State of the Union: Paper to Radio to TV to Social Media

As Americans prepare to hear the words of the President during the annual Sate of the Union address, they have more social media options than have ever been available. 

With regard to the President, Article II Section 3 of the United States Constitution states, "He shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." 

For over 100 years, the President has been delivering an annual message to the Congress in one form or another.  During the initial development of the US, the annual report was mostly done in written form that was presented to the Congress.  In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson started what has become a tradition of delivering the report as a speech to a joint session of Congress.  The purpose of the speech is to report on the condition of the nation and to present the President's strategy based on national priorities.

Applied to the theoretical framework we have discussed in class, we can see that the Obama administration continues to push forward with a vision of increased E-Governance.  Does this move support more of a Technological Determinism Theory or is the continued change socially driven?  Perhaps it's a bit of both.

Technology has developed and forced the elected officials of the US to develop entire social media strategies in order to facilitate their agendas.  A desire to interact and participate in daily activities via mobile devices has continued to grow in the last decade.  Successful officials have used print, radio, and television mediums to their advantage in the past.  As social media continues to intertwine with the daily lives of citizens, we can be assured that the most successful leaders of our government will leverage the additional sources of exposure.

For more information regarding the 9:00 pm EST State of Union address tonight, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/social

and read:
http://www.mankatofreepress.com/community-news-network/x714768836/Obama-expands-on-social-media-for-State-of-Union

Enjoy,
Jim