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Barack Obama |
There's no doubt that it will a bright but bitterly cold January morning when Barack Obama takes office.
There's also no doubt that Washington will be jam-packed with on-lookers, security forces, guests attending the ceremony along with the pre-and post-ceremony festivities and not to forget, the participants in the whole affair.
And finally, there is no doubt that Barack Obama is no technophobe but has brought the American presidency into the 21st century, and aims to put technology to good use within society.
So it's no surprise that the man at the White House has galvanised technology to make the inauguration as inclusive and accessible as can be.
If you can't make it to the festivities and want to still be part of the Obamania, there are T-shirts and tokens galore that you can pick up (or email your next best friend across the Atlantic to stock up on) from pins to watches, caps and mugs.
Of course the T-shirt of choice has to bear Obama's striking profile and preferably be the iconic art of Shepard Fairey which now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery no less.
And then, there is the 'technauguration' itself.
In a video posted on the Internet, Obama promised to make the inauguration accessible even to those who don't brave the crowds expected in Washington, thanks to technology.
"You've probably heard the reports that unprecedented numbers of Americans are planning to join us in Washington" on Tuesday for the swearing-in of the 44th president of the United States, Obama said in the four-minute video which was posted on YouTube and the site of the presidential inaugural committee.
He warned of "long lines, a tough time getting around and, most of all, a lot of walking on what could be a very cold winter day" before assuring Americans that choosing not to mingle with the masses in the capital did not necessarily mean they would miss out on the historic inauguration.
There will be mobile phone alerts, live television coverage and webcasts of concerts and the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, which Obama said he and his wife Michelle will attend on the evening of January 20, are just some of the ways that Obama's swearing-in has been made a "technauguration" that will be accessible to people across the United States, the president-elect said in his video message.
AFP/sf
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