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# Social Media & Politics: You Asked, President Obama Answered
- URL: https://ivn.us/you-asked-barack-obama-answered/
- Published: 2012-05-25T00:00:37.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T19:25:04.000Z
- Author: Jane Susskind
- Tags: News

Since his 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama has successfully navigated the internet, turning social media into a central tool in his campaign strategy. His army of followers on popular sites like Facebook and Twitter energized his supporters, mobilizing the youth to get out the vote. He utilized [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/user/BarackObamadotcom?ref=ivn.us) by creating a personalized channel, making his campaign speeches publicly available to all audiences. His [Twitter](https://twitter.com/?ref=ivn.us#!/barackobama) page boasts 15,811,916 followers and counting. He even jumped on the latest trend, [Pinterest](http://pinterest.com/barackobama/?ref=ivn.us), and created a page featuring images of his family, the campaign trail, and even Obama-inspired recipes. His campaign has recognized the growing importance of social media in political campaigns and engaged with voters across a multitude of networks.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/02/g-cvr-110706-obama-twitter.jpg)](https://ivn.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/g-cvr-110706-obama-twitter.jpeg)

Today, living up to his title as social media king, Barack Obama participated in a chat on Twitter, responding directly to users asking about his ["To-Do" list for Congress](https://ivn.us/2012/05/08/obamas-to-do-list-for-congress-5-key-points/). The official twitter account of the White House asked:

> [#CongressToDoList](https://twitter.com/search/%2523CongressToDoList?ref=ivn.us)[#WHChat](https://twitter.com/search/%2523WHChat?ref=ivn.us)[twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…](http://t.co/SttdLCpk?ref=ivn.us)[May 24, 2012](https://twitter.com/whitehouse/status/205692068985712640?ref=ivn.us)

**Tweeting from the White House twitter account, Barack Obama answered seven questions, initialing each response with "-bo". Here are some of the highlights:**

> [May 24, 2012](https://twitter.com/whitehouse/status/205782197775507457?ref=ivn.us)

> [#whchat](https://twitter.com/search/%2523whchat?ref=ivn.us)[twitter.com/petesouza/stat…](http://t.co/rQOyuxL3?ref=ivn.us)[May 24, 2012](https://twitter.com/petesouza/status/205782909595029505?ref=ivn.us)

**Question: "What are we doing to curb, better yet avoid, dependency on oil? [~~#~~WHChat](https://twitter.com/?ref=ivn.us#!/search/%23WHChat)"**

> [asturtz](https://twitter.com/asturtz?ref=ivn.us)[May 24, 2012](https://twitter.com/whitehouse/status/205782902280159233?ref=ivn.us)

**Question: "[~~#~~WHChat](https://twitter.com/?ref=ivn.us#!/search/%23WHChat) What about mortgage re-finance options for homeowners trapped by underwater home prices?"**

> [Augustmuser](https://twitter.com/Augustmuser?ref=ivn.us)[#CongressToDoList](https://twitter.com/search/%2523CongressToDoList?ref=ivn.us)[May 24, 2012](https://twitter.com/whitehouse/status/205783251179147264?ref=ivn.us)

**Question: "What is the plan to make both sides see that a cooperative compromise is the best way forward on ALL of these to-dos? [~~#~~WHChat](https://twitter.com/?ref=ivn.us#!/search/%23WHChat)"**

> [mycroft16](https://twitter.com/mycroft16?ref=ivn.us)[May 24, 2012](https://twitter.com/whitehouse/status/205787114854547457?ref=ivn.us)

**Signing out, he tweeted:**

> [May 24, 2012](https://twitter.com/whitehouse/status/205787477921894401?ref=ivn.us)

With 165 days left until the general election, Barack Obama is utilizing all channels to connect with voters, but will it work again? What do you think? Is social media a good medium for engagement?