I assume that in this day and age that all of my communication (voice, IM, SMS, e-mail) is seen / read by someone, somewhere. It doesn't really bother me. Frankly, for security purposes and a much greater good, it gives me a sense of serenity and citizenry. You may disagree, and that's your choice. But, honestly if some hacker really wants to know what I'm saying or writing, God bless him or her.
Anyway, who cares about my Milwaukee messaging when we have larger security issues like the President-elect's Blackberry. Many reports say that President-elect Obama might have to give up his device but might become the first President to place a computer on his Oval Office desk. No President to date, you see, has regularly communicated via e-mail.
The media reported that three days after taking the office for his first term President George W. Bush killed his G94B@aol account with this e-mail, "Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyberspace. This saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with each of you."
Let's be honest, media and communication have changed dramatically in the last eight years. Maybe more so than they've changed in the past 100. Technology isn't an option, it's life. So, should our next President have to give up his preferred mode of communication just because no one before him was an emailer and / or because of security threats?
Sure, others can e-mail for him as they have for past presidents. But, can't the government encrypt and secure servers so that our President can at least keep a device that's second nature to most in the business world? For a guy who ran on "Yes we can," it seems pretty doable.
Now, let's not get crazy. I don't want him e-mailing sensitive documents, threats or security codes. But, for basic communication isn't e-mail and a device to read and send it with necessary for the highest ranking official in the world?
Everyone has his / her own preferred mode of communication. And, even though many are working towards some type of unified messaging and communications device, email seems to be the preferred mode of communication for many people. In fact, market research firm, the Radicati Group, estimates the number of emails sent per day to be around 210 billion.
Our President, I think, should have the same e-mail right even if all of his communication is public record. How is an e-mail any different than a phone call? It's not.
Obama should be the first president to fire off e-mail messages from the West Wing. It would make a statement to old school media and messengers that this is America and we can communicate however we darn well like.
In Blackberry we trust. Yes he can!
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
