Published on September 14, 2012

Obama’s Reddit session was so popular, he crashed the site. Oops.

During an election campaign, I usually notice which candidates are using media and technology in novel ways.  Think of Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1992, or Barack Obama dancing with Ellen in 2008.  This election cycle is no different.  Recently President Obama participated in a Reddit conversation, taking questions from participants in a session entitled “Ask Me Anything.”  The session was so popular that Reddit crashed from the volume of questions and requests.

A political candidate, no matter the political persuasion, depends on communication to convey a message and to win voters.  The proliferation of new communication media–from Twitter and blogs, to Reddit and Facebook–means that candidates have more ways to reach us.  They also have more ways to annoy us.  So let’s hope the candidates use their communication skills wisely and well!