Better Late Than Never: Pres. Obama Joins Twitterