Obama's Net Roots Network

It was very fortuitous that I logged on to Google Reader this afternoon and found an article from NPR entitled, The Fate of Obama’s Net Roots Network. The article had only appeared several minutes earlier so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to highlight some key points in the article which have not been previously discussed. The article is perfectly in line with recent class discussions and blogs on Obama’s use of Web 2.0 technology as well as the future of the information and network that he collected and built during his campaign.

Last week Obama campaign officials sent an e-mail to roughly 10 million Obama supporters and volunteers who had registered with the campaign online. The e-mail asked the supporters what issues the president-elect should prioritize in the coming months. The “supporters survey” collected personal information in addition to soliciting feedback from the supporters. The survey also resulted in supporters believing that they are being listened to and that they have a say in government.

There are two central components to the Net Roots Network that the article refers to. The first is a database with 13 million e-mail addresses. The other component is the “net roots” style network that increased voter participation for Obama during the primaries and also helped him to carry traditionally Republican states in November. The question is what will be done with these “crown jewels” once Obama takes office?

The article outlines 4 possible courses of action for the Obama administration and how they may leverage their existing network and e-mail lists. What I thought distinguished this article, however, was the mention of the governments computers and “The Paperwork Reduction Act.” According to the article, “The Paperwork Reduction Act forbids this sort of quick, informal idea-gathering.” The act was created in 1995. The article goes on to say, “So it’s a lifetime behind what’s possible with modern communication technologies – as are many other things that Obama will find in Washington.”

I thought article was extremely well written and “All Things Considered” is one of my NPR favorites! Alex Wong gets credit for consolidating the possible courses of action for Obama’s campaign organization in the article. If anyone can elaborate on “The Paperwork Reduction Act” please leave a comment. Specifically, I am curious to see what other laws exist that would restrict Obama in his use of technology. The Blackberry limits have been discussed but can he really not communicate and gather ideas from supporters and citizens through e-mail and other Web 2.0 technologies?

Regardless of what happens in the future I think Micah Sifry’s comment about the e-mail lists was brilliant. He states, “Anyone who imagines that all power is in who controls the lists misunderstands that we are no longer in the age of lists, we are in the age of networks.”