White House Joins MySpace (And More)

May 1, 2009

Social networking site MySpace unveiled a new White House community Friday that will allow users to connect directly with the Obama administration and stay informed about the priorities and activities of the U.S. government. The platform also lets members voice their thoughts and concerns directly to the White House by leaving comments and participating in discussion forums. The White House will be uploading new blog posts and videos regularly to populate its profile. Hundreds joined as "friends" of the White House within an hour of the announcement and the page was slow to load, potentially due to high traffic.

President Obama is the first president on MySpace and he has more than a million friends on his individual page. He also has almost 60 other official profiles -- one for each state and many constituencies, according to a MySpace press release. The Web site has been active in the political and policy sphere, most recently with a project that let citizens define potential issues for Obama's agenda before he took office. MySpace engaged in a number of campaign season activities including a content partnership with NBC News; a voter registration drive; and a series of events with MTV featuring presidential candidates. MySpace was also the official online partner for the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Update: Lest you think Obama is showing support for one platform over another, a White House blog post points out that his Web team has joined Facebook and Twitter too. And don't forget about Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube and iTunes. "Technology has profoundly impacted how - and where - we all consume information and communicate with one another. WhiteHouse.gov is an important part of the Administration's effort to use the internet to reach the public quickly and effectively - but it isn't the only place," the blog stated.

Juliana Gruenwald

Tech Writer

E-Mail: jgruenwald@nationaljournal.com.

Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.

Josh Smith

Tech Reporter

E-Mail: joshsmith@nationaljournal.com.

Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.

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