State of the Union Address Goes Web 2.0

CWmike writes "The White House will be tapping Web 2.0 technology to reach out to Americans during and after the president's State of the Union address tonight. While President Barack Obama makes his annual address starting at 9 p.m. ET, the official White House Web site will have a live stream of the speech, along with charts and statistics to provide context and emphasize key points. '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. Immediately after the State of the Union address, the White House will host an Open for Questions event on Twitter. Several senior administration officials will be fielding questions submitted on the White House Facebook page, the White House Webform, or via Twitter using the #sotu hashtag and responding to @whitehouse. And on Wednesday, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will take citizens' questions via Twitter before his post-State of the Union briefing. Anyone interested can 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. Eastern on Thursday, Obama will take questions live on YouTube."

"Web 2.0"? Really?

[karmac0ma]

Since when is video streaming a "Web 2.0" thing? That term seems to be tacked into everything web-related nowadays.

nothing here to see...move along

[slick7]

Actions speak louder than words. The actions taken by government for the last twenty years show the American people are not of interest.

Who cares what he says? It's all hypocrisy anyway.

[Bad Labrador]

Who cares what he says? It's all hypocrisy anyway. Obama is firmly in the pocket of the elite that run America. Forget the "hopey changy" stuff, it ain't going to happen. His job now is to smother the angry and dismayed progressives who elected him by controlling the internet.

Great improvement

[Frequency Domain]

The previous administration used the #stfu tag.

Re:"Web 2.0"? Really?

[VGPowerlord]

I think the 2.0 comes with taking comments and questions from Twitter and Youtube-- the bastions of reasonable discourse on the web.

I'd question whether those are really "Web 2.0" either. They're just web pages with comments on them. Basically a public forum that got really popular. :)

Which summarizes Web 2.0 extremely well.

Re:Early Copy

[spun]

This is what our political reporting has been reduced too. If you do not toe the line, you do not get access. Ask too many uncomfortable questions, and you will only be asking questions of local school board candidates. You can argue, within the bounds set by the Washington elite, but you must stick to the narrative. Argue whichever "side" you like, as the sides have been pre-chosen and approved by the powers that be. Just don't question the narrative itself, or again, you won't be reporting in Washington.

Re:Early Copy

[protektor]

You have to be joking. Given the way the Democrats have been attacking Republican Paul Ryan the last day or so? They are not civil, it's once again do as I say, not as I do. They have been saying he wants to get rid of Medicare and destroy Social Security and wants to see all the old people die on the streets. Which is a total lie. He has never said anything even close to that. No one has ever talked about getting rid of Medicare or Social Security. So much for being civil, and so much for no violent rhetoric. That is the real face of the Democratic party.

Re:Early Copy

[protektor]

Name calling to the Tea Party is your best to refute what they have to say and what the American public did on November 2? I feel really sorry for your political party which ever that is, since it is clear your not interested in actually discussing idea, but instead just want to resort to name calling. Way to promote open debate of American politics.

Slides, context

[MobyDisk]

I am glad to see this happening, but saddened that it is such a big deal. In the corporate world, no CFO gives a presentation without slides showing the information and references to back it up. In every board room, you have a projector, a conference call system, and attendees with laptops. Every statement is cited with specific numbers and backed-up with links and references.

But in politics, someone can hold a speech or a debate and there are no slides, no links, and no references. Two candidates in a debate can quote entirely different numbers for the same thing, and even change their numbers from speech to speech. It it is up to the listeners to find sources after the fact. It is really quite silly. If businessmen operated like political candidates they would be ousted after the first board meeting.

I always imagined that if I was up there I would say "The US imports XXX barrels of oil, according to Gartner research" and a slide would appear showing the number within context of other nations, and a link to the research report. I know that only .01% of people would actually look that up, but much like open source, not everyone has to do that. It's just all a part of promoting transparency and accuracy. If the other side wants to quote a different number, that's fine, then they can post their links as well.

Re:Early Copy

[spun]

I give you every opportunity to actually debate. I will not accord anyone respect they haven't earned. You do not get to act like a child, but get treated like an adult. If you have a position, put it out there and I will debate without name calling or rancor. Just don't think that you can act like an evil, spoiled child and then whine about it when others don't treat you with respect.

You want a debate? Bring it. State your position.