Hope and Fail

Obama: I’ve never used Twitter

President Obama, who was hailed for his use of technology and social media during the 2008 campaign, told Chinese students that he’s “never used Twitter.”

His remark came after a question about firewalls and whether the Chinese should be able to use Twitter freely. Here’s what he said:

Well, first of all, let me say that I have never used Twitter. I noticed that young people — they’re very busy with all these electronics. My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone. But I am a big believer in technology and I’m a big believer in openness when it comes to the flow of information.

Someone should alert Twitter, which lists the @barackobama as a verified account with millions of followers.

Deceiver.com points out that many of the tweets sent out by whoever is running @barackobama are written to sound as if they came from the president, using the words “I” and “me” frequently.

TechCrunch voices the disappointment that many Obamaites must be feeling right now:

This is interesting considering the Internet, and social media in particular, was considered a large part of his ascension to the Presidency. Obviously, he had a killer team around him that was able to embrace the web without the then-Senator getting too much involved. Still, it’s somewhat surprising that he never sent any of his own tweets during the primaries. And undoubtedly part of us wants to believe that when you see tweets like “This is history,” which was sent on November 7 — or “Humbled” after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, that’s it could the President really sending it. Nope.

And clumsy thumbs for the man who couldn’t be pulled away from his BlackBerry? The LA Times draws an interesting comparison:

But we should point out that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Obama’s opponent in the election, has somehow managed to write cohesive sentences on his Twitter page here using his war-mangled fingers — well, either that or a staffer relays his tweets for him.

Ahh! We don’t know anymore!

Now knowing that the tweets don’t actually come from Obama himself, followers have expressed disappointment. “I have never used” was a trending topic on Twitter this morning (meaning many people tweeted messages with the phrase) as users reacted to the news.