Disclosure: Philosophically, I’m equidistant between John McCain and Barack Obama. I like both. And I haven’t decided whom I’m going to vote for. I’m an independent and I’ve always voted for the person.
Okay…
When I say internet, I don’t mean the thing that was started by the Pentagon after World War II. Nor do I mean this great medium that we can do marketing on.
When I say internet, I mean the internet as a catalyst that’s causing huge cultural shifts in the way we as individuals and organizations present ourselves, from the way we communicate and the way we handle commerce. It’s changed. It’s a massive change, it’s a widespread change, it’s a permanent change.
Therefore, the next American president, regardless of who he is and key members of his team MUST seek to understand digital media. They MUST understand how this will affect society. It’s becoming too important and too ingrained in the lives of too many Americans.
What made me think this way was that I read two articles (here and here) in two days regarding John McCain’s understanding of technology and the internet. He’s got little to no understanding of either.
This past January, McCain responded to Mike Allen, a reporter for the Politico as to what he preferred - a Mac or a PC by saying
“I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance that I can get.”
This isn’t about Mac vs. PC, it’s about attitude, interest, and involvement. Commerce has changed, communication has changed, entertainment has changed, and individual behavior has changed. We’ve changed. We need a president who understands this. We can’t afford to have someone who plays the role of the technoboob. The media will smirk (because they won’t see why this is vital), the political arena will chuckle. It will be fodder for Letterman and Leno.
This is no longer cute. It’s no longer good enough to play up one’s ignorance. He’s not your granddad or dad that you’re showing how to use the web with him playing along out of curiosity and courteousness. The internet is not a teen phenomenon. It’s not Elvis and Buddy Holly. It’s 50 years of rock ‘n roll, still going strong.The internet is what the vast majority of Americans are about…and about where we are going.
If McCain is elected, he’ll be the leader of the country…one that has about 225,000,000 people that have internet access, one that has billions of dollars (or is it trillions) of ecommerce being completed each year. He’ll need to get a grip on this cultural shift.
If you think this is silly, then you’re not getting what I’m saying. I don’t care about left or right, Democrat of Republican. And, no, he doesn’t need to have his own Facebook page or join Twitter. He needs to realize that this paradigm shift is being created by and, as a result, greatly impacting his constituents, the people who will be looking for him to lead.
2 Comments » Posted on August 6th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn
