Author Archives: Ramya Raghavan

YouTube creators interview President Obama following his final State of the Union

"We're going to have 21st century fireside chats where I'll speak directly to the American people in a way that I think will enhance democracy and strengthen our government." -Senator Barack Obama, November 15, 2007

Tomorrow evening, President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address to Congress, which will broadcast live on YouTube. Then, as he has every year after the speech, he’ll turn to YouTube and Google to take questions from Americans about the issues that matter to them.

This Friday, January 15, Destin SandlinIngrid Nilsen, and Adande Thorne—three popular YouTube creators—will travel to Washington, D.C. to host a live YouTube Interview with President Obama. They’ll join the President in the East Room of the White House, asking a selection of questions that are top of mind for them and their fans. You can watch the whole thing on the White House YouTube channel—and if you have a question for the President, suggest it by using the hashtag #YouTubeAsksObama on social media.

Announcing the YouTube Interview with President Obama

The interview will stream live on the White House YouTube channel on Friday, January 15 at 2:15 p.m. EST. And don’t forget to tune in on January 12 at 9 p.m. EST to watch the State of the Union address live, as well as the Republican response, live on YouTube.

Throughout his time in office, President Obama has used technology to open up the doors (all 412 of them) to the White House—from posting behind-the-scenes photos of life in the West Wing to uploading a weekly address on the most pressing topics facing the nation. We’re excited to have played a role in this process with our seven YouTube Interviews, tackling issues big and small, poignant and personal. We look forward to helping future presidents connect with Americans in compelling ways. 

YouTube creators interview President Obama following his final State of the Union

"We're going to have 21st century fireside chats where I'll speak directly to the American people in a way that I think will enhance democracy and strengthen our government." -Senator Barack Obama, November 15, 2007

Tomorrow evening, President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address to Congress, which will broadcast live on YouTube. Then, as he has every year after the speech, he’ll turn to YouTube and Google to take questions from Americans about the issues that matter to them.

This Friday, January 15, Destin SandlinIngrid Nilsen, and Adande Thorne—three popular YouTube creators—will travel to Washington, D.C. to host a live YouTube Interview with President Obama. They’ll join the President in the East Room of the White House, asking a selection of questions that are top of mind for them and their fans. You can watch the whole thing on the White House YouTube channel—and if you have a question for the President, suggest it by using the hashtag #YouTubeAsksObama on social media.

Announcing the YouTube Interview with President Obama

The interview will stream live on the White House YouTube channel on Friday, January 15 at 2:15 p.m. EST. And don’t forget to tune in on January 12 at 9 p.m. EST to watch the State of the Union address live, as well as the Republican response, live on YouTube.

Throughout his time in office, President Obama has used technology to open up the doors (all 412 of them) to the White House—from posting behind-the-scenes photos of life in the West Wing to uploading a weekly address on the most pressing topics facing the nation. We’re excited to have played a role in this process with our seven YouTube Interviews, tackling issues big and small, poignant and personal. We look forward to helping future presidents connect with Americans in compelling ways. 

YouTube creators interview President Obama following his final State of the Union

"We're going to have 21st century fireside chats where I'll speak directly to the American people in a way that I think will enhance democracy and strengthen our government." -Senator Barack Obama, November 15, 2007

Tomorrow evening, President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address to Congress, which will broadcast live on YouTube. Then, as he has every year after the speech, he’ll turn to YouTube and Google to take questions from Americans about the issues that matter to them.

This Friday, January 15, Destin SandlinIngrid Nilsen, and Adande Thorne—three popular YouTube creators—will travel to Washington, D.C. to host a live YouTube Interview with President Obama. They’ll join the President in the East Room of the White House, asking a selection of questions that are top of mind for them and their fans. You can watch the whole thing on the White House YouTube channel—and if you have a question for the President, suggest it by using the hashtag #YouTubeAsksObama on social media.

Announcing the YouTube Interview with President Obama

The interview will stream live on the White House YouTube channel on Friday, January 15 at 2:15 p.m. EST. And don’t forget to tune in on January 12 at 9 p.m. EST to watch the State of the Union address live, as well as the Republican response, live on YouTube.

Throughout his time in office, President Obama has used technology to open up the doors (all 412 of them) to the White House—from posting behind-the-scenes photos of life in the West Wing to uploading a weekly address on the most pressing topics facing the nation. We’re excited to have played a role in this process with our seven YouTube Interviews, tackling issues big and small, poignant and personal. We look forward to helping future presidents connect with Americans in compelling ways. 

YouTube creators interview President Obama following his final State of the Union

"We're going to have 21st century fireside chats where I'll speak directly to the American people in a way that I think will enhance democracy and strengthen our government." -Senator Barack Obama, November 15, 2007

Tomorrow evening, President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address to Congress, which will broadcast live on YouTube. Then, as he has every year after the speech, he’ll turn to YouTube and Google to take questions from Americans about the issues that matter to them.

This Friday, January 15, Destin SandlinIngrid Nilsen, and Adande Thorne—three popular YouTube creators—will travel to Washington, D.C. to host a live YouTube Interview with President Obama. They’ll join the President in the East Room of the White House, asking a selection of questions that are top of mind for them and their fans. You can watch the whole thing on the White House YouTube channel—and if you have a question for the President, suggest it by using the hashtag #YouTubeAsksObama on social media.

Announcing the YouTube Interview with President Obama

The interview will stream live on the White House YouTube channel on Friday, January 15 at 2:15 p.m. EST. And don’t forget to tune in on January 12 at 9 p.m. EST to watch the State of the Union address live, as well as the Republican response, live on YouTube.

Throughout his time in office, President Obama has used technology to open up the doors (all 412 of them) to the White House—from posting behind-the-scenes photos of life in the West Wing to uploading a weekly address on the most pressing topics facing the nation. We’re excited to have played a role in this process with our seven YouTube Interviews, tackling issues big and small, poignantand personal. We look forward to helping future presidents connect with Americans in compelling ways. 

Your Interview with President Obama

If you could hang out with President Obama, what would you ask him? Would your question be about jobs or unemployment? The threat of nuclear weapons? Immigration reform? Whatever your question is, submit it on YouTube for the opportunity to ask the President directly in a special interview over a Google+ Hangout from the White House.

On Monday, January 30, a few days after delivering his State of the Union address to the nation, President Obama will answer a selection of top-voted questions you’ve submitted in a live-streamed interview. Starting today through January 28, you can visit the White House YouTube channel to submit your video and text questions and vote on your favorites. Your YouTube questions will drive the interview, and several participants with top-voted questions will be selected to join the President in the Google+ Hangout to take part in the conversation live.

Ask President Obama
So take out your camera, check your hair and go to youtube.com/whitehouse to submit your question now. Need ideas? Visit youtube.com/whitehouse on Tuesday night at 9:00pm ET to watch the President’s State of the Union address live. The address will be followed by the Republican response on Speaker Boehner’s YouTube channel.

Video questions are preferred (though we also accept text) and should be about 20 seconds long. In the video description, be sure to tell us a little bit about yourself, like where you’re from.

Your Interview with President Obama will be streamed live at 5:30pm ET on on January 30 on youtube.com/whitehouse. You have until midnight ET on January 28 to submit your question and make your voice heard on the issues that matter to you.