Photograph by reggestraat
Just hanging out with Obama
In another example of how social media is becoming a key tool for politicians the American President took to Google+ hangouts yesterday in order to tackle over 133,000 questions sent in from the public to answer.
Subjects such as the economy, foreign aid and drone strikes were all up for debate and five individuals were chosen to direct their questions live to Obama in the forum arranged by Google+.
The medium proved itself as not being a place to hide if you are answering tough questions. The economy was a hot topic as one woman complained about her husband being unemployed for three years despite being a skilled engineer. Obama expressed surprise at this and by coming involved with the woman personally showed that this sort of arena is not one where you can shrug away criticism or appear nonchalant.
When it comes to brands perhaps there is a lesson to be learnt that live interaction with your detractors will certainly court the medias attention but you better make sure you have all the answers ready for any tricky situations that could arise.