Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The First Social Media President
Barack Obama became the US president today. An estimated 2 million+ people came to Washington DC to witness the historic inauguration.
But those who followed the DC event online are also a part of history. We are among the first to watch an inauguration while following the back channel chatter of millions of other viewers. As I watched video coverage on CNN online, I simultaneously followed the running commentary of friends on FaceBook.
Listening to professional commentators cover the event became less powerful or interesting than noting the comments of friends and family. Similarly, on Twitter, many tagged Tweets with #inaug09 to mark their thoughts as they watched the historical event.
What does all this back channel commenting mean? It means that, like always, people bond over events and interesting content. Major events give people something to talk about with each other. Thoughts that spring to mind leap instantly to screen, where they can be noticed, monitored, and tracked. In a way, this inauguration marks the dawning of the age of our first social media president.
Obama's team appears to have embraced social media. FDR was our first radio president. Truman was likely the first president to tentatively harness the power of TV. Clinton may have been our first internet-ready president. We already know that the nation's new president plans weekly online video addresses. His team launched the Barack Obama YouTube Channel. A Barack Obama FaceBook page. A Twitter presence. Within hours of his presidency, we also saw a blog spring up at WhiteHouse.gov. Old content at WhiteHouse.gov was not archived - it was demolished.
Open and accessible communication. It's one thing to have a blog, a YouTube Channel, a FaceBook Page, a Twitter presence. It's quite another to keep it thriving with fresh content. And it's yet another to listen to the many diverse voices that will be springing up with comments and criticism. How well will the new president and his team listen and respond to millions of voices that cry out on these new social media channels?
Perhaps the answer lies in the inaugural address. "What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them..." President Obama seems to have captured the imagination of his public with his ever-present theme of change. He acknowledges change. And it's not just the economic and political landscape that is experiencing radical change. Technology and communication styles are changing rapidly, as well.
How well will the new US president continue to embrace an open and accessible communication style? In what ways will the new administration use social media to listen and communicate with various constituencies throughout the world?
And how do you like following major events online? Were the FaceBook-powered updates on CNN helpful -- or distracting?
Barack Obama became the US president today. An estimated 2 million+ people came to Washington DC to witness the historic inauguration.
But those who followed the DC event online are also a part of history. We are among the first to watch an inauguration while following the back channel chatter of millions of other viewers. As I watched video coverage on CNN online, I simultaneously followed the running commentary of friends on FaceBook.
Listening to professional commentators cover the event became less powerful or interesting than noting the comments of friends and family. Similarly, on Twitter, many tagged Tweets with #inaug09 to mark their thoughts as they watched the historical event.
What does all this back channel commenting mean? It means that, like always, people bond over events and interesting content. Major events give people something to talk about with each other. Thoughts that spring to mind leap instantly to screen, where they can be noticed, monitored, and tracked. In a way, this inauguration marks the dawning of the age of our first social media president.
Obama's team appears to have embraced social media. FDR was our first radio president. Truman was likely the first president to tentatively harness the power of TV. Clinton may have been our first internet-ready president. We already know that the nation's new president plans weekly online video addresses. His team launched the Barack Obama YouTube Channel. A Barack Obama FaceBook page. A Twitter presence. Within hours of his presidency, we also saw a blog spring up at WhiteHouse.gov. Old content at WhiteHouse.gov was not archived - it was demolished.
Open and accessible communication. It's one thing to have a blog, a YouTube Channel, a FaceBook Page, a Twitter presence. It's quite another to keep it thriving with fresh content. And it's yet another to listen to the many diverse voices that will be springing up with comments and criticism. How well will the new president and his team listen and respond to millions of voices that cry out on these new social media channels?
Perhaps the answer lies in the inaugural address. "What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them..." President Obama seems to have captured the imagination of his public with his ever-present theme of change. He acknowledges change. And it's not just the economic and political landscape that is experiencing radical change. Technology and communication styles are changing rapidly, as well.
How well will the new US president continue to embrace an open and accessible communication style? In what ways will the new administration use social media to listen and communicate with various constituencies throughout the world?
And how do you like following major events online? Were the FaceBook-powered updates on CNN helpful -- or distracting?
Labels: Blogging, social media
¶ 1/20/2009 05:37:00 PM
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Excellent article!
And thank you for posting the CNN link on Facebook Tuesday. I did follow it there, and was touched to read friends comments.
Obama and Biden also had http://change.gov/, the "transition project", which I was very impressed with as far as the information it gave and the process the transition team was going through.
Thanks again, Laura!
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And thank you for posting the CNN link on Facebook Tuesday. I did follow it there, and was touched to read friends comments.
Obama and Biden also had http://change.gov/, the "transition project", which I was very impressed with as far as the information it gave and the process the transition team was going through.
Thanks again, Laura!
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