Hail to the BlackBerry-loving Commander-in Chief

So there I was in the front section on the west front of the U.S. Capitol, within yelling distance of the man who would forever transform presidential campaigning and fund-raising by leveraging cellphone texting, the Internet and social networking en route to becoming the 44th president of the United States. Behind me and facing Barack Obama – who vowed to “build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together” – were the assembled masses of digital denizens, perhaps blissfully oblivious in the festive, frigid setting of how modern communications technology helped bring them together on the historic day.
No doubt cellphone traffic was gridlocked at times, despite earnest preparations by wireless providers and the industry’s recommendation to default to texting if you really wanted to communicate and avoid seeing your wireless network crash. On days like today, you don’t need a cellphone jammer to stifle wireless yakking. Cellular networks are not designed for this kind of stuff.
I tended to observe people talking, texting and snapping photos on their handsets without apparent heartburn. Maybe the cursing I missed was drowned out by the crowd noise and the music blaring out of nearby speakers. The few cellphone calls I made got through just fine. I won’t say which wireless carrier I use, only that its TV ads feature a nerdy guy in glasses standing in front of supporting cast that’s just a tad smaller than the swarm of humanity that enveloped the Mall and official Washington. But if you didn’t make it to the event, or even if you did, perhaps you watched the inauguration on MobiTV, which carried coverage of the swearing-in from ABC News Now, CNBC, CSPAN, Fox News and MSNBC. Check out the Inaugural Ball on MobiTV tonight if you haven’t had enough of the celebrations.
President Obama fared well on Day One. I didn’t catch him fidgeting around for his beloved BlackBerry. Without it, just how is he supposed to field all the e-mails of congratulations and find out in real-time if Congress can buy him some time on a digital TV transition that, if not properly finessed, could quickly turn cheers into jeers as he gets ensconced in the big chair in the Oval Office?