People in the news

Macon Phillips

White House Director of New Media (since January 2009)

(Gerald Martineau/TWP)

Why He Matters

Phillips is responsible for translating Obama's promises of increased transparency and openness to the Internet. As the White House new media director, Phillips oversees the White House web site and its social-media outreach.

Phillips didn't major in computer science in college, but he joined a liberal web design firm shortly after he graduated. He worked with Blue State Digital on President Obama's 2008 presidential election web site, eventually impressing his higher-ups enough to get a full-time job on the campaign. "I've always been fascinated by technology and computers," Phillips wrote in an email to WhoRunsGov. "I think that blended with my background in community organizing to fuel my interest in what I'm doing now."

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Deputy director of new media, Barack Obama 's 2008 Presidential Campaign (May 2008 to Jan. 2009); Head of Strategy, Blue State Digital (2004 to 2008); Volunteer, Americorps, 2003
Birthday: 1978
Hometown: Huntsville, Ala.

Alma Mater: Duke University, B.A. (sociology), 2000
Spouse: Emily Price Phillips
Web site

Path to Power

Phillips was born in Huntsville, Ala., in 1978. His sister Susanna is a talented opera singer. "She got all the talent," he joked to the Huntsville Times. He graduated from high school in 1996 then attended Duke University, where he studied sociology.

After graduating, Phillips moved to Califonia. He said he developed an interest in politics in 2003 when he was volunteering for Americorps Vista's Dream Program in Vermont. He organized out-of-state trips for disadvantaged children.

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The Issues

Phillips sees himself first and foremost as a purveyor of transparency. The Internet, he said, is the tool he is using to "serve as a connector between the policymakers and the citizens that put them in office."

He was the chief architect of WhiteHouse.gov, the official presidential web site that provides news, photo slide-shows, videos, transcripts of speeches, policy briefings and opportunities for user participation. "There's a Web 2.0 philosophy behind it. It's being used for interactivity and transparency, it's not just pushing information onto the Web," Kelly Cutler, chief executive of Chicago's Marcel Media, a web development agency, told the Chicago Tribune.

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With its rise in profile, Obama's web operation has also attracted increased scrutiny. For example, ProPublica a non-profit journalism web site, launched ChangeTracker to monitor additions or deletions to the site. Some media advocates also worry that the Obama administration is trying to create its own brand of journalism that will stamp out alternate views and offer constituents an information network offering an unchallenged governmentpoint of view.

"It's troublesome until we know how it's going to be used and the degree to which it can be used on behalf of the people, and not on behalf of only one point of view," Bill Kovach, the chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, told the New York Times.

Challenges in the White House

Phillips and his team encountered some technological challenges early into their new term. For example, the White House does not support the technology to text message or send bulk emails about presidential initiatives. There are also rules preventing the collection of cell phone numbers, another tactic the Obama campaign employed. Phillips said his team is attempting things in "uncharted territory" and that it is bound to confront challenges. "It's an ongoing experiment," he said.

At a September 2009 conference, Phillips said he also struggles to balance his longterm vision with the day-to-day obligations of working at the White House. Phillips said that on the campaign trail, his team "spent a lot of time looking at broad opportunities." In the White House, "we're also beholden to the day to day communications operations of the white house. Balancing those activities for me is one of the biggest challenges."

Incorporating the Public

One of Phillips' greatest challenges is figuring out how to incorporate public input online. "Politics is about relationships," he told the Huntsville Times, his hometown paper. "No matter the tool, we were always trying to find ways to deepen our relationship with people."

However, Phillips is still struggling to find a balance that will meet security requirements while also allowing an exchange of ideas. Currently, WhiteHouse.gov does not allow comments on its blog posts. The site was also criticized when participants were initially allotted only 500 characters to submit an email on the stimulus package. That limit was eventually raised to 5,000 characters. Additionally, though Obama promised to allow a five-day open comment period before he signed bills into law, he broke that deal when he approved the renewal of the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Phillips also wants to make data useful to people inside the White House.

The Network

In the White House, Phillips joins a team that includes Online Programs Director Jesse Lee, Deputy Director of New Media Cammie Croft, Katie Jacobs Stanton, who who presided over direct citizen participation and now works for Twitter, and Kate Albright-Hanna on content lead.

He has worked in the past for the late and influential Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

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