By using the hashtag #AskObama, Twitter users could ask any question about jobs, the economy, and other important issues with the possibility that it would be answered by the president himself. Questions that were retweeted by other users stood a greater chance of being answered by the president because Twitter Search algorithms identified the most engaged-with Tweets. The questions were read live to the President by Twitter’s Executive Chairman Jack Dorsey, and were retweeted by @townhall.

With the Open Government Initiative issued by President Obama when he came to office, he stated,

“My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.”

This first ever Twitter hosted Town Hall @ The White House is just the tip of the iceberg concerning the access that social media sites are going to be able to grant ordinary citizens into the federal government.

President Obama started off the Town Hall by making history as being the first American President to live tweet.

Questions that were answered include:

What mistakes have you made in handling this recession, and what would you have done differently?

We definitely need to get more vets into jobs. But when are we going to support the troops by cutting oil dependence?

Immigrant entrepreneurs can build companies and create jobs for US workers. Will you support a startup visa program?

Other questions covered a wide variety of  subjects such as the debt ceiling, promotion of alternative energy, American participation abroad, and collective bargaining rights.

A stab at President Obama made by Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner also made it through asking, “After embarking on a record spending binge that’s left us deeper in debt, where are the jobs?”

President Obama’s answer to this question as well as all others is summarized on @whitehouse. Learn more about the process that was used to choose which questions were answered at the official site for TownHall @ The White House.