Barak Obama – Our First Social Media President

For anyone who experienced our 44th President’s inauguration through one or more of the social media networks, today was clearly the beginning of a new era in communication. Regardless of what anyone may think of his politics, Barak Obama commanded the internet masterfully prior to his election, both in the primary race and the general election. And with the revamping of the White House website, it appears that he is carrying that same command of modern media directly into the heart of his Presidency.

Today, with all the major news portals, including ABC, CNN, FOX and The New York Times, offering live streaming coverage of this historic event, more people than ever were able to witness President Obama take the oath of office…

as millions watched video streams on their home or office computers or delivered via the new UStream application on their iPhones.

CNN collaborated with the social networking giant Facebook to bring their users status updates from friends paired with the webcast…with the result being a remarkable feeling of being in a virtual living room watching along with your friends.

By 3:30 PM Eastern today, CNN.com had served more than 21.3 million live streams since 6 this morning…nearly quadrupling the number of live streams served on Election Day.

I kept up with the day’s events by watching CNN on cable TV from my home, while simultaneously keeping an eye out on several live streams available on my iPhone (via UStream), plus participating in a running conversation on Twitter, including viewing on-site photos snapped by folks who were there and who then uploaded their pics to Twitpic.com.

Participants in the Twitterverse shared their reactions to President Obama’s speech, passed around quotes, re-tweeted pithy comments and many were surprisingly candid about their overtly emotional reactions to what was taking place before them.

The era of Social Media is here…so don’t wait another second. Get involved. Set up a free Twitter account and follow prominent leaders in your industry. Also follow those outside your industry to broaden your perspective on business. And follow some “regular” people as well, to get an even better idea of what the “Twitterverse” is all about.

Sit back and observe for awhile, then jump in and offer advice, answer questions when you can. Be careful what you post, as your words will remain for all to see. Remember, it’s not about you or or your products or company. It’s about giving and service. Those who give will ultimately receive…

and our world will ultimately be a better place for it.

Tagged as: Barak Obama, Facebook, social marketing, social media, twitter