My wife was delighted to see that her Facebook postings were being followed last month by US candidate Barack Obama.

A remarkable contributor to his election as president was the use of internet media to make contact with millions of potential workers, donors, and voters.

Early on, social media helped propel this virtual unknown into a solid lead over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination contest. A MySpace page, posted by people who weren't even officially connected to his campaign, gained 160,000 signatures in no time.

There's a message or two here, for those of us who work in people-related jobs.

Cyberspace Is Friendly

We used to fear that the cyber revolution would reduce human contact.

In the election, it helped millions of American voters to connect with the political process and build on their dreams.

In the family, webcams allow relatives separated by thousands of miles to see each other.

At the office, instant messaging lets my technical team communicate instantly with each other, even when we're in different locations.

Everywhere, email is so much more convenient than snail mail that we all connect more frequently.

Human Services Professionals Are Savvy

A new group of internet users is arising.

We used to think that people who work in human services are computer-shy, internet-averse, and Luddite-friendly.

Today many have a high level of web awareness, and they are changing the world of work.

"Cloud" Computing Comes Down To Earth

The "cloud" is a new metaphor for a host of services brought to us by the internet.

We can use social media, office applications, backups, you name it, without having to buy, install, maintain, or upgrade software.

The "cloud" is highly democratic. We don't have to understand the underlying technology to use its capabilities.

And it encourages us to experiment with opportunities never considered before.

For example, say you want to try out 360-degree feedback in your organization without the obligation of purchasing a program. You could ask my company to do a beta test in the "cloud". No technological sophistication required.

Or, say you want to know what Barack Obama is thinking about. You'd go to Facebook to check him out.

Or, say he wanted to know what you were thinking....