Digg This Facebook President

It's a whole new political world, and one big reason is the rise of technology as a means for politicians to communicate with constituents. Yes, we've entered the social network era of government. Just ask Barack Obama, whose campaign picked up Howard Dean's internet ball and ran with it all the way to the White House. His massive database of over 3 million small donors obliterated traditional fundraising models, and will serve as the new paradigm.

Still unconvinced that political excitement has gone viral? Have a look at the YouTube videos that have almost single-handedly ended the Senate careers of George Allen and Elizabeth Dole. And behold the RNC's recent attempts at playing web catch-up with their more tech savvy Democratic opponents. It would seem as though everyone has finally realized that the political battles of the future will largely be fought in cyber-space.

Two articles have caught my eye in regards to this sea change. First, from David Carr at The New York Times, comes How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks' Power, which explains why Obama's embrace of technology and direct-access fundraising doesn't just mean you'll be receiving a whole lot more spam in your e-mail inbox:

The juxtaposition of a networked, open-source campaign and a historically imperial office will have profound implications and raise significant questions. Special-interest groups and lobbyists will now content with an environment of transparency and a president who owes them nothing. The news media will now contend with an administration that takes its case directly to its base without even booking time on networks.

Just as he'd done when Hillary Clinton exited the race, Obama sent out an appeal last week to his donor base asking that they help the DNC pay off the bills it incurred running the table on its Republican counterpart. But Carr sees a dwindling relevance of the party machinery as a result of political social networking, not the other way around:

More profoundly, while many people think that President-elect Obama is a gift to the Democratic Party, he could actually hasten its demise. Political parties supply brand, ground troops, money and relationships, all things that Mr. Obama already owns.

So, if you're a newcomer to the political scene, and you have big plans, you'd better start making friends on Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, and the rest. And once you attain that office you seek, you'd be wise not to abandon the web beneath your feet. Rest assured, president-elect Obama won't go out like that, as evidenced by Kim Hart's article in today's Washington Post, titled Role of Federal Tech Czar to Be Defined by Obama. What, exactly, the incoming administration's new Chief Technology Officer will do all day long is still something of a mystery:

The Obama camp isn't talking, but during the campaign it proposed using technology to, for example, make government records more accessible, increase network security and digitize health records. Also in question is whether a CTO would be a Cabinet-level position or a post within the White House.

"There's a whole lot of discussion about where the focus is going to be," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, a technology consulting and research firm in San Jose. "This is the first time we've had a president that's taken technology seriously.

How seriously? Well, for starters you might take a trip over to Change.gov. Bye-bye media middle-man. Let the presidential blogging begin!