Thoughts and observations from last night’s State of the Union address from U.S. President Barack Obama

I watched the State of the Union last night online. As would be expected, whitehouse.gov was streaming it through their website… but they went one step beyond that in the realm of online engagement:

They set up a Facebook live app where Facebook users could log in and watch the live video. Then, beside the video was a live chat area where anyone watching could post their thoughts about the speech as it was happening! It was unfiltered and live; so you got a lot of interesting opinions back and forth [interestingly, there was a disclaimer on the page that read "all messages are subject to the presidential archive legislation!"]

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Reflect on this. What we’re seeing these days (and which this live event executed incredibly well) is pretty dramatic in terms of history: our experience of events is transforming due to social media.

Now even events that you’re not literally *at* are social events: you don’t just react to events anymore; you interact with them. For years people would just watch an event on tv or read about it; now we actually become a part of the event because we’re inserting our thoughts and reading other people’s thoughts on the event.

Concerts, conferences, speeches, and in particular worldwide news events are not just things you react to any more. Now you react, share your thoughts and read others’ thoughts. The dialogue and shared experience defines the event as much as the subject of the event itself.

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The limit of this was pushed even further when the actual State of the Union speech was over. Immediately after, four White House staffers went on camera responding directly to a selection of questions and comments that were posted on facebook during the speech or that came up on twitter related to the speech.

It’s not just watching an event any more… it’s engaging in the event. We’re a part of the event.

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P.S. The online audience was 1 million people!