COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Obama Hosts Google Hangout, 'Enhanced' State of the Union

President Barack Obama has always been quick to adopt new technology, publicly coveting his Blackberry before becoming President and being the first president to announce his decision to run for re-election via his Twitter account. Now, Obama is taking to the new video-conferencing-service Google Hangouts via the administration's official Google+ page in order to interact with his constituents.

The Obama administration will be accepting questions for the live interview through the official YouTube channel, and the administration will be inviting some of the questioners to join the Hangout. The Obama and Google Hangout announcement comes just one day before the President is set to give a State of the Union speech.

The speech, which is scheduled for Jan. 24 at 9 p.m. (EST) will also be available for viewing on the White House website. While viewing the State of the Union speech on the website, viewers will be able to see an enhanced view of the address, including charts, statistics and data that will inform viewers about Obama's policy decision. The official White House YouTube channel posted a preview of the enhanced version of the State of the Union speech.

The video also mentions a panel discussion streamed live from the White House featuring senior administration officials and a live audience. People watching online will be able to ask questions via Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The White House will be accepting questions through January 28 on its YouTube channel. The Google Hangout will occur on Jan. 30 at 9 p.m. (EST).