I recently did a assignment for a class and it was to write a short paper about the role of the internet in this presidential election. As I did research for it, I came up with a few ideas that I wanted to put out there, as things to think about.

I could paste the 500 word assignment here, but that would be a waste. Simply put, the internet had a large role. The tools (websites) that have been able to come about and mature over the past 4 years has provided for a marvelous source of advertisement and networking. Facebook and YouTube, I would say, were the two largest influences on this.

The Web 2.0 Summit had a panel which talked about this subject, and was were I got most of my information from (check it out here). They mentioned the use of Google maps as a powerful source for organization. They also talked about the internet in the ability to do fundraising.

Foundation aside, here are some thoughts to chew on. With as many people supporting Obama and his amazing public speaking skills, I hope that America does not lose its head. Before getting much further, let me put it out there, I am an American and this country. My prayers will be with Barack Obama as he guides this nation. I might not always agree with him, but that will probably be the case with any president, but I will continue to support him in areas that I do agree.

So, like I said, America shouldn’t lose its head. To see the facts for themselves and to decided for themselves. In the blogsphere I don’t worry about this too much, there are a lot of analytical people who will continue to disagree with anything. But I do fear for those people who “want change” but don’t know what that is. Who hear one or two things they agree with and then blindly listen to whatever else they are told.

Why do I fear this? Because with the technology available today, Obama has shown his ability to build a correspondence with anyone who is willing to listen, and many are. Taken to an extreme, I fear this could turn into voluntary dictatorship. If people blindly listen to everything that Obama says, and the follow, then he can pass anything he wants through congress. The check and balance system does not work if it is a hierarchy of the president talking to the people about what needs to be done. People telling their congressmen (and women) what needs to be done, according to the president. Congress doing their job and doing what the people tell them to do. If that happens, that means that if Obama says this or that should happen, then people will push for that and it will pass through congress. Again, this is an extreme case, but it is something to watch out for.

Obama has already started this dialog and said what he thinks needs to be passed through congress.

What will the “new” government look like?