Text, Twitter the Inauguration? Maybe Not This Time

Much has been made of tomorrow’s inauguration as being one of a new generation…not only did soon-to-be President Obama bring in millions of disenfranchised and new voters, but he ran on a message of inclusion and not one of divisiveness or entitlement.

What will happen legislatively, of course remains to be seen, but there can be no doubt that this inauguration will be a technological first.

Inauguration technology firsts: the first inauguration carried by telegraph was in 1845; captured by a movie camera, 1897; on radio, 1925; the first carried on TV, 1949, on color TV, 1961; and tomorrow’s inauguration is likely to be the first in which the event is planned to be shared instantly by tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions using social networking devices and sites.

Much has been made of the real possibility that the cell networks in D.C. might go down as the 2.5 million expected to be on the Mall and the millions more in D.C. attempt to voice, text and cam the event.

But little has been written about the fact that untold millions there are elsewhere are expecting to share their thoughts and emotions by tweeting the event on Twitter.com, and/or writing on social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, etc.

Even now, Twitter.com (where I am tweeting while I type) is slowing down and limiting activities, and an old time technology colleague who now works in the IT bowels of one of the social networking sites above says he is seeing an exponential increase in useage that, if it does not lessen, will GREATLY slow access tomorrow.

I sadly envisage millions on the Mall trying to text, cam or tweet, and being unable to do so, will repeatedly try, only to miss the raw and historic nature of the event.

Peter B. Hayward

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