Goodbye fireside chat, Hello YouTube

One thing I really enjoyed about Barack Obama's presidential campaign was the way he was able to reach many of his supporters wherever they were and get them aware of and engaged in the political process. The Obama team became a master of web 2.0 technology, using e-newsletters, social bookmarking, rss feeds, twitter, podcasts and YouTube to deliver his messages of change, clarification of policies, and encouragement to get involved.

A big question in my mind right after the election was how Obama was planning on leveraging the relationship he built with the huge base of supporters during the campaign. He no longer needs our vote so will he just forget about us?

Not so. This is one smart leader and he's not going to toss away the energy of such a valuable group. So far it seems he really does mean what he said about the we in the "yes we can". He needs and expects our (and that now includes all in this country) participation during his presidency if change is actually going to come about.

To keep us up to speed the President-elect has his own transition webpage: www.change.gov
Obama will also be doing a new and improved fireside chat during his time in office. It's a weekly address he'll be giving throughout the transition time and while in office. Check out the first one below.

I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills, I love the fireflys...

Remember that great song? Here's the 2008 remix. I love the world too!

Love my mac...and these ads too!

Ally and Ronnie's Wedding

Ally's Wedding Week

One of my bestest friends from college Ally (whom you may remember as the one who I also visited in China a year ago) married Ron Mona this past Saturday, June 28th. I was so grateful to be able to take a whole work week and a day off last week to be there with them in sunny San Diego, Cali.

As some may know, spending the week before the wedding with the bride is never without activity and excitement. And because Ally is marrying into a Samoan family, the week felt more like a cultural exchange experience than a vacation. Here are some highlights from the week:

1. Sleeping 3 out of 7 nights on a hard floors of small rooms

2. Learning to sew on a machine in 5 minutes, falling in love with a surger sewing machine then spending at least 12 hours doing my contribution to make 40 white table cloths.

3. Wishing I could dance the Taulunga (Samoan money dance traditionally done by the bride or birthday girl)

4. Basking in the San Diego sun and swimming off the private Coronado Naval base beach (hooray for Ally's family having a discount at the Navy Lodge!)

5. Getting pampered at the spa.

6. Okay, so I'm not a big fan of Hummers destroying our environment but I had a heck of a good time riding in a limo one with 17 other people to take wedding photos at Balboa Park.

7. Feeling 12 again and giggling with 6 girlfriends into the wee hours of the morning every night of the week.

Exploring the Disability Community

I'm excited about a new task given to me at work. One of the researchers here recently started a blog and wants to explore what is going on in the online community of people with disabilities. He asked that I do some research of my own on sites like MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube to get an idea of how people with disabilities are representing themselves. Then he asked that I write a blog post on what I've found so far. I'm pretty pumped about this this chance to do some more stimulating tasks. Take a look.