The Web Braces For Inauguration Traffic 212
1sockchuck writes "Web sites and social networks are scaling up for huge traffic during today's Inauguration. Photo sharing sites are expecting a surge in volume around the noontime swearing-in, while Twitter has doubled its capacity. Some net watchers say peak volume may not match the record levels seen on Election Night 2008 (as reported by Akamai's Net Usage Index). As noted yesterday, DC-area wireless networks are the most likely bottleneck for messaging and photo sharing. "
Historical Moment (Score:5, Insightful)
Whether you voted for the guy or not, one cannot deny the magnitude of Barack Obama's clinching of the U.S. Presidency. This past election has seen a level of participation from a large cross-section of our nation, showing America's concern for it's future, both home and abroad. While the tea leaves aren't revealing much about what the future holds, one can see that we have chosen to go down a different path than we have been going for the past eight years.
It will be interesting in Obama's freshman year to see the challenges that confront him, how he'll deal with them, and how the public will react. I think more than anything, Barack will have trouble living up to the image of a 'Cristo Negro de Esquipulas', as many look at him as a messiah of sorts for the nation. That aside, we have a unique moment in history in which we will be asked what it was like when the first African American president was inaugurated, to which we'll reply that it was both exciting and uncertain. Exciting because it seems that we have grown from our bigoted and biased past, but uncertain, not because he's black, but because of the economic and foreign calamities and troubles that have been layed before us.
Re:Historical Moment (Score:3, Insightful)
Or at least that's what all the minorities are hoping. I think when reality finally bites, and they all realize that Obama can't and won't give them all a new car, and pay their mortgage, they might suddenly realize that perhaps he isn't really the messiah.
What they should be looking at is the fact that the affirmative action programs, welfare, and everything else that has been thrown at minorites in the US for the past two or three decades is about to dry up. I hope they're prepared, but I doubt it.
Re:I'm on the Mall right now (Score:3, Insightful)
It is just the swearing in of another president....can't we just look at the digested version on the nights news?
Re:2 million people? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Historical Moment (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Historical Moment (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Historical Moment (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't worry though, the popularity of Barack Obama tattoos [cnn.com] clearly shows that all of this new found political interest is having a positive effect. I mean why give money to charity or spend your time helping your common man when you can "be a part of history" and indulge your desire to declare that you're with the in crowd?
I voted for Obama, I think he's the better man for the job, but this cult of personality has gotten people happy for all of the wrong reasons, and I honestly hope that in the next 4 years we judge the man on his actions, not on this, as you state, messiah image we have for him.
Re:I'm on the Mall right now (Score:1, Insightful)
Considering the fact that 90% of black people voted for him because he's black...yeah, progression of race relations. Bullshit.
Making a big deal of him being the first black president is still pointing out race which is the whole point in the first place...don't recognize race.
Recognize that he should be the right person for the job, and he's not!
Re:I'm on the Mall right now (Score:3, Insightful)
Somehow I doubt that it will be
Huh? Could a black guy have been elected in the 60s? No. Can a black guy be elected now? Yes. That, my friend, is a demonstrable improvement.
No, he'll fall on his face like every other president.
Probably... expectations are way to high for this guy.
Re:I'm on the Mall right now (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't, I think he got voted in in spite of his race, that it was more of a backlash or sentiment against Bush.
That may very well be, but it would have been completely impossible 40 years ago.
we were called racist if we even considered his race as a reason to vote or not vote for him
Well, it is.
Now it is ok to try to make this a big spectacle because of his race?
Yes, because you can disagree with a guy and still be happy that America has grown up enough to elect a minority to the Presidency. You shouldn't have voted for him "because he's black", but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be happy that a black man can be president. I don't see the conflict in logic.
Re:Historical Moment (Score:1, Insightful)
Clinton 2.0? Shit, I don't know if I can handle eight more years of Clintonian peace and prosperity. Nothing worse than a president with boring foreign policy and an uncreative interpretation of the Constitution.
