Barack Obama getting all Web 2.0 on us
Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois and apparent presidential hopeful, will be launching a social-networking feature on his site, BarackObama.com, Saturday, according to a video message he released Friday.
In telling his supporters to be ready for an important Saturday morning announcement from Springfield, Ill., his exploratory committee headquarters, he invited people to join what sounds like a MySpace for his supporters.
He describes it as "a tool to organize your friends, neighbors and networks." Members will be able to build their own profile, form affinity groups, plan events, and, of course, donate money to his campaign. As if that's not enough, Obama wants his fans to chronicle their "campaign experiences" on their personal blogs.
Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, also vying for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, are dueling it out over who's most down with the Web generation. Obama announced the formation of his presidential exploratory committee via video on his Web site last month, and Clinton took to Yahoo Answers to cull public ideas for health care reform.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica.
