Obama to make White House e-community

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- President-elect Barack Obama's team says it will enhance the U.S. government's networking skills -- make that social networking skills -- on the Internet.

Former President Bill Clinton put the White House on the Web and President George W. Bush added podcasts, and online chats and videos to the presidency's Web repertoire, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. When Obama's organization enters the White House Jan. 20, it will work on creating a two-way dynamic between the administration and ordinary Americans.

"Clinton was the first Web president. Bush is the first digital president," David Almacy, who was Bush's Internet guru from 2005-2007, told the Post. "Obama is the first online social networking president."

To foster the sense of community inherent in online social networking, WhiteHouse.gov must pull content in as well as push it out, Obama's advisers said.

Tom Daschle, Obama's Health and Human Services Department secretary-designate, uses Obama's transition Web site Change.gov to invite people to submit their healthcare ideas online and asked the site's visitors to host group meetings on health issues in the coming weeks.

"This is a part of our Internet culture, and it's an emerging part of our political culture -- you, as a citizen, get to talk back to your government," said Google chief Eric Schmidt, an Obama adviser.

Aside from letter-writing and voting, Schmidt questioned what "actual impact" citizens have on policy.

"But the new set of tools online allow the government to open itself up and post a series of questions to its citizens," he said. "Change.gov offers hints as to how this works. We'll see if it transfers to WhiteHouse.gov."