Social Media: Obama Gets It

by Deb Ng

A hat tip to Wendy Piersall at Sparkplugging for tweeting this story.

I promise, this isn’t a political post.

One thing that impressed me about Barrack Obama is how he realized the importance of a web presence. He and his team embraced social media and used it with positive results. Obama had a presence on Twitter (with 130,000 followers, mind you) and other social networking sites. He knew it wasn’t enough to stump to the crowds in person, he had to do reach out to the online community as well. In fact, most of Obama’s campaign funding came from online donors, the result of an effective social media campaign. This tells me he’s in touch with the real world.

I learned today President-Elect Obama signed on two Web 2.0 savvy social media experts for his transition team. It’s refreshing to see he continues to get it. Having a web presence will allow Mr. Obama and his team to reach out to even more people. Not just during transition time but for his entire term in office.

I understand the President-Elect himself won’t be doing all of this community outreach, he’ll be very busy after all.   Knowing there are people on his team who will be reaching out to the online community makes me feel a little more secure. Not in a “national security” kind of way, but instead it shows me the future President and his team are in touch enough to know what is needed to succeed and communicate with the American public.

Having a web presence will allow the team to see what people are saying and what areas need fixing. The team can discuss issues and causes, answer questions and soothe fears – all in real time. It’s clear Mr. Obama is setting the bar for future political campaigns and this should be applauded. It’s not enough to be in touch part of the country, Obama found a way to reach us all.

Your turn: What are some of the ways you feel a President or person in office can use effectively use social media?

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5 responses
  1. Amy Block-Muzekari Avatar
    Amy Block-Muzekari

    I come from an extremely politically active family; my family hosted events at their homes this past election for our congressman (he won, too!). Several family members canvassed and volunteered for Obama.

    Obama’s campaign was definitely the most organized, well-run campaign I’ve seen in a long time- maybe ever. Reaching out to the younger set is SO important; they are the ones who will inherit the future (and, unfortunately, the debt and other problems which we now have).

    You are right in saying that he knows how to communicate with young America.

  2. T Avatar
    T

    Whatever one may think of the him and his ‘change’ message, he has changed the way political campaigns will be run. I can see it even now in my current civic election campaign, a very similar approach to reaching folks.

  3. Rebecca Avatar

    I heard that John McCain does not use email. I’m not sure if that’s true or not but at least Obama is up on 21st century technology or was smart enough to hire people who are…Many people utilize the internet and usey electronic gadgets such as: Apple IPod, Apple IPhone, MP3 Players, Cell mobile phones), digital cameras, etc…McCain missed the boat on this one. They were “too old school.” It’s ironic since his campaign was about change as well…

  4. Rebecca Avatar

    Oops! I forgot to delete the “y” on the word “use” when I was editing my comment…

  5. Andrea Avatar

    This site itself is a testament to how important the Internet and social networking have become. It’s certainly the way of the future. Every day I find new ways to promote my freelance business or make it better in some way using social media. Some, like McCain, don’t get it. Others, like Obama, embrace it and use it to their advantage. Those who ignore it will inevitably be left behind.

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