This article was published on January 20, 2012

The White House has officially joined Google+, will host Hangouts


The White House has officially joined Google+, will host Hangouts

The White House now has its own Google+ page and you can check it out here. The page was opened this morning, just under an hour ago and currently has been added to 1300 circles.

The page is opened up with a statement from the administration that explains what it will be posting on the site. This includes behind-the-scenes photos and videos, as well as Google Hangouts with staff. These will be posted on the page as well as broadcast on the White House YouTube channel and at WhiteHouse.gov.

Welcome to the White House on Google+! Here you’ll find news from the blog, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, plus chances to engage with administration officials. One feature we’re really excited about are Hangouts. On our Google+ page, we’ll host regular White House Hangouts with administration officials on topics ranging from the economy to technology. Some Google+ users will be invited to join the Hangout with the White House and have a conversation with policy experts. But the best part is that even if you’re not “in” the Hangout, you can watch the whole thing live on WhiteHouse.gov, on our Google+ page or on the White House YouTube channel.

The post also asks the readers of the page to leave a post with what they would like to see from the page in terms of content and the people that they would like to see in Hangouts. It has also used a clever Google+ gallery trick (which we’ve seen before) to present Congress in session to the right of its logo.

The US is following in the footsteps of other political leaders like UK Prime Minister and Conservative party leader David Cameron, Liberal Democrats leader and deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour party leader Ed Milliband who signed up for the service last September.

Yesterday, Google’s Larry Page announced that the service had some 90 million global users, with a ‘60% engagement rate’.

This is a developing story, please refresh for the latest information.

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