President Obama will be addressing the United States Congress with the State of the Union Address at 9 p.m. EST tonight. The president will report on the condition of the nation and outline his legislative agenda and national priorities.
Obama’s State of the Union Address is like no other. It will be the first address that is going social. Fellow Americans will have the chance to be more interactive than ever by utilizing social media.
Pause!! Let’s go back in time to the first State of the Union Address, presented by George Washington on January 8, 1790 in New York City. Back in 1790, NYC was the provisional U.S capitol, not Washington D.C. George Washington had to hand write seven pages of his address to be presented to Congress. The address was then discontinued in 1801 by Thomas Jefferson because he thought it to be too monarchical and was too similar to the Speech from the Throne presented in the United Kingdom. Instead of orally addressing the Congress, the address was written and submitted to Congress. In 1913 however, Woodrow Wilson re-established the oral address, and has been continued annually.
George Washington’s first State of the Union Address
Now lets jump back to 2010. The State of the Union Address is now reported live through a mixed media of outlets. It’s televised, streamed live on the internet, and even streamed on the iPhone!
Socially, Facebook and YouTube are key players in bringing together the interactions between the President and citizens of America. Facebook users can view a live stream of the address at the White House Fan Page, and participate in a live chat.
YouTube is streaming the address live, and also allowing users to post questions to President Obama at youtube.com/CitizenTube. Obama will answer some of these questions next week in his follow-up speech.
Mashable has made an excellent list of “where to watch online” to check out the best places to watch, listen and engage.
I will unfortunately not be near a TV or the internet, so I will be using my iPhone to stay updated with tonight’s address! Which media outlet will you be watching?