Silicon Valley welcomes Obama

Many believe that his understanding and use of social networking tools to reach voters gave him a distinct advantage over other candidates.

He is well known as a fan of technology. He is an avid Blackberry user, the first president to air his weekly address via video websites and the first to have an official portrait taken with a digital camera.

So Silicon Valley leaders hope that the arrival of President Obama in the White House will mean a new enthusiasm for tech on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Eric Schmidt, boss of Google said: "During the Bush presidency there was not a lot of focus on technology.
"It was not an administration that particularly focused on science, science policy, and investment in research and development. They focused on other issues.

"We've got a new president now, who has got a completely different agenda."

He said the change would have "a big impact globally on America".

Open network

There's no doubt that President obama 2008 has a long hi-tech 'To Do' list. It was published on his campaign website and top of the list was net neutrality.

He is against allowing broadband suppliers to prioritise network traffic and charging a fee to websites and services for doing so because, as he said: "Once providers start to privilege some applications or websites over others then smaller voices get squeezed out and we all lose".

He said: "The internet is perhaps the most open network in history and we have to keep it that way."

With competition among ISPs almost non-existent in the US, broadband speeds and penetration are other issues the new President will have to look at.

As he put it: "It is unacceptable that the US ranks 15th in the world for broadband adoption.

"Here in the country that invented the internet, every child should get the chance to go online."

He will also be the first US president to have a chief technology officer staff who will oversee a massive effort to make government more transparent via the internet.

But that is just the beginning as far as Silicon Valley is concerned.