Surfing the internets this evening, I came across a website that shows me how extraordinary Obama's presidency will be.
Please go check out http://www.change.gov/.
The potential for this website is amazing.
This is what Obama means by Open Government and that this election was about us.
Looking at this website it seems that Obama is going to take the Social Network aspects of his campaign website and create a new way for us to interact with the government and to disseminate information. It is amazing that not three days after wining the election, Obama's team has something this polished ready to go. It speaks volumes to their abilities.
Here is the desicription of the site:
About the Transition
Throughout the Presidential Transition Project, this website will be your source for the latest news, events, and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama Administration. And just as this historic campaign was, from the beginning, about you -- the transition process will offer you opportunities to participate in redefining our government.
Come back often as we define new programs and possibilities to engage and be part of this administration.
Reading this random PDF from way way back in 2007, we can see the power of this sort of network.
Barack Obama is already using technology to transform presidential politics and to help unprecedented numbers of citizens take back the political process. Obama’s Internet campaign is only the beginning of how Obama would harness the power of the Internet to transform government and politics. On barackobama.com, voters have connected not only with the campaign but with each other; the campaign has used technology to engage those who have not been able to participate in prior presidential campaigns. More than 280,000 people have created accounts on barackobama.com. These users have organically created over 6,500 grassroots volunteer groups and have organized more than 13,000 off-line events using the site. Obama is also opening up the campaign and giving average Americans a chance to offer opinions and information on important policy issues and Americans have responded: over 15,000 policy ideas have been submitted through the web site. Through Obama’s leadership, many of the presidential debates are freely available online for mashups, commentary, and other uses by ordinary citizens, bloggers, and others. On the fundraising front, supporters have made more than 370,000 donations online, more than half of which have been under $25. Users who have set up personal fundraising pages online have raised over $1.5 million. The campaign’s technology activities demonstrate the important and positive role technology would play in an Obama administration, opening up the closed practices of governance to greater citizen engagement and participation and re-connecting Americans with their democracy in new ways.
I am more and more impressed by Obama every day.