Sometimes it’s good to be reminded that the Web is just as much yours as it is mine, and it’s just as much President Bush’s as it is President-elect Obama’s. It’s just as available to terrorists as it is to community organizers. Teens publishing YouTube videos in which they tease one another are just as capable of using the Web as teens banding together to create a group against virtual bullying.

So it struck me when read techPresident’s post, which discussed the Right to Know Agenda

and specifically quoted a part of the agenda that really stood out to me:

The government faces the same challenges and opportunities in online contexts as citizens do — that citizens and government can share ideas and information to create more effective governance, but only through proactive engagement in online projects and communities.

The government, and specifically our first “Tech President,” can work all day on Web sites with rich features that look pretty, but unless these digital integrations get people involved, they’re not doing much of anything.

But what will stir people enough to get them up off their couches and out in the real world?  As Joe Trippi discusses in his book, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” it helps to use campaigns that ask people for their opinions, then to apply those opinions in real life. Trippi uses the example of Ford asking its drivers to vote on a new Mustang color, and then must follow through with producing that car. This exemplifies Clay Shirky’s Promise, Tool, Bargain method by promising something and delivering on it. When an electric pink Mustang rolls out, people who were involved in its production (by choosing the color) will be more likely to invest in it.

The same applies to politics. If Obama can create open forums where opinions are truly valued and used, and where Web video of his meetings, speeches, and conferences is prominently displayed, Americans will feel more connected to and invested in their President.

Imagaine that…