Join in the Social Media Inauguration

Steve Mullen — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:24:30 +0000

The Inauguration of President Barack Obama coming up on January 20 will be the dawn of the first Social Media Presidency. Obviously, President George Bush’s administration has been in power during the social media era, but his last inauguration was before much of the social media and social networking craze got off the ground. Additionally, his was not an administration that took advantage of the opportunities available. If the Obama Presidential Campaign was any indication, you can be sure that the Obama Administration will take full advantage of those opportunities.

Because of the Obama ties to the social media world, and because of the excitement surrounding his inauguration, there will be plenty of ways to interface with others online if you’re not able to attend the actual event in D.C. Here are just a few:

Facebook: According to MediaWeek, Facebook and CNN are teaming up for the Inauguration. Users will be able to watch the live video feed of the event on CNN, and make comments in a form that will show up on the Facebook profile. You can expect plenty of amateur photos from the event to make their way to this site as well.

Twitter: There are too many ways to use Twitter during the inauguration to list all of them here. One suggestion: Join the official Inauguration Committee Twitter Group. Also, you can tag your Tweets about the inauguration with “#dctrip09″ (info leading up to the event) or “#inaug09″ (info on the day of the event). I also saw information on at least one Tweetup in the D.C. suburb of Arlington. Rest assured, the Twittersphere will be completely buzzing during the event. My concern is whether the site will actually survive the traffic.

YouTube: The Inaugural Committee’s YouTube page already has plenty of behind-the-scenes footage available about inauguration prep. If you join the group, you can upload your own videos from the scene. You can view those videos without joining.

Flickr: The Inaugural Committee will be updating its photo stream throughout the big day. You can expect plenty of amateur photos of the event to make their way to this site as well.

There are plenty more, including various ways to receive text messages about or from the event. Enjoy yourself … and happy Tweeting!

Poll: Next Prez Should Use Social Media

Steve Mullen — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:09:15 +0000

During his campaign for U.S. president, Barack Obama made more and better use of social media and phone texting technology than any previous candidate, and according to a new poll released by Pew Internet, many voters want that trend to continue when he takes office.

Some highlights from the survey:

Among Obama voters who were engaged online during the campaign, 25% expect to support the administration’s agenda by reaching out to others online
Fully 51% of online Obama supporters expect some kind of ongoing communication from the new administration
34% of Obama-supporting email users expect email communication
37% of social network site users expect SNS updates
11% of phone texters expect to receive text messages from the new administration.

It only makes sense for the next administration to take full advantage of not only the texting technologies available and referenced heavily in the survey, but also social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Presidents throughout history have tried to get their message to mass numbers without having to put it through the filter of the media, and now that wish is being made possible.

A hat tip to Podcasting News for its report on this survey.

EndGame Public Relations, LLC » obama administration

Join in the Social Media Inauguration

Poll: Next Prez Should Use Social Media