Change Has Come

It was only fitting that the most digitally-savvy President in U.S. history would be seen taking the oath of office through a blend of traditional and digital media. He's bringing a welcome political and philosophical change, but he's also changing the way that politicians utilize digital media to communicate with constituents. Just take a look at the squeaky-clean, newly-launched WhiteHouse.gov, complete with blog, weekly video address and email updates.

I watched the inauguration on Current TV, featuring their live feed of tweets streaming along with the ceremony, and online at CNN Live with Facebook. I did this simultaneously, which was a bit overstimulating, but I wanted to try out both experiences. The social aspect of both brought an enhanced viewing experience, for different reasons.

Current TV

Current was displaying tweets in (almost) real-time to coincide with the event. Their broadcast felt a lot like VH1's Pop Up Video, and I mean that in the best way possible. Tweets provided commentary and factual nuggets that added a lot of value for the viewer. And the stream of ecstatic tweets from people from all over the world, including @wonderasiwander tweeting from Kenya with the tribe of Obama's father, added to the bigness of the event. I was proud to watch it, and intrigued by what people were saying.

CNN Live with Facebook

C.C. Chapman called it early on -- this was a game changer. As he mentioned, CNN, Facebook and Cisco created a better experience than watching on TV, thanks to a very smooth feed that experienced remarkably few hiccups despite the huge amount of traffic it was receiving. And, unlike Current's experience, it was uber-social. Every status was posted, comments could be made on every status, and most importantly, Facebook flexed it's muscle as a micro-blogging platform. Everyone still has more friends on Facebook than twitter, and they are more comfortable conversing there.

For the experience that I liked better, I would have to go with CNN and Facebook -- it was more social and all my friends were already there. But I enjoyed watching the Current broadcast as well, and it will be interesting to see if other stations try something for a major event like the Oscars or Super Bowl.

This is an exciting time, both politically and in the realm of new media. It is fitting that these two happened to converge on the same day.