In little over 12 hours after he officially made his Twitter entry, U.S. President Barack Obama’s account has attracted 1.5 million followers as on 9.50 a.m. IST, Tuesday.
The verified account of the President of the United States Barack Obama, @POTUS, will allow him to communicate officially for the first time.
He follows 65 people, surprisingly none of them are foreign leaders.
“Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account,” was Mr. Obama’s first message on the micro blogging site on Monday.
Four hours later he made his second tweet about his visit to New Jersey.
“In Camden today, seeing first-hand how smart policing is making the community safer while building trust,” he tweeted.
His third tweet, a response to a tweet by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, attracted quite a bit of attention.
“Welcome to @Twitter, @POTUS! One question: Does that username stay with the office? #askingforafriend,” the former U.S. President asked.
Mr. Obama responded soon, saying, “Good question, @billclinton. The handle comes with the house. Know anyone interested in @FLOTUS?”
So far Mr. Obama follows 65 accounts on twitter, which mostly involves members of his Cabinet, key White House officials, important departments and some of the popular sports teams from Chicago — his home town.
The @POTUS account will serve as a new way for President Obama to engage directly with the American people, with tweets coming exclusively from him, the White House said.
“Obama is committed to making his Administration the most open and participatory in history and @POTUS will give Americans a new venue to engage on the issues that matter most to them,” it said.
