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My Shameless Inauguration Blog Post

Inauguration day was the day when every news outlet tried to get in on the act. As I sat filtering e-mails that would appear on our website and in the print edition of Residential Systems, I even pondered my own “spin” on the swearing in of our first black president. It’s an exciting time, and I wanted to play my part

Inauguration day was the day when every news outlet tried to get in on the act. As I sat filtering e-mails that would appear on our website and in the print edition of Residential Systems, I even pondered my own “spin” on the swearing in of our first black president. It’s an exciting time, and I wanted to play my part.

It got so crazy on Tuesday that the official site for Major League Baseball wrote a shameless news report on the inauguration, tying Barack Obama to baseball by focusing in on his fondness for the Chicago White Sox. After reading that, I almost abandoned my attempts to tie President Obama to the custom installation channel, but oh well, what the heck?

Our most technically astute president in history has taken office, and the last I heard he had refused Secret Service requests to give up his BlackBerry. The fact that President Obama is a “crackberry” user, and has already has named a director of new media to run the official White House website, and even discussed the possibility of hiring the first chief technology officer (CTO) for the country, seems to bode well for those of us immersed in all things “technical.”

President Obama has made it clear that he plans to recommit the country to a focus on science and technology, saying, “I am confident that if we recommit ourselves to discovery; if we support science education to create the next generation of scientists and engineers right here in America; if we have the vision to believe and invest in things unseen, then we can lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity.”

Much of his focus, of course, will be on climate and energy, but the president also has discussed the need for developing a system for tracking electronic medical records and generally supports improving the economy with new high-tech jobs.

The CTO position has yet to be announced, but the concept apparently calls for the hiring of a national director who would oversee federal government IT infrastructure and policies, while promoting government transparency, leading development of a national interoperable wireless network for first responders, and promoting technology-related economic development.”

Could there be jobs for the custom installation professional in the mix? Perhaps. It definitely does not hurt having a young, technology-savvy president who views the creation of high-tech jobs as a way out of an ugly recession.

So there you have it… my shameless attempt to attach myself to one of the biggest historical events of our time. Did I pull it off?

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