Online technology will offer public unprecedented access to DNC
By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 6, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Barry Gutierrez © The Rocky
Qwest technicians work inside the DNCC server room at the Pepsi Center this week.
Online audiences will be able to see more of the Democratic National Convention this year than ever before, including high-definition video, text of speeches, speaker bios and Spanish translation - all available within minutes.
The convention Web site, www.demconvention.com, will include the evening programs at the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field at Mile High, as well as events such as delegation meetings during the day at the Colorado Convention Center.
"We'll be the place to go to really catch the convention gavel to gavel," said Aaron Myers, director of online communications for the DNCC.
The features will be posted using Microsoft's Silverlight technology, Myers said.
Jenny Backus, a senior adviser to presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, said the Web site will allow the campaign to get the unfiltered message of the convention to the world.
"We want to bring new people in using every trick in the book," she said.
The online programming is one of a series of technological advances planned for this year's convention.
DNCC officials gave much of the credit to a committee made up of representatves from Fortune 500 companies, the city of Denver and state of Colorado.
The group of 15, called the DNCC's Tech Advisory Council, began meeting in January.
The companies represented - many of them competitors - include Google, Qwest, Microsoft and Level 3.
One of the group's projects was improving the system delgates will use to cast ballots during the convention.
The new system is "slicker" and "more stable" than what has been used previously, said Brook Colangelo, DNCC director of technology.
burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343
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