While the bells and whistles will be fun, for me what's most noteworthy about the broadband coverage is the unprecedented access and sheer convenience that broadband has introduced for so many people. This will be particularly noticeable today for office-workers who lack access to a TV. For them broadband means they won't miss any of these historic moments. That's pretty transformative, and powerful.

Ordinarily VideoNuze is focused on the disruption and opportunities that broadband video is creating throughout the media landscape. But what the broadband inauguration (and President-elect Obama's use of the medium during his campaign as well as his weekly YouTube addresses) also shows us is that at a far more important societal level, broadband may be the most powerful communication and engagement technology ever created. The new President's call for an "era of responsibility," will be greatly facilitated by broadband's unprecedented ability to connect him directly to the world.