Before Obamarama
Friday, January 16th, 2009On November 4th 2008, I was constantly checking my BlackBerry in order to follow the Presidential Election as closely as humanly possible. Between updates, I checked Facebook, looked up some sports scores and even sent an e-mail or two. Before too long, every television channel and every forum on the internet had declared Barack Obama as the winner. I was excited, anxious and ready for a new President to take his seat in the Oval Office. But, as I began text messaging all of my friends with the good news, I realized something – when Bush was elected, texting was barely a few years old.
With Obama’s inauguration just days away, I figured I’d shed some light on some amazing stuff that has happened during Bush’s term in office…
• Facebook – I’m sure it’s hard for you to imagine life without Facebook. But, until 2004, the social networking giant was nonexistent. There was no friending, there was no poking, and there certainly were no wall posts. Over the years, it has become a staple in the lives of millions of people. Remember when you had to use a phonebook? Chea right!!
• YouTube – Remember when you couldn’t find any video of anything in the world for free? I didn’t think so. But until February of 2005, there was no way to screen videos of sneezing pandas or shark attacks. Now, virtually any person in the world can produce, upload and watch videos on everything from education to buffalo chicken. What a country!
• Cell Phones – Obviously people were using cellular telephones prior to Bush getting elected. However, did anyone see them coming this far this fast? It’s like having a mini laptop in your pocket. You can organize your schedule, text a friend during class, check the weather, listen to music, watch TV, play games, provide directions, suggest restaurants, check the news, pay bills – oh, and you can even make and receive phone calls!
It’s pretty amazing, when you think about it, just how new some of our most influential technology is. Just imagine what we’ll be doing when Obama is packing up the White House — I’ll probably be blogging from my underwater mansion on the bottom of the ocean. Hey, it could happen!!
