#SOTU: State Of The (Social) Union
 By: Bethany White
I watched the address last night the same way many American’s did - tuned to YouTube with phone in hand, writing a few of the 1.7 million tweets that went out from beginning to end of the speech. The 2014 address may not have been the most viewed State Of The Union in our nation’s history, but it was definitely the most interactive.
This all got me thinking about the evolution of the annual message from America’s first address in 1790 to the hashtag-athon, Instagrammed, Vined, and undoubtedly Snapchatted (what was Mr. Biden up to back there?) experience we shared in 2014. I say that we shared the experience, because while I wasn’t watching the address in person or even watching the address in the same room or state as the people I was connecting with, we were able to communicate with each other. We were able to come together as a nation and have a conversation.
From it’s humble beginnings with George Washington, the annual message has been a change-maker, a declaration of presidential intention that guides the country throughout the year. These speeches have been delivered in years of prosperity and in years of great depression and have heralded some of the most important moments in our nation’s history.
These messages were not always so easily accessible to the citizens. In fact, for over 100 years, the message was not spoken at all, but rather, written to the Congress each year. It wasn’t until 1923 that the first address was broadcast by radio. The television debut was in 1947 to an audience to only the couple of thousand households with TVs. The addresses continued to be televised, eventually moving to prime time spots, and in 2002, George W. Bush gave the first ever State Of The Union Address to be streamed live online.
That was only 12 years ago and the progression of technology has dramatically changed the way our culture interacts with each other and our government. We’re not just listening or watching anymore - we’re engaging. Social media has given us, the audience, a powerful voice that we use across social platforms to reach across social and cultural barriers we never imagined crossing. This open dialogue, while not always friendly, does bring us together to hash out our differences and commiserate about the struggles we’re facing.
There are many reactions to President Obama’s State Of The Union address and I realize that our nation is pretty divided these days but the big picture I saw last night was that we, as Americans, had the opportunity to have a conversation about the direction of our country. We all got to talk and hopefully we listened to each other too.
So next time you want to contact your congressperson, don’t write them a letter. Send them a tweet. Or hangout with them on Google. Or send a message on Facebook.    Â

















