January 19th, 2009
Internet Inauguration: The Interactive Introduction of the Obama Presidency
Watching Barack Obama on television be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States seems so 1960. Particularly when the first-term Illinois senator ascended to the highest office in the land based on a masterful use of every available tool on the Internet, from raising funds to delivering updates about his thoughts and whereabouts via Twitter.
So, if you’re planning to stick with the new media consciousness of the Obama Administration and watch or listen to his inauguration online, here are some options:
Fox News: Complete coverage, plus “fresh, fair inauguration analysis.”
CBS: Live webcast with audience able to ask questions of anchor Katie Couric, via text message.
ABC News: Live coverage, plus recordings of prior swearing-in ceremonies.
C-Span: Live coverage starting at 6 a.m.
CNN: Live coverage starting at 8 a.m.
PBS’ Online Newshour with Jim Lehrer: Live coverage starting at 11 a.m.
MSNBC: Live coverage, interactive map of events, transcripts of past inaugural addresses.
Also promising live coverage: The New York Times, the Associated Press, Joost and Comcast.net
Updates from friends: CNN is working with Facebook, so you can send out your status during the inauguration and get updates from friends and other Facebook users on what they’re doing.
Tweets from the crowd:You can sign up here to see an “official” stream of tweets or watch here to see what various visitors to D.C. have to say.
Your contributions: If you want to contribute, you can of course. CBS offers a variety of video, text message, photo and other options. The Obama Adminstration is looking for “PicMobile” and text comments.
Fox News wants your reports. And YouTube has its own channel you can subscribe to. Photobucket wants your help on a book project.
Live blogging: Some commentators still will try to compete with the video. Sites that will try to add different kinds of insight: Fox News will have four views from four cities, MTV covered the Inaugural Concert, and Canada’s National Post is on the scene.
Mobile TV: Here’s how information on how to get stuff on your iPhone and the UStream app. You can also watch live TV casts on Alltell, Sprint and AT&T phones, via MobiTV and on Verizon, through its VCast service.
Past Perspective: If you want to see how inspiring Presidential predecessors have been, MSNBC has lined up prior addresses from Bush, Clinton and Reagan for playback. And you want to go all the way back to 1960,here’s the Kennedy inaugural address in black and white and a slow pace at Hulu.
Black Perspective: Comparisons between Dr. Martin Luther King, Barack Obama and other black leaders – as well as a countdown to the inauguration of the nation’s first African-American president — at BET.
Inaugural quiz: You think you’re smart? The National Archives and Records Administration has this test for you.
Game on: And if you want to take a break, but get into a little bit of the President’s competitive spirit, here are a variety of online basketball games you can play during the day.
Tom Steinert-Threlkeld is editor-in-chief of Securities Industry News, as well as a long-time media, technology and business journalist. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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