Obama Takes State Of The Union Online
President Obama took his message to the internet last night, streaming the State of the Union address over the WhiteHouse.gov site. During the address Obama referenced Google and Facebook and the power of the United States technology industry.
“We’re putting the finishing touches on a new feature for WhiteHouse.gov that will offer an enhanced viewer experience for President Obama’s State of the Union address,” wrote Macon Phillips, the White House director of new media, in a blog post, Computer World stated. “This Enhanced SOTU feature is just one of many ways we are working to provide as much information as possible and answer your questions about the speech.”
The president also announced the launch of open access to where the government is spending money. Something no country in the world is doing, Obama said.
After the State of the Union address, the White House hosted an Open for Questions event on Twitter. Several senior administration officials fielded questions submitted on the White House Facebook page , the White House Webform, or via Twitter using the @sotu hashtag and responding to @whitehouse.
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will take citizens’ questions today -via Twitter – before his post-State of the Union briefing. Follow @PressSec on Twitter to find out when Gibbs will take questions and post video responses. To submit a question for him, respond to @PressSec using the hashtag #1Q.
At 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Obama will take questions live on YouTube. Questions may be submitted to YouTube.