Government Technology - January 2009 - (Page 44)

ing the Democratic Party base and Election Day “get out the vote” efforts. The campaign enthusiastically embraced new media — online social networking, Twitter, YouTube, etc. — and most observers believe it was a key advantage that propelled Obama to victory over McCain. Of course, Obama also enjoyed advantages in both donors and total fundraising, banking about $745 million during the campaign from nearly 4 million contributors. Many of those donors also signed up on the campaign’s social network MyBarackObama .com, giving the president-elect a built-in legion of committed supporters whom he could call upon when attempting to push his legislative agenda through Congress. Exactly how Obama would mobilize such an effort is unclear, and it’s too soon to tell if his online support structure could lead to a new way forward for politics — and furthermore, if such an apparatus would someday JAN_09 trickle down to state and local lawmakers. What’s clear is that Obama believes that the “democratization of data” will guide a new way forward. Yes, Obama is seemingly a technophile — he is reportedly addicted to his BlackBerry and will also be the first sitting U.S. president to simulcast his weekly radio address on YouTube. But there are larger issues at hand. Obama’s support of Net neutrality and his legislative backing of USAspending.gov, a Web site that tracks federal spending on contracts, grants and other expenditures, could signal that technology will play a more prominent role in government and governance. But how exactly will Obama achieve “change?” Some observers believe that it will come through “user-generated government,” which is a buzzword for applications that are developed and created by public citizens using data that is released openly by the government. “I was surprised when I first read about his technology policy that [Obama] seemed to be a candidate and a campaign that seemed to be much more ‘with it’ than politicians I’ve seen in the past,” said Tim Koelkebeck, one of the developers who created iLive. at, an award winner in last fall’s Apps for Democracy contest hosted by the District of Columbia. The contest challenged participants to build mash-up applications that use data released in real time by the Washington, D.C., government. “I don’t see [change] happening, though, in existing departments like the Department of Defense or the CIA,” Koelkebeck said. “If they created a new department within the Secretary of Technology and were willing to bring in younger people and cherry-pick people from other agencies, then maybe getting that new blood in there would change technology’s role in government.” Stated Goals From Obama’s Technology Plan ✓ Protect Net neutrality. ✓ Safeguard privacy. ✓ Create new levels of government transparency and accountability. ✓ Hire a national chief technology officer. ✓ Lead the world in broadband deployment. ✓ Increase investment in science and research. ✓ Reform the patent system. ✓ Use scientifically valid evidence to ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ make policy. Make math and science education a national priority. Increase opportunities to retrain workers in technology fields. Modernize public safety networks. Invest in electronic health-care information systems. Enable American industry to develop renewable energy sources. Seeing Is Believing Promising and believing in change is one thing; making change happen is a horse of a different color. As of press time, the world is reacting to a new, ugly visage of terrorism in Mumbai, India. At home, the presidentelect is making a play for a Lincoln-esque Cabinet by surrounding himself with top- level advisers who together offer tremendous promise, but whose egos may make the road to change a difficult one. Even if these issues prove to be nonfactors, economic upheaval still threatens to derail the best-laid plans. But should Obama emerge from his first 100 days relatively unscathed, there seems to be plenty of optimism that the nation’s technology infrastructure will receive a muchneeded shot in the arm. For those in the government IT community, there’s much to look forward to — believe it or not. 34 http://www.USAspending.gov http://www.mybarakobama.com http://www.mybarakobama.com http://www.govtech.com

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Government Technology - January 2009 Contents Point of View On the Scene Big Picture Four Questions for... Stemming the Retirement Tide Getting the Picture Fact of Matter Money Trail Rays the Roof Trick or Tweet? The Modern Way to Vote Products signal:noise

Government Technology - January 2009

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