White House joins Google+

The White House continued to expand its social media presence Friday by joining Google+, and will take questions through the social network after Tuesday’s State of the Union Address.

“On the White House Google+ page, you’ll find news from the blog, behind the scenes photos and videos, plus chances to participate,” wrote Kori Schulman, deputy director of outreach for the White House Office of Digital Strategy. 

“We hope you’ll add your voice to the discussion and share the things you find interesting with people in your circles.”

The Obama administration has made a concerted effort to leverage social media platforms to communicate directly with the public, hosting numerous town halls and other meetings on sites including Facebook and Twitter. Google+ is the latest attempt by the search giant to compete in this increasingly crowded space.

Senior White House adviser David Plouffe posted a video explaining how the public can ask questions through Google+ and other social networks after the State of the Union. Schulman said the White House is particularly excited about Google+’s Hangout feature, which allows live video chats with up to 10 participants.

“On our Google+ page, we’ll host regular ‘White House Hangouts’ with administration officials on a range of issues and topics. Some Google+ users will be invited to join the Hangout with the White House and have a conversation with policy experts,” Schulman said.

“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.”

More than 6,000 users had added the White House to their circles or network on Google+ at the time of this post.