Organizing for America | News clippings: Obama transition as web savvy as campaign

Obama transition as web savvy as campaign

By Murry - Nov 9th, 2008 at 11:40 pm EST

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LINK CAROL E. LEE | Politico | 11/8/08 5:20 PM EST

In keeping with his campaign's use of the Internet to create a vast network and raise unprecedented sums of money, President-elect Barack Obama is using a website to usher his supporters through the transition: change.gov.

Visitors to the "Office of the President-Elect," as the site is called, can share their ideas for running the country and apply for jobs with the Obama transition and administration.

The site went up on Nov. 5, the day after the election, and Obama campaign staff and volunteers, many of whom have been working full-time for the campaign for the past two years, and others seeking work with the administration immediately began logging on to apply for jobs.

The site advises that applying online is the fastest way to get a position. Applicants are told that if they fill out a short form with their name, location and most recent employer, they will get an email in a few days with a more lengthy online application.

"If and when you are considered for a specific position, you will be asked to fill out additional forms, including financial disclosures, and be subject to other reviews which may include FBI background checks," the site advises.

The website was designed by members of Obama's transition team, campaign staff and General Services Administration, the government office that assists with transitions.

The site's design resembles Obama's campaign website. The fonts are the same, although the reds and blues are more subdued.

It contains blogs with news of the day, including video of Obama's first press conference, links and photos of Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden under the heading "Your Administration," and pages dedicated to various issues under the heading "Agenda," as well as a list of the incoming administration's top five priorities: Revitalizing the Economy, Ending the War in Iraq, Providing Health Care for All, Protecting America and Renewing American Global Leadership.

The site shows early signs of Obama's campaign pledge to make government more transparent. It has a list of transition staff and biographies of the top three members of the transition team: John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse. It also promises that profiles of Cabinet officials will be posted as they're named.

It's unclear what will happen to all of the stories visitors to the site are invited to share about the campaign or Election Day, or what the Obama administration will do with suggestions for how to do its job.

"Share your vision for what America can be, where President-Elect Obama should lead this country" is written above a form to share ideas. "Where should we start together?"

The site appears to still be a work in progress. Not all the sections are complete and photos aren't loaded properly in others, so expect more features to come.

There's just one listing in the "upcoming events" section of the site: The Inauguration on Jan. 20.

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