2008 Election

The enormity of this year's presidential election did take me by surprise. I wasn't expecting myself to get so involved and emotional. I was a nerve wreck early Tuesday night; after Pennsylvania polls were in, I knew how it was going to end but couldn't handle the wait and went to bed. Wednesday morning was when it really hit me: history was made at so many levels; of course an African-American male being elected as US president was of enormous importance but as an immigrant, I couldn't help myself from grinning! I could honestly tell my kids now that with hard work, anything is possible. It was indeed victorious for the millions of immigrants in the U.S. as well.

Another exciting factor associated with this year's election is how Web 2.0 tools were used by Obama's campaign. It increased civic awareness among the 18-35 year olds who spend hours online. Both Facebook and  Twitter had several types of Election 2008 events/activities. I recently encountered two people who are doing research on this exact topic: 2008 election and Web 2.0. I am not sure how much 2.0 contributed towards Obama's win but it did play an important role. Finally people (pundits and naysayers) will start to give it some respect so to speak and look at social networking in a completely different way.