“You don’t necessarily have to use a computer to understand how it shapes the country”
Wow. If there is one thing I have learned from this class it is that you absolutely MUST have a computer to understand how it shapes the country and the rest of the world. How it works, how it changes the way things are communicated, how YOU communicate. How it could influence the campaign and election process!
I think the McCain spokesperson who said that McCain was “aware of the internet” and did not need to be any more aware was really really absolutely wrong and that his statement has been some kind of turning point with many many voters. Millions of voters who use tools like email, facebook, twitter, and youtube and who understand first hand how important it is to be aware of AND ABLE TO USE the power of the internet.
Just the fact that Mark SooHoo’s very lame comment was launched into cyberspace and has gone viral/ was posted/blogged about/emailed all the way around the world in a matter of minutes should give the McCain campaign an idea of the effects of being so short-sighted. Just being aware doesn’t mean knowing how to use a tool, how to use it to increase support, to deliver a message…to raise money.
Countless interviews and comments posted indicate that people do care that the President knows how to use the computer. For example, this Wired ON-LINE poll states that people DO care. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/mccain-reps-com.html
I just voted and out of 4,394 of us, 90 percent think that the President of the United States should be computer literate.
And I guess if McCain is not willing to learn, then he will have to rely on his wife or his aides to help him when it comes to using technology. I guess he just isn’t getting it. One does hope that he does at least have a cell phone, right?
I know this isn’t the only thing that was discussed at PdF 2008, but I just can’t seem to get past it!
Some other interesting things I found interesting on the Personal Democracy Forum agenda;
-
How Wiki Government can work
-
Big fish in small bowls: How bloggers are upending local politics
-
Converting online supporters into on-the-ground volunteers
The PdF 2008 site had tons of very not McCain friendly features, things for those who could not attend and ways for attendees to share what they were learning really quickly. I even logged on to read reviews and notes from these sessions. Very cool!
