In an effort to connect more people to White House messaging, on Tuesday, the White House released its first iPhone application. The application streams in content from the White House blog, aggregates press releases in English and Spanish (no need to press 1), provides access to videos and photos of press briefings and other events, and grants live access to select events, like President Obama's Financial Reform speech today at 11:40 am.
Conspicuously absent from the application is the President's 2010 budget, details of upcoming proposals, including the a summary of the Health Care Bill, a tool to track Obama's campaign promises, information about the makeup of the President's cabinet, and the White House's plan for economic recovery and elimination of the ever expanding $12.3 trillion federal debt.
Given these absences, the utility of the application is limited to members of the press who want to keep up with the President's every move and those still infatuated with Obama. Others who wish to engage in the political discussion on a deeper level, hold the Oval Office accountable for its promises to say, eliminate wasteful spending from the federal budget line by line, and obtain a detailed understanding of just how fast a few trillions dollars are spent should continue digging for the information online or just read from the New York Times application.
Also disappointing from this app, which is little more than a mobile version of the communications sections of the White House website, is a method of dialogue with constituents the Obama administration has become known for. It's a bit disappointing the makers of the app didn't build in a way for users to send their best ideas on improving things to the administration, pose and have questions answered, or vote on the ideas of others, including the ideas of the White House. Many of my best ideas occur when I am out and about, and things I see often jog my brain into action. And as we've all witnessed from the Red Cross' Haiti fundraising efforts, mobile phones can be a powerful platform for soliciting a quick response.
Why the White House doesn't take advantage of access to millions of mobile opinions by creating a tool for a quasi-referendum on their ideas before marching ahead with plans can seem a bit presumptuous. The absence of dialogue on a platform specifically designed for dialogue is also quite ironic, and at the same time fodder for some on the right side of the aisle who will continue to label this administration as arrogant. Perhaps the next version of the application will contain these more advanced/interactive features? If not, it won't be long before republicans start tossing around the word "propaganda."
In the meantime, those looking for a better White House experience on their iPhones should download the President app by the Cohen Research Group. Loaded with features, news, bios of cabinet members, donor information, and Twitter feeds, you will definitely get your 99 cents worth.
