Ticket to Ride

It's unclear whether it is merely an online sweepstakes aimed at post-campaign donations or a genuine attempt to collect more user-generated content from online sources about the hopes and dreams of Americans for the coming presidential inauguration, but Your Ticket to History from the Presidential Inaugural Committee appears to present a golden-ticket opportunity for ten lucky "supporters" to take part in what the site promises to be the "most open and accessible inauguration" ever.

Not all users of social media are satisfied with this pitch to inclusiveness. Some in the parenting blogosphere, such as this commentator on Babble, complain that the security ban on strollers and backpacks will exclude youngsters (and many of their parents) from the historic event, and veterans groups -- including the Tuskegee Airman -- are unhappy about the prohibition on wheelchairs.

Of course, the event in Washington D.C. is supposed to be a field day for texting and microblogging. Certainly the inauguration is being touted to market Twitter to the public, although perhaps less cynically than the Mumbai bombings were used to exploit the features of the service in delivering real-time updates to others about current events. Obama's team also has an official Twitter account at obamainaugural.

Others can follow the inauguration on the official Flickr page as the viewing stands are being built in front of the Capitol dome.

As the Detroit Free Press explains, those planning to attend one of the evening's galas can also check in with dressregistry.com to make sure that there won't be another woman there with the same ball gown.