Technology We (Want to) Believe In

Update: The change.gov Web site was live again by late Thursday afternoon.

For a moment, the Obama transition team's new Web site change.gov -- which says it is "your source for the latest news, events, and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama administration" -- was up and running as promised. It looked like this:

No sooner had the site launched, however, it was down. Users trying to access the site got this message:

An inauspicious beginning to an administration hoping to use technology as a cornerstone to managing the government.

If you had a chance to get on the site, you would have learned that not only does it promise to provide the latest news, but also that "just as this historic campaign was, from the beginning, about you -- the transition process will offer you opportunities to participate in redefining our government."

The site asks the public to submit their stories and their "hopes and concerns." It also offered blogs and a video of Obama's victory speech in Chicago.

No news on why the site was down, but it could have something to do with overloaded servers. After all, Obama's victory has captured the world's attention .

Looks like we need some technology we can believe in -- the kind "Obama the campaign" relied on to build up a record campaign chest.

One last thing: Make sure you type in the site's URL correctly, unless you want to order something intimate for your wife or girlfriend. (This is reminiscent of the problem -- although not nearly as explicit -- that the White House faced with its URL years ago. The site whitehouse.com was a porn site, which undoubtedly surprised users who wanted the latest OMB circular.)