Obama Supporters on Twitter Should Know This
Obama supporters on Twitter should know this one thing… @POTUS Twitter Handle Will Be Transferred From Barack Obama to Donald Trump
Donald Trump’s election to US President means significant change is afoot for American politics and global affairs. But it’s what happens to the famous @POTUS Twitter handle that has many people talking.
Barack Obama was the first president to truly experience social media adoption. While social media was certainly around before 2008, it was nothing like it is today. This was also true for most of Obama’s second term in office. Social media penetration has expanded in profound ways, so much so that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton wouldn’t be doing their jobs had they failed to create Twitter handles and Facebook pages.
Obama and @Potus
Naturally, the @POTUS handle has become synonymous with Obama. After all, he owns it – that is, until January, when Mr. Trump moves into the White House. So, what’ll happen to all the tweets Obama sent over the years? According to The White House, they will be migrated to Obama’s new handle – @POTUS44. This gives President Trump exclusive rights to the @POTUS handle. While the exact details and timelines of the migration aren’t known, Obama will retain his nearly 12 million followers under the new archived account. Donald Trump certainly isn’t a slouch when it comes to social media. The President-elect has a whopping 15.1 million followers on his @realDonaldTrump handle. That’s nearly five million more than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
What Next For The White House on Twitter?
The White House says the Twitter migration is the same approach it uses for official Facebook and Instagram accounts. All posts from those accounts will migrate to new accounts for soon-to-be former President Obama. Trump will inherit those pages as well.
All posts, whether on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or any other social media channel, will be archived by the National Archives and Record Administration, which will retain maintain control over archived accounts, such as @POTUS44.
It’s staggering to think what will become of social media during the next presidential election cycle. In the information age, four years is an awfully long time. Whatever the case, social media is and will continue to be an extremely powerful campaign tool. It’s also a necessary means of communication for heads of state and other high-ranking politicians. So, if you were wondering what happens to @POTUS, now you know! It remains to be seen whether Trump will take his same tweeting style to the @POTUS account or whether his Twitter thumbs will be kept in check by the White House staff.
What will you do when the change happens? Tweet me @Charli_Says
