidate or discuss the campaign once a week or more.
• 10% of Americans use email to contribute to the political debate with a similar frequency.
• 4% of Americans have exchanged political views via text messaging.
I know without the use of new technology i would have been totally out of the loop in terms or what was going on in the election. I also believe it helped out the candidates to know what the voters wanted to hear and know about. It created a really nice 2 way conversation about the matters at hand.

Also it seems that the President is just like us, he has a need for technology that is even addicting. The so called 'crack berry' now has a new name. The 'Barackberry'. Here is an interesting story from CNN about it...



The President also stresses how important stuff like new technology is going to be in the future. On the White House website he lays out his plat form for new tech. ...
-Ensure the Full and Free Exchange of Ideas through an Open Internet and Diverse Media Outlets
-Protect the Openness of the Internet: Support the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.
-Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership: Encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum.
-Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment: Give parents the tools and information they need to control what their children see on television and the Internet in ways fully consistent with the First Amendment. Support tough penalties, increase enforcement resources and forensic tools for law enforcement, and encourage collaboration between law enforcement and the private sector to identify and prosecute people who try to exploit children online.
- Safeguard our Right to Privacy: Strengthen privacy protections for the digital age and harness the power of technology to hold government and business accountable for violations of personal privacy.
- Open Up Government to its Citizens: Use cutting-edge technologies to create a new level of transparency, accountability, and participation for America's citizens.
- Bring Government into the 21st Century: Use technology to reform government and improve the exchange of information between the federal government and citizens while ensuring the security of our networks. Appoint the nation's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure the safety of our networks and lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.

It seems that government is finally catching up to the 21st century. And I believe it is an absolute necessity. 2 of Jenkins points were being 'networked' and 'global'. And with the government taking advantage of those not only are our citizens gonna see whats going on but the boarders have came down for information, and I believe the world likes that as a whole.