Pew Internet released this report (pdf) just before the New Year which tells us that Americans who voted for Obama are expecting unprecedented levels of connection with his government:

Obama supporters who use email and social networking sites not only expect continued
communication with the administration through these channels, they also expect these
communications to occur with greater frequency than mail or telephone contacts.

• 37% of Obama voters who use social networking sites expect to receive updates from the administration on these sites. Most expect to receive these updates on either a weekly (12%) or monthly (11%) basis, while 14% expect them to occur less frequently.
• 34% of Obama voters who use email expect to hear from the new administration via email. One in ten (10%) expect to receive these email contacts on a weekly basis, and 9% expect to do so monthly.
• 38% of all Obama voters expect to hear from the administration via mail. Some 7% expect to receive mail from the new administration on a weekly basis and 12% expect to do so monthly, while 19% expect to be contacted by mail just a few times a year.
• 17% of all Obama voters expect to receive phone calls from the new administration at least occasionally. Just 2% expect to receive phone calls on a weekly basis, and most (10%) would prefer these communications to take place a few times a year.
• 11% of Obama voters who own cell phones and use text messaging expect to be contacted by text messaging, with most (6%) preferring that these text message contacts occur less than once a month.

That’s a awful lot of conversation and it will only be fruitful if Obama’s team and the government they inherit find new ways to pass authority and permission down the food chain. This is not potential, as we have with UK government. This is a reality which will be tested from this month onwards. Hat-tip.