A New Deal, A New Hope and A New Transparency (or just technology?)

Have you heard that President-elect Obama plans to broadcast live and upload to Youtube a series of "fireside chats" each week, similar to what President Franklin Roosevelt did during the Great Depression?

History repeats itself...

There's no question that Mr. Obama's team knows how to make excellent use of technology.  They used it to raise millions of dollars and people for their campaign, resulting in victory a few weeks ago.  What that team did was remarkable, and it's one barometer that allows us to see how far and how quickly the world has come in the technology realm.  In fact, understanding technology is one of the attributes that I have added to my list of leadership fundamentals.  I don't think any future Presidential candidates will claim that they don't know how to use email or a computer.  It's a new day, and each day is moving faster than the one before.

Technology aside, Mr. Obama is saying that he is committed to communicating with fellow countrymen to ensure that we know what is happening.  Just like FDR and thousands of other leaders, he understands the necessity of communicating frequently and directly with his team, especially in tough times.  If you don't communicate with your team, they will make assumptions--and most of those assumptions will be wrong.  Better to give them the message, even a tough one, than to leave them guessing.

Granted, a Youtube vide doesn't allow for two way communication.  Neither did a radio in the 1930's.  Just like back then, it's not the technology, it's the message.

Here's President-elect Obama's first in a series, done even before he gets into office.