NARRATOR: It became clear early on in the presidential campaign that technology and the Internet had changed the game of politics. And then, of course, Barack Obama turned his use of tech into a game-changer.
CYRUS KROHN, eCAMPAIGN DIRECTOR, RNC: I think mobile is the one area where the Obama campaign did a really good job in harnessing new technology.
NORAH O’DONNELL, MSNBC: Obama transformed the way politics is done… with social networking, by collecting 11 million e-mail addresses.
SAM GRAHAM-FELSEN, BARACKOBAMA.COM: A billion seconds of our YouTube videos were consumed. That's the equivalent of, like, sitting in front of a computer for 2,000 years.
NARRATOR: Now, as he prepares to become the 44th president of the United States, Obama is trying to make good on his promise of using tech tools to solve policy problems and increase transparency in the government….
SETH MEYERS, “SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE”: I just hope he's not one of those guys who updates his Facebook status every five seconds.
[Laughter]
NARRATOR: … even as he struggles to part with his own tech addiction.
BARACK OBAMA: I'm still clinging to my Blackberry. They're going to pry it out of my hands.
NARRATOR: Information technologies are key components of his proposed economic stimulus plan.
OBAMA: We will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years all of America's medical records are computerized.
ANNOUNCER, NBC NEWS: Priorities include: doubling alternative energy production … and expanding high-speed Internet access to rural America.
REHEMA ELLIS, NBC NEWS: Obama's stimulus package includes an extensive school modernization program: building, repairing and making schools Internet-ready.
CONAN O'BRIEN, “LATE NIGHT”: Barack Obama said that Americans will soon be able to go online and see where the bailout money is being spent.
NARRATOR: Though it's not certain that those proposed pieces will remain as Congress goes to work at refining the plan, many tech gurus find Obama's embrace of tech alone to be promising. And they think the possibilities for innovation are seemingly endless.
JOE TRIPPI, TRIPPI MULTIMEDIA: These tools, and the technology – and we're just scratching the surface of what can be done.
SAM ELLER, PUBLIC STRATEGIES: I absolutely think it would be doable and incredibly helpful if we can just get e-records done in the next 18 months. JOHN WONDERLICH, SUNLIGHT FOUNDATION: Agency databases that are splintered and might have 25 different ways of saying the same thing will suddenly work together. And that's something that's so excited about the CTO office that Obama's proposed.
STEVE GROVE, NEWS & POLITICS DIRECTOR, YOUTUBE: I don't know if we'll have an IMing president, per se, but I think we will have a videoblogging president. What if Obama did a nightly video diary where every night before turning in, he just hopped on and gave 30 seconds of what he did that day?
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