By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor
Barack Obama is and was a technologically savvy president.
Recently appearing on the Snapchat political show “Good Luck America,” Peter Hamby had a series of interview segments with the president.
Talking about social media, Hamby said, “Obama really gets it.”
During the interview, Obama said how he wasn’t always up-to-date with technology.
“Look, when I ran for president in 2008, it wasn’t like I was up to speed on every aspect of what was then the really early stage of social media,” Obama said on Snapchat. “But I hired a bunch of 25 and 26 year-olds who were all into it.”
Hamby said, “Obama’s use of social media to talk directly to people was very strategic.”
“When I watch Sasha and Malia consume information, it is chopped up,” Obama said on Snapchat.
“Make sure that interest is peaked by something short,” Obama added. “Go to the links, read the articles, get informed.”
On Snapchat, which was prior to election day, Obama had a strong message for viewers.
“People, this is Barack Obama. If I can figure out how to Snapchat, you can figure out how to go vote,” Obama said as he recorded a front-facing Snapchat video.
According to the Washington Post, Obama’s presidency has set a standard for social media candidacies.
“However history judges Obama’s role in transforming the office, this first American presi- dent of the social media age has already established a standard for how politicians connect with a digitally savvy electorate,” Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post reporter wrote in an article published on May 16, 2016.
“Other chief executives did net- work TV; Obama is the streaming- video, Netflix president,” Eilperin added in her article.
In the same article, Nate Persily, a Stanford University law professor, addresses how Obama’s messaging goes directly to the people.
“With the new platforms, not only can President Obama speak
directly to ‘the people,’” Persily said in the article. “But he can also target particular messages to audiences that ordinarily would not be paying attention.”
The White House reaches Americans and the world through three Twitter accounts, four Facebook accounts, a Google Plus account, Instagram and two Tumblr accounts.
Obama’s success with social media can be attributed the world making technological strides since he came into office in 2008.
“These changes are simply part of the new reality of having come to power during the digital and social media revolution,” Persily wrote in his article, attributing White House officials.
When Obama leaves the White House in January 2017, he leaves behind the legacy with the first of many things as president. He was the first African-American president and he was the first president to utilize social media.