Did you watch the State of the Union last night?  Maybe you even tweeted about it or participated in an online live chat during it.  One year after President Obama took office, many are assessing how his promises and policies have held up.   At Wired Wisconsin, we want to know how he changed the use of technology in the White House.

In January of 2009, after first taking office, the President released a memo sent to the heads of departments and agencies on transparency and open government.  In it he asked them “to harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public.”

Besides being arguably the most tech-savvy president (he did have to be torn away from his Blackberry when he became president), what has he done to incorporate technology into his administration?

Let’s take a look at a few examples:

• Data.gov:  The White House has compiled data from a number of government agencies to make it more accessible to the public
• Virtual Town hall meetings: The president has used this as a way to address concerns about jobs, education, and health care reform
• Blogging, Tweeting and Youtube: The White House uses all of these social networks communicate with the public

When elected officials use technology it can create greater transparency and openness, as well as increased efficiency.  We hope to see greater uses of technology on all levels of government.