Websites show Obama: not all change is good

Barack Obama's incoming administration has taken the keys of the White House. This package includes the 'nuclear codes' and - of course - the keys to whitehouse.gov.

The speed (and planning) of the transition is underlined by the fact that the redesigned site has gone live within hours of Barack Obama being sworn in. However, not all change is good change.

I found out about the new site because I was searching to find out what George W Bush did in his last few hours of office. I was curious because Clinton's last hours (in my view) diminished his standing - such was the nature of those executive orders. So I searched on Google for Bush executive orders. And Google took me to whitehouse.gov. This is what I found.

So whilst the new site may in the future meet the challenge set out by new media director Macon Phillips, in the short term, the transition has actually reduced the transparency of the office. Not all change is good when the change is online.