Macon Phillips
Encyclopedia
Macon Phillips is the White House
Director of New Media
with oversight responsibility for Whitehouse.gov
. Phillips' efforts at Whitehouse.gov will be closely coordinated with internet operations at the Democratic National Committee
, which has responsibility for administration of the BarackObama.com domain and website. At precisely 12:00 p.m.ET during the Inauguration of Barack Obama
, Phillips oversaw the conversion of Whitehouse.gov
, the official website of the President of the United States. At 12:01 p.m., he posted the site's first blog
entry, titled: Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov.
in Huntsville, Alabama
and a sociology
graduate of Duke University
.
-based Blue State Digital
, a private web design firm that eventually became closely tied to the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign
for whom he worked for as an internet
strategist. Phillips had previously worked for Democratic
Florida State Senator
Rod Smith
as a senior strategist during the 2006 Florida gubernatorial election
. He had also worked for Ted Kennedy
.
Phillips was the Director of New Media for the Presidential transition of Barack Obama
and had oversight responsibility for Change.gov. In fact, he turned the website on the morning after the 2008 Barack Obama election victory speech
. Prior to that he was involved in BarackObama.com and directed the technological initiative to announce the selection of Joe Biden
as the Democratic
nominee to be Vice President of the United States
. Philips' new media efforts during the 2008 United States presidential election
helped raise vast sums of money for the Obama presidential campaign, while his text messaging
, online videos and social networking skills led the campaign in many organizational and informational ways. Blue State Digital created and managed Obama’s campaign site, which brought in a million Facebook
friends and about $500 million.
In early August 2009, Phillips was publicly criticized for asking members of the public—via a blogpost at whitehouse.gov—to forward "fishy" emails regarding healthcare reform, raising privacy concerns in the process. On August 17, 2009, the White House closed down flag@whitehouse.gov, the e-mail address created to receive those reports.
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
Director of New Media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
with oversight responsibility for Whitehouse.gov
Whitehouse.gov
Whitehouse.gov is the official website of the White House and is owned by the United States government. Launched in October 1994, it contains general American history information, as well as current news pertaining to the President, press briefings, proclamations, executive orders, and any speeches...
. Phillips' efforts at Whitehouse.gov will be closely coordinated with internet operations at the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
, which has responsibility for administration of the BarackObama.com domain and website. At precisely 12:00 p.m.ET during the Inauguration of Barack Obama
Inauguration of Barack Obama
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joe...
, Phillips oversaw the conversion of Whitehouse.gov
Whitehouse.gov
Whitehouse.gov is the official website of the White House and is owned by the United States government. Launched in October 1994, it contains general American history information, as well as current news pertaining to the President, press briefings, proclamations, executive orders, and any speeches...
, the official website of the President of the United States. At 12:01 p.m., he posted the site's first blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
entry, titled: Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov.
Early life and education
Phillips is a 1996 graduate of the Randolph SchoolRandolph School
Randolph School is an American independent private kindergarten-through-12th-grade college preparatory school chartered in 1959 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama. It started in an antebellum home on Randolph Street with just a few elementary classes...
in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
and a sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
graduate of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.
Political career
Phillips is a former director of strategy and communications for Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based Blue State Digital
Blue State Digital
Blue State Digital is a Washington, D.C.-based Internet strategy and technology firm. The company was founded in early 2004 by four former staffers of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign: Clay A. Johnson, Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Joe Rospars, and Ben Self...
, a private web design firm that eventually became closely tied to the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
for whom he worked for as an internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
strategist. Phillips had previously worked for Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Florida State Senator
Florida Senate
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Senate is composed of 40 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 470,032....
Rod Smith
Rod Smith (politician)
Rod Smith is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A Democrat, Smith was a member of the Florida Senate from Gainesville from 2001 until 2006. Smith ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida in the 2006 election but lost to Congressman Jim Davis...
as a senior strategist during the 2006 Florida gubernatorial election
Florida gubernatorial election, 2006
The 2006 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited, and could not run for re-election. Republican Charlie Crist, the state's Attorney General, won the election for Governor of Florida.-Democrats:...
. He had also worked for Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
.
Phillips was the Director of New Media for the Presidential transition of Barack Obama
Presidential transition of Barack Obama
The presidential transition of Barack Obama began when he won the United States presidential election on November 4, 2008, and became the President-Elect. He was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 15, 2008...
and had oversight responsibility for Change.gov. In fact, he turned the website on the morning after the 2008 Barack Obama election victory speech
Barack Obama election victory speech, 2008
Following his victory in the United States presidential election, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama gave his victory speech at Grant Park in his home city of Chicago, Illinois, on November 5, 2008, before an estimated crowd of 240,000...
. Prior to that he was involved in BarackObama.com and directed the technological initiative to announce the selection of Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
as the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee to be Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. Philips' new media efforts during the 2008 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
helped raise vast sums of money for the Obama presidential campaign, while his text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
, online videos and social networking skills led the campaign in many organizational and informational ways. Blue State Digital created and managed Obama’s campaign site, which brought in a million Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
friends and about $500 million.
In early August 2009, Phillips was publicly criticized for asking members of the public—via a blogpost at whitehouse.gov—to forward "fishy" emails regarding healthcare reform, raising privacy concerns in the process. On August 17, 2009, the White House closed down flag@whitehouse.gov, the e-mail address created to receive those reports.