We have come a long way since the Al Gore invented the Internet ;-) and Bill Clinton rolled out the first White House website. Today at noon, the Obama administration rolled out the new White House website (www.whitehouse.gov). In both design and functionality, the new site engages users and embraces the elegant community feel we have come to expect from the technology pros associated with all things Obama.
Online development is evolving rapidly. That which was current last year is no longer current or relevant today. In the world of online political activism, this is especially true. The 2008 Obama campaign truly transformed the role of new media and set a higher standard for features, functionality, design, and the role of community in online initiatives. The online efforts of the Obama campaign is now the gold standard in political activism. With the new White House website, they have taken the medium to yet another level.
When if comes to online development I have made the argument many times that content is king, but presentation is absolutely critical. A website can offer substantive content, but if it is not presented in a compelling and engaging manner, it will not be read. For the first time, the White House website is using the tools of social networking and new media to compliment its communications efforts. I am not a fan of this administration, but the new website is just another example of how far ahead the Left is and how much ground the Right needs to make up before the next election cycle.
Kudos to tech team Obama for a job well done.
New Obama administration website launched January 20, 2009
January 20th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Scott — I suggest you Google “Vint Cerf.” He was the person responsible for the creation of the World Wide Web. Cerf says that the funding Gore was able to secure as a Congressman and as a Senator to enable Cerf’s (and his team’s) work, Gore can legitimately claim to be “a father of the Internet.”
While I agree with you the new White House website is fantastic, the dig at Gore was just a little below the belt considering the facts.
January 20th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Dan, it took me 30 seconds to Google the facts. As usual, your set of facts is slightly different than the real set of facts. But don’t let the facts get in the way of you trying to score a point.
During a 1999 interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN, Gore said, “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” A patently ridiculous assertion that was cleverly taken out of context and exploited by the 2000 Bush campaign team.
According to a message from Vint Cerf:
“Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web which is an application running on the Internet. Bob Kahn and I did the original work on the design of the Internet architecture and the TCP protocol (which eventually split into TCP/IP). Of course, all of this was done in the context of many others who contributed deeply to the evolution of the Internet protocols and the predecessor networks: ARPANET, Packet Radio and Packet Satellite networks (all sponsored by what is now called DARPA).”
You’ll note that Vint does not credit Al Gore.