President-elect Barack Obama is continuing with his technology-driven administration and will record his weekly Democratic address on YouTube. The address will be published Saturday after it airs on the radio. Officials at the transition office have also stated that the White House under Obama will conduct online question and answer periods as well as video interviews. These will all be posted on Obama"s administrative website, Change.gov.
In actions that are reminiscent of the "fireside conversations" of Franklin Roosevelt, some say they welcome the change and the attempt to make the government more accessible, whereas some wish that Obama would just �shut up and govern". Barack Obama has also stated that once he has acquired office he will create an official White House YouTube channel, thus furthering his goal of making government accessible. It would also appear that current President George Bush has followed suit as Whitehouse.gov has been updated with RSS feeds, podcasts and videos of press events.
What remains to be seen is the true impact conducting a presidency in this manner will have, it remains too early to state whether or not these actions are a step in the right direction but the overwhelming support and eagerness speaks volumes in regards to community acceptance.