Better IT Needed for Our Executive Office

Obama Gets His BlackBerry, but What About Facebook?

This article in PC World describes the variety of IT troubles encountered by the Obama Administration due to bureaucracy and a seeming lack of imperative by the Federal Government's IT staff to update the existing state of White House technology. The president is now allowed his Blackberry, albeit with super-encryption and restrictions on its use. However, the email accounts for Obama and his staff were not ready for use when he took office, there is a ban on instant messaging use, and the whitehouse.gov site is not being maintained to the standards that Obama's previous sites have been. Also, the future of Obama's successful means of disseminating information to net literate citizenry through facebook, youtube, and flickr are in question.

I would agree with a paranoid government in a dangerous age that we need massive security for the digital information produced by the Executive Office. I know in my own life that anyone with the know-how and desire could find out almost everything I think, experience, and do. This is because there is practically no security on most of my internet activities. I'm sure that there are many more with the desire to know what the president is up to than those who care about my activities, and that of those there are some with the know-how to bypass quite a lot of security.

But this is an exciting time technologically, as information can be disseminated instantly to a far-reaching population. And there is no time like the present for the IT of the White House to get in step. This is a time when our economy is a shambles, we are at war, and a civil rights movement is underway. Momentous change is taking place and not only do we have the right to know what is going on, but the technology exists for any of us to get on a computer (or an XBox, or a Wii, or a cell phone) and find out RIGHT NOW. How embarassing for the government that I can find out the latest NFL trade announcements online before seeing the texts of executive orders our president has signed!