Do you plan to watch Barack Obama get elected as the 44th President of the United States on January 20? I WILL!
There are so many firsts with Obama and so much has been said already about this charismatic President who defied race and age as his charisma touched people young and old, black and white and any color in between, and seems to give renewed hope to Americans that they will see a new age of governance with Obama.
But what strikes me now is how technology is being used to bring Obama’s inauguration closer to the whole world.
In the history of U.S. Presidential Inaugurations, this is the first high-tech, global inauguration. And one can’t expect any less of President-elect Barack Obama, who credited a large part of his winning to a team that was not only cohesive and organized but super techy savvy as well. He appears to be one President who is right at home with computers and technology and is deeply aware of its power of influence and reach.
Weeks ago, I got notice in my Facebook that I could watch the inauguration through CNN Live and chat about it with my Facebook friends. Oh wow!
Now, I read of other ways that one can watch the inauguration other than staying in front of the boob tube, including watching it with Ustream iPhone Viewing App. And Twitter has tied up with Current so that you can twit your comments on the entire event. Clearly, this is one inauguration that circles the globe and will potentially bring in an international audience in the billions.
If you think you won’t have access to it on TV, here are other ways you can catch it:
Official Sites (live video streams)
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Presidential Inaugural Committee (requires installation of Microsoft’s Silverlight 2 platform though)
Some Sites That List Where/How to Watch
Lifehacker’s Guide to Catching the Inauguration from Anywhere
ReadWriteWeb: Your Complete Guide to Celebrating Inauguration Day