#elections2012

"Sometimes it's hard to remember who that person is at the podium—that [politicians] are real people. We had been to a couple campaign events that day. Here, President Obama was waiting to be introduced before going on stage at a campaign stop in Windham, N.H. As President, you spend a lot of time waiting for people to introduce you, so that's always the best time for photographers to be around him. He was talking to staff and Secret Service and seemed really at ease. I don't remember what he was laughing about—when I'm photographing, I don't really listen, I watch for a moment." 

When the White House launched its Pinterest account in early December, its Pinterest followers were invited to an offline holiday social in the White House. When the Pinners arrived, they were given a tour of the White House and invited to take photos -- and of course, live-blog! -- photos of the decorated Christmas tree. Pinners also had the opportunity to meet with a number of important White House figures, like Chief Floral Designer Laura Dowling and Macon Phillips, the Director of the Office of Digital Strategy. After completing a DIY project, they were encouraged to discuss what they would like to see from the White House in terms of social media interaction with Phillips.

According to the White House blog, this event was just one in a series of events designed to help increase interaction between the White House and its social media followers. Nothing like the possibility of a visit to the White House to inspire a Pinterest or Twitter follow - though with over 11,500 followers on Pinterest and over 3.4 million on Twitter, you'd better get in line...

Is it really any surprise that President Obama is being awarded the title of top social media person of 2012? After all, his "Four More Years" victory photo did become the most-retweeted post in history (http://huff.to/PX9j21). Indeed, according to Super Fans polled by SocialToaster, 90% of people most like to share photos - a fact which Obama's campaign managers must have had in mind when they chose to celebrate the victory on Twitter with a photo, rather than just an all-text post. For a president whose motto is "progress," staying at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and media is perfectly in line with his White House campaign.

And why not post it again - it is such an overwhelmingly heartwarming and spreadable image: