A Romp in D.C.’s Playground

A century after William McKinley became the first U.S. president to use the then-new technology of motion pictures to record his inauguration, President William Jefferson Clinton marked the start of his second term with a high-tech salute to cyberspace.

In bone-chilling cold on the historic National Mall, more than a dozen leading technology companies--ranging from IBM and Time Warner to Iridium and Silicon Graphics, showcased new computer and telecommunications technology in a multimedia exhibit housed in a massive inflatable tent known as the Technology Playground.

The exhibit, produced by the Los Angeles-based communications firm Digital Evolution Inc., drew more than 4,000 people on opening day, Saturday--including Vice President Al Gore, U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and NBC talk show host Conan O’Brien.

The guests sampled cutting edge demonstrations of advanced medical technology, three-dimensional interactive video displays and computer-aided design, and used several dozen of the nearly 200 computers to surf inauguration sites on the Internet and send electronic messages to the White House.

“Our goal was to create a space where people, both in Washington and all over America, could participate in the inauguration festivities and preview future technologies,” said Craig Sutherland, communications director for the Presidential Inauguration Committee.

Though the Clinton administration has long championed development of a so-called information superhighway and counts the technology and entertainment industries among its strongest political supporters, Silicon Valley computer jockeys remain a bit out of place in a city where bureaucrats more often than not are intent on holding the line against change.

Many of the vendors said they welcomed the opportunity to reach out and show their wares to a non-industry audience. Still, Washington’s rank-and-file bureaucrats largely gave the exhibit the cold shoulder.

“There is definitely a clash between the private sector and the public sector over technology,” said Steve Ludsin, a New York bond investment advisor and Clinton administration supporter who has been urging the government to be more supportive of new technology.

“Technology means uncertainty and people in the public sector are uncomfortable with uncertainty and change . . . because change often means a loss of power,” Ludsin said.

Indeed, the Technology Playground, rather than reaching out to new converts in Washington, drew a crowd of out-of-towners and technically savvy parents and children who were, for the most part, extremely knowledgeable about technology.

“In some ways, I guess we are preaching to the choir, but I think people that come here get the opportunity to sample a wide variety of things from NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] and medical simulations to participating in the virtual communities here,” said Eric Pulier, president of Digital Evolution.

Gore echoed many of the same themes as he swept through the exhibit chatting and shaking hands with supporters and well-wishers.

“This is a great opportunity for people to be a part of what the future will look like,” Gore said.

His 15-minute swing through the Technology Playground proved to be a strategic roller coaster for vendors angling to milk some publicity from the event.

One of the managers of an exhibit put on by the online information service Yahoo held a company sign above his head as the vice president approached, hoping the flashing cameras would capture it.

Meanwhile, anxious IBM staffers were keeping their fingers crossed that Gore would fulfill an earlier promise to stop at their exhibit, which featured demonstrations of educational computer software. But he ultimately strolled right past.

Still, the event proved to be a big hit for such attendees as Joyce Allen Kendrick, a lieutenant commander in the Navy who helps oversee the service’s computer information systems.

Kendrick, with three children in tow, said the Technology Playground is a great way to impress upon children the growing importance of technology in education, medicine and society.

“There needs to be even greater focus on technology because this is the wave of the future; if you don’t have technology skills, your opportunities are going to be limited,” Kendrick said.

“The president is doing a great thing by having this exhibit,” she said.

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Jube Shiver Jr. covers telecommunications and technology from The Times’ Washington bureau. He can be reached via e-mail at Jube.S[email protected]