In keeping with the theme that swept President Obama in the Oval Office, the change has come to the official web site of the White House.
Almost instantly Obama was sworn in, www.whitehouse.gov relaunched with a new design to bring a new era in government. It seriously was the site of the White House, replaced by a new and dynamic place for reflection technology experienced successor.
The new design includes more interactive features, a photo gallery on the top of the site, the ability to get e-mail updates and a blog from the White House. The site of the "press room" also includes places weekly video address, slideshows, proclamations and executive orders, as well as news on the nominations and appointments.
"It's a great first step, and the tip of the iceberg in what comes to political participation and the relationship between the president and the public," said Andrew Rasiej, founder of Personal Democracy Forum and co-founder of techPresident.com.
Site visitors are invited to e-mail to the president and his staff, but - perhaps in a nod to the Twittersphere where brevity is the key - comments are limited to 500 characters.
"President Obama has pledged to create a more open and accessible administration in U.S. history," says the site of the Contact page.
Introducing the new site, White House Director of New Media Macon Phillips wrote in the blog for the first time that Obama's online efforts are focused on communication, transparency and participation.
"Millions of Americans have fueled President Obama on his trip to the White House, many taking advantage of the Internet to play a role in shaping our country's future," he wrote. "WhiteHouse.gov is only the beginning of the new administration in its efforts to broaden and deepen this commitment."
Obama was hailed throughout his campaign and the transition as a politician who makes intelligent use of technology to communicate your message. His campaign-leveraging social networking sites, and even the most casual Texter can sympathize with the resistance to give up their BlackBerry.
Diane Heith, an associate professor of government and politics at St. John's University in New York City, wrote an academic article on the then candidate Obama's website last year, where he took note of its superiority to Other sites campaign. The new site of the White House is clearly a continuation of its commitment to the citizens, he said.
"During the campaign, Obama supporters felt very connected to him, and if they can maintain this connection, that will do much to build up the foundation that will need to move forward," he said. "The old site of the [Bush administration] is not really an exciting site and did not have a tremendous amount of depth or information. [Obama] is much more sophisticated."
David Parry, assistant professor of new media at the University of Texas at Dallas, said the new site continues the theme of Obama is aware of the importance of Web 2.0, which enables users to share content online.
"I think it is one of the main reasons has been elected, and now use it as a way to go to people and communicate," he said. "This site is more personal, and certainly seems more polished, while the [Bush] seemed to place more of transition."
WhiteHouse.gov is not to be confused with WhiteHouse.org, a parody of former President George W. Bush and his administration.