This is What’s Trending Today...
The White House is officially on Snapchat. The announcement came ahead of President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Followers of the White House Snapchat will get a behind-the-scenes look at the final preparations before Obama’s speech. The White House is also streaming the State of the Union on YouTube and, for the first time, on the Amazon website.
The White House said in a blog post that the Snapchat account adds to its social media presence. The blog said it was part of the administration’s strategy of "meeting people where they are" and providing Americans with a "multitude of ways to engage with their government."
Snapchat has 100 million daily users.
Snapchat also has an official #SOTU -- or "State of the Union" -- live story. Fellow politicians have tweeted about taking part in the live story:
Just made a #SOTU snap. Safe to say this is a first for me. Follow “WhiteHouse” on @Snapchat to give it a watch. pic.twitter.com/GoIhXMvDqE
— VP Biden (Archived) (@VP44) January 12, 2016
The White House account’s first Snapchat was a photo of the Oval Office:
Missed our first snap? Add "WhiteHouse" on @Snapchat for a behind-the-scenes look at @POTUS's final #SOTU. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xt1GcPuAe8
— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) January 11, 2016
Over on Twitter, where the hashtag #SOTU trended worldwide ahead of the speech, one user hinted that the White House pets have already made an appearance on Snapchat:
Sunny and Bo were just on the White House snapchat and I've never been so happy
— monster mASH🕸 (@erlashh) January 12, 2016
Snapchat is a mobile application that permits users to receive photos and videos that disappear after they are viewed. However, the White House’s Snapchats cannot legally disappear. Government rules require presidential administrationsto keep official records.
That means all White House snaps will be preserved for history.
And that’s What’s Trending Today.
I’m Ashley Thompson.
Words in This Story
ahead - adj. in or toward the front; before
behind-the-scenes - adj. working or happening privately, without being seen by the general public
stream - v. to transmit video and audio material over the Internet
multitude - n. a large number
hinted - v. suggested
pets - n. animals keep around the house for fun or pleasure
engage - v. to win and keep the attention of someone or something
preserved - v. saved; protected
