Obama’s campaign: the tell-tale heart of an infosocial democracy?

If there was one key takeaway from how Obama has utilized information technology to fund his campaign and communicate with the electorate, it would be this: it works. One day before election day, it’s a smidge too early to tell if Obama the candidate will be successful, but the votes are in and counted on Obama, the infosocial campaigner and fundraiser.

The result: revolutionary.

Infosocial is a term that’s already out there to some extent, but I thought it was a perfect word to describe Obama’s seamless use of the Internet to organize his campaign, disseminate highly targeted information, and publicly raise funds–without taking old school public campaign financing.

The extent of Obama’s campaign success creates one of the biggest post-election questions in my mind: was Obama’s campaign indicative of his vision for how to operate this country? It’s hard to imagine that he would abandon the infosocial infrastructure and strategy that will deliver him the White House. Is this part of “Change We Need” and “Change We Can Believe In?” Will Obama confer with his 300-million person national cabinet on key policy decisions?

It’s an interesting possibility to ponder. An infosocially-powered presidency could be a big catalyst for change. It would be the great equalizer in a democratic system of government where individual voices have long been overrun by the interests of wealthy individuals and corporations. Perhaps the federal budget could be opened up to a binding referendum on each line item. That way, such projects as the infamous “bridge to nowhere” and studying the sex lives of moths would promptly get the axe. In the longer term, it could refocus politicians on tackling issues that citizens really care about–especially if they’re voting with their pocket books, too.

Indeed, the prospects of an Obama presidency are flush with hope, but with it, a lot of wondering about the future.

-AB