Five ways that President Obama is using the Web (and how you can, too!)

Since President Barack Obama assumed the presidency last week, it's been interesting for me to watch how he's used the Web and Web technology to reach out to his constituents. For instance:

• Facebook: While running his campaign, Pres. Obama started a Barack Obama support group on Facebook that you could join to show your support, get updates from the road, etc. How you can use this: If you have an interest, start a Facebook group about it! For instance, I'm in a group with local moms in our elementary school.
• YouTube: President Obama created his own YouTube channel from which he shared notes from the road while campaigning; you can now get all his national addresses directly on this channel. How you can use this: Have some video you want to share? YouTube makes it simple (and free) to upload.
• Twitter: Twitter, a micro-blogging platform, was yet another way that President Obama got the word out about what was going on in his campaign; you can choose to follow him on Twitter and get behind the scenes information.How you can do this: Twitter is a great way to interact with people in real-time from all over the world; sign up for an account and you can instantly begin to get and give updates.
• Blog: The official White House blog is updated several times a week with pertinent information - it's an easy way to keep track of what's going on in Washington. How you can do this: Learn how to start your own blog, find blogs you like, or check out a few blog search engines.
• Barack Obama Downloads: On the official Obama home page, you can download free wallpaper, buddy icons, themes, signs, and a whole lot more. How you can do this: Check out free movie downloads, free software downloads, or free wallpaper downloads.

Already, President Obama has made it very clear that the Web is going to be a major communication tool between his administration and the American people.