Facebook. Twitter. Mybarackobama.com. Text messaging. The president-elect used all of these digital tools to devastating effect in the 2008 election. How did he do it? What strategic lessons can we learn from Barack Obama’s high-tech campaign? How might he deploy this online army of millions to govern? And does President Obama’s historic rise to the White House also propel social networking into the mainstream?

The answers to these important questions have a profound impact on the very near future of our democracy, as well as how we organize, communicate and even do business in the digital age. On the eve of the Obama inauguration, the University of Washington’s Master of Communication in Digital Media program held a dynamic, engaging “UW Insight” conversation that sought to put this digital revolution in perspective.

Part 1 includes the Introduction to this event and a presentation by Prof. Lance Bennett, UW Political Science and Communication, on the digital tools employed during the election.

Parts 2 & 3 after the jump…

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How did you find out that Barack Obama was elected president? Were you watching the CNN coverage, with its freaky holograms? Were you surfing various news sites on the Internet, looking to see who would break the news first? Or perhaps you got the news from a friend’s status update on Facebook or Twitter. Read more…

Peter Whitehead, digital business editor at the Financial Times, calls Twitter a “road to ruin.”

In a column published Oct.21 on ft.com, Whitehead chronicled his initiation with Twitter — The simple sign-up process for Twitter, his immediate connection to Barack Obama, and the potential business and networking opportunities he sees through the service. It’s a typical experience.

However, he stops short there, concerned about his identity on Twitter. “Am I just me or am I representing the FT? Can I say outrageous things? Can I use it to promote Digital Business?” he asks.

While social media like Twitter contributes to blurring the boundaries between professional and personal, and consequences of this convergence are possible, Whitehead doesn’t justify his hesitation. He provides no examples of how people have ruined their careers or reputations on Twitter. Nor does he look at the benefits of using social media.

The broader FT organization, however, is taking a more optimistic attitude toward social media and already seeing its fruits. According to an Oct. 25 story on Journalism.co.uk, FT has launched a virtual Long Room, “a new comment and analysis area”, where registered users can join topic “tables” or create their own. This adds to FT’s already successful financial blog, FT Alphaville. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations Electronic (ABCe) figures for March, the blog has 7.1 million unique users, including 750,000 registered users.

Whitehead may be cautious toward new social media channels like Twitter but should look internally to the success of FT’s other social media endeavors before passing judgment.