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Viewing options go high-tech(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 17--It's only fitting that the Internet would roll out the red carpet for the inauguration of a president with such a high-tech reputation. President-elect Barack Obama broke online fund-raising records, revolutionized grass-roots organizing and reaped a windfall of positive publicity for his campaign's technology-friendly tactics. That trend continues to Inauguration Day, which has plenty of high-tech twists. Video from the inauguration, the parade and scenes from many parties will be streamed live over the Internet, from the Web sites of major news networks to the official inauguration Web portal of the president-elect. There also is an official link on YouTube for inauguration-related videos, a feed on the photo-sharing Web site Flickr and a micro-blogging stream on Twitter. But that's just the beginning, and plenty of other online locations are creating ways to connect people so they can share in the celebrations and swearing-in of the 44th president. For example, CNN.com is taking its coverage a step further with a social networking feature. The site will add a Facebook.com friends list to its streaming video player, so viewers watching the inauguration of the most Facebook-friendly president yet can connect with friends and update their status messages directly from the player. Those socializing in a deeper virtual world are setting up special shindigs, including a "white-tie, formal ball" in Second Life. Members of the online community, where people meet and talk in a 3D landscape using personalized characters called avatars, are invited to log into the world's simulation of Capitol Hill, dress up their digital dolls in a gown or tuxedo and bust a move on special dance floors being installed for the event. "We thought it would be a pretty good venue given that it is going to be really crowded in the real Washington, D.C.," said Steve Nelson of Berkeley, Calif., a Second Life resident for several years who helped design the virtual Capitol Hill. Nelson said newcomers to Second Life will be welcome, noting that a formal wear vendor with free virtual clothing will be near the event for avatars with nothing spiffy to wear. LINK-live, a group promoting science and technology, is running a Web site broadcasting live video and blogging from inaugural celebrations in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C. Visitors to the site can share their thoughts using tools including Twitter, Flickr and ScribbleLive, a blogging tool. A lot of inaugural Internet activity will be fed from cell phones, and people in D.C. should brace for call failures and data delays as attendees share what they see. CTIA-The Wireless Association, a nonprofit representing wireless carriers, warns that all that mobile media could create congestion. "Today's wireless networks are built to handle a large amount of calls and data, but they are just like a highway, they can only handle so much traffic," Steve Largent, president and CEO of the association, says in a statement. "Wireless carriers are ramping up their efforts to prepare for millions of additional visitors to the D.C. area, but we could be looking at record levels of use." Verizon and Sprint are among the mobile phone companies adding capacity to cope with all of the extra text messages, phone calls, photos and videos beamed out Inauguration Day. Those efforts include adding new radio channels to boost existing cell towers and trucking in portable cellular sites. The wireless association recommends people send texts and e-mail instead of making calls to friends in D.C. if they have problems getting through, while those in the eye of inaugural activities should snap cell phone photos but send them later so data networks don't get bogged down. If blurry cell phone photos aren't enough of an inaugural impression, there also will be a special view available from orbit. GeoEye, which takes satellite photos and mapping data and sells them to clients such as intelligence agencies and Google, will turn the camera on its best satellite toward Washington so it can snap a shot of the inaugural crowds -- weather permitting. GeoEye-1 will be about 423 miles above and 200 miles west of D.C. -- as close as it can get -- at 10:18 a.m. Tuesday. This state-of-the-art eye in the sky takes super-sharp orbital images. "We are able to look down with a powerful camera and see objects on the ground as small as 16 inches in size -- the size of home plate on a baseball diamond," says Mark Brender, vice president of corporate communications and marketing for the Dulles, Va.-based firm. Any Inauguration Day space shots will be on the company's Web site later that day free so everyone can take in the scene from space. "Hopefully, if it is not cloudy," Brender warned. "If it's cloudy, we will not have an image." To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |