On Jan. 20, the United States of America will inaugurate not only its first African-American president but also its first cyber-president. Although much has been discussed about the substantive changes Barack Obama is likely to bring to the federal government when he assumes office, very little attention has been paid to what may be a far greater change: a president of the United States who is a child of the Internet age and who not only is at home in cyberspace but who has already used the Internet to superb advantage in his presidential campaign.

Although Howard Dean, in his unsuccessful 2004 run for the Democratic presidential nomination, first successfully used the Internet as a political fund-raising tool, it was Barack Obama and his campaign organization that, over the past two years, really saw not only the financial potential of cyberspace but also the incredible potential for using the Internet for political organizing. I believe that Obama and his advisers will continue to expand their political activities in cyberspace when they move into the White House and that their conscious and expert use of the Web will change the way the presidency and the federal government does business.

Essentially, the Internet and Internet-connected devices, such as computers, cell phones, etc., can be used to build rapid coalitions for specific political purposes. In Europe text-messaging has become a major factor in the organization of public protests. Several times over the past five years, students in France, for instance, have been able to draw thousands of protesters out into the streets in an extremely short time period through the use of text messages.

When one thinks of the tens of millions of Americans who use the Internet each day as a means of communication and information gathering, its political potential is staggering. Imagine a situation in which Obama might want to put political pressure on Congress to pass particular legislation. He could reach millions of voters directly within minutes by text messaging or by using Twitter (an abridged messaging format popular among young people).

By such a means he could urge these millions to contact their congressmen and senators with their views on the legislation. Obama will not have any problems compiling a list of e-mail addresses; millions of Americans already provided these to the Obama campaign team in order to receive text messages during the campaign.

The Internet will also provide Obama with unlimited direct access to millions of citizens through social networking sites like MySpace, through entertainment and news sites like YouTube, and through specially created Web sites set up to showcase Obama and the issues he supports. Again, during the campaign, the Obama team used these sites brilliantly to combat rumors and false allegations as well as to popularize his programs and inform the public of his activities. There is no reason to believe that he won’t continue this practice when president.

Whether the first cyber presidency will use the Internet for good or ill remains to be seen. On one hand, use of the Internet could create governmental transparency at a level never before seen in this country. Communication between the citizenry and the federal government could increase astronomically and, thus, lead to a more responsive government. But the Internet, if used by the government to disseminate false or biased information, could be a powerful negative factor in American society.

We are only now beginning to understand how people react to Internet-based news and information. Early studies indicate that such information is often trusted more than information published in more traditional media. We may hope that President Obama will use the Web only in positive ways, but only time will tell. While we cannot be sure of how the Obama administration will ultimately use the power of the Internet, there is one thing of which we can be sure: they will certainly use it.