Reader poll: Will Obama be good for the tech industry?

January 18, 2009 | Dean Takahashi | Comments | |

The inauguration is just around the corner and the Obama administration is taking shape. With many key nominations for cabinet posts already made, the question is whether this administration is going to be good for the technology industry. Obama still hasn’t named his choice for chief technology officer, but rumors suggest he has narrowed his list of candidates. Please vote and share your opinion in the comment section below.


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About the Author, Dean Takahashi

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Peter Verkooijen
    Why do people in the tech/web sector assume Obama is one of them? He has never been an entrepreneur, run a business or even been in the business world. The only jobs Obama has had were at law firms, in academia, on a board handing out grant money to political allies and eventually in politics. He did not develop his innovative campaign machine either.

    Obama is basically anti-business. He's made that very clear on numerous occassions. He envisions "only government" running society and creating jobs. Obama talks about "shovel-ready" projects, roads and bridges, back to the 1930s. Billions are already earmarked for interests like ACORN that will strenghten Obama's hold over society.
  • Obama at least has brought exposure to new technologies : Internet, Youtube, BlackBerry.
    A radical change in command.
  • At least he can form coherent sentences, unlike (sometimes) our last president. As for the first commenter, yes, he's correct unfortunately. The way businesses are run these days for the most part, I almost agree with him.
  • Chris
    Obama can only help the tech industry if he remains hands off.

    The creation of a CTO bureaucratic position means he's off to a bad start.
  • Peter Antypas
    The question should be "which technology sectors will benefit from the Obama administration". It looks like cleantech will see a boost, I just hope it's not a repeat of the misguided Carter-era effort. Also, I wouldn't be so quick to judge him as "anti-business". After all, this label has been applied to everyone who doesn't buy into the now bankrupt Gospel of Wealth. If your idea of "business" is robber baron capitalism, then I'm "anti-business" too.

    The bottom line is this: The foundation of our economy is no longer capable of sustaining our growth, but nobody likes to talk about that in Washington. They would much rather leave it to Wall Street to propel our economy forward via gigantic Ponzi schemes, artificially inflated home values and borrowed Chinese money. This country hasn't created any real wealth in two decades.

    We need major infrastructural re-invention and re-engineering if we are to remain relevant in what Friedman calls the "Energy-Climate Era". At least Obama gets that. No other presidential candidate (Democrat or Republican) dared to mention it.

    And, for the record, I did not vote for him. I wasn't impressed with either candidate. I abstained. I can at least recognize that his vision is in the right place, but I'm not convinced that he will be able to execute. I guess we'll wait and see.