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Though the 33.5 million viewers Obama drew last year is half the number Bill Clinton had 20 years earlier, the address remains a major TV event, topping both the Emmy Awards and World Series in viewership.

President Barack Obama is deploying just about every trendy social media tool to promote a century-old ritual -- the annual State of the Union address to Congress.

From a kickoff web video by his chief of staff to a presidential virtual road trip, the White House is mounting its largest digital drive of the year to heighten the impact of tomorrows event amid a declining television audience.

Though the 33.5 million viewers Obama drew last year is half the number Bill Clinton had 20 years earlier, the address remains a major TV event, topping both the Emmy Awards and World Series in viewership. Yet with his job-approval rating down 10 points from last year, Obama will also need the new media to engage his partys base, whose enthusiasm is vital if Democrats are to keep control of the Senate in the 2014 election.

There are a lot of reasons to dismiss the State of the Union, said Jon Favreau, Obamas former chief speechwriter. But aside from championship sporting events and a few awards shows, it is the one annual event that much of the country watches together.

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Rooted in a quill-and-parchment constitutional clause, the address functions as a high-tech organizing tool for the White House to engage past and present supporters.

The Internet loves moments, said Nicco Mele, a lecturer at Harvards Kennedy School of Government and former webmaster for Democrat Howard Deans 2004 presidential campaign. What is powerful about the State of the Union for the White House is it is a moment that they create and control.

The speech, usually about an hour long, is the biggest engagement of the year for the White Houses digital media operation, said its acting director, Nathaniel Lubin.

The campaign includes Google Hangouts and Facebook chats by cabinet members and senior administration officials, a flood of advance Twitter messages under the hashtag #InsideSOTU, and an enhanced web live stream of the speech with graphics and data amplifying Obamas themes. As part of the build-up, speechwriter Cody Keenan did a one-day takeover of the White Houses Instagram Account featuring photos of preparations.

Original post:
Obama Expands State of Union on Social Media as TV Fades