A New Day in America, A New Website

Today was a historical day for many reasons: the swearing-in of President Barack Obama, the streaming of Bruce Springsteen's new album on NPR.org, the eve of the new season of "Lost," and the re-launching of a new website, whitehouse.gov:





At 12:01 PM Eastern the country welcomed their new presidential website. Not surprisingly, the theme of the site right now is "Change." One element the Obama administration hopes to change is transparency in communication, and using new media to achieve that.

Part of that plan is launching the whitehouse.gov blog. Today, in a post titled "Change is coming to whitehouse.gov," White House Director for New Media, Macon Phillips, lays out three important things the Obama administration hopes to achieve with their website:

1. Better Communication - The site promises to provide timely, up-to-date information via e-mail alerts, RSS feeds, and a special "briefing room" section that will archive the presidents weekly addresses/podcasts, slideshows, executive orders, and nominations and appointments.


2. Transparency - According to the site, "President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history." I'm slightly skeptical of this, but it's worth a shot. The site does provide detail on the president's agenda on nearly every type of policy position, as well as the previously mentioned orders, proclamations, and nominations.


3. Participation - The administration hopes to use the Internet and new media to give a voice to anyone who wants. There is, of course, some restrictions. The blog isn't going to be installing the ability for comments any time soon, but they do plan on posting non-emergency legislation on the website for 5 days, allowing the public to view and make comments (through a specified comment form) before the President signs it,
   

I assume these elements of transparency on the Internet may change as the administration figures out what works and what does not, but this is a promising start. Throughout his campaign President Obama proved that he understood how to use new media for public relations and communications. It looks like his presidency is looking to continue that.

Corporations take note: If the most powerful man in the world believes it is important to communicate this way, what excuse do you have for not trying it?