Re:Historical Moment (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah he's not going to live up to the widespread expectations. I fully realize that these are going to be hard times whoever we have in the presidency and he can only make some course corrections at best in conjunction with congress. He is going to have to compromise his ideals to get things done and he'll fuck up a bunch of times. Maybe it is just business as usual and we're going to realize what idealistic naive losers we've been and never trust a politician again. The jaded contingent wheeling out the Jesus analogies isn't helping do much of anything besides return it to business as usual faster though.
Re:Historical Moment (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Historical Moment (Score:3, Insightful)
No kidding. I'd love a Clinton 2.0, even if that mean the Republicans are constantly making up shit and investigations that lead nowhere.
I find it funny that Republicans are trying to reduce expectations down to 'Clinton'. Cause, you know, most Democrats really didn't have a problem with Clinton. Heck, Hillary Clinton, an actual Clinton 2.0, would have won the primary if she'd planned better.
The right seems to think that everyone hated Clinton. No, that was just you guys, who constantly invented imaginary crime after crime, constantly spewing hate, and everyone else was just slightly annoyed by his philandering.
Although I'd rather Obama didn't 'triangulate' progressive issues out of existence like Clinton did. And I'd rather he keep his pants on.
Re:I'm on the Mall right now (Score:3, Insightful)
Good God, what is the big fucking deal with all the inauguration here? I mean, sure, it is important in that it is the orderly transition of power in the US, but, really people, why are some treating this as the second coming of Christ?
It is just the swearing in of another president....can't we just look at the digested version on the nights news?
Nah, my wife thinks it's the swearing in of the anti-Christ. Of course he has his followers and with the expanded powers that Bush allowed he has little to slow or stop him when he's in office. Honestly, I usually couldn't careless. I didn't hate bush, but I don't like this guy so much either. I didn't think Gore would have been an improvement over Bush at all. I'm just wanting people to shut the heck up about it already or start with decent jokes about the guy or how awful the guy is. I mean he isn't a real president until we can really bitch about him or make fun of him.
This guy has too many direct worshipers to make me happy. Bush or the religious right doesn't have anything on this guy. Heck, I know the religious right's supposed platform so I can't really fault them for supporting their stated beliefs. This guy's worshippers though I don't know much other than its a personality cult around a leader that they really love. I'm more disturbed by that than anything Bush did. This guy's going to be another JFK where he can do no wrong in the public's eye.
Actually, if articles about him didn't constantly pop up on slashdot, I wouldn't even bother to notice the guy. I didn't notice 70% of what Bush did until folks started bitching about it and even then it usually wasn't that bad or anything really that he could just fix.
I'll have to laugh if this guy gets hit with a Katrina or 9/11 near the end of the his term. Bush was considered pretty decent until those events. Heck, Katrina I hold more against the LA/NO governments than towards Bush. Bush tried the lets do something/anything response. (I kinda think half of what happened to the nation after 9/11 was the same.) I guess if all else fails he could just start the white house intern porn tube channel and be another democrat success story.
Re:I'm on the Mall right now (Score:3, Insightful)
Huh? Could a black guy have been elected in the 60s? No. Can a black guy be elected now? Yes. That, my friend, is a demonstrable improvement.
Um, I don't really count him as black though. Esp after a few of the percentages of how black he is got out. I count him as slightly tanned at most.
My big issue is all the look at us because we elected a black guy crap. I'm sorry, but we aren't any where we need to be if this guy or a woman of any color or background sparks this much news and most of the news is about the first person of this background look at how great and open we are BS.
We'd be there if he could win or lose without stating crap about race anywhere when running. This election has actually been more racially charged due to all the look at the black guy we are electing crap than anything else. If this guy could be elected and no one makes a single remark on his background because his race/church wasn't an issue than we'd be where ever there is supposed to be.
I don't think we really want to go there though. We want to make value judgments based on his culture, race, education, and church on if we are going to vote for him or not. This just says more of the obvious about us though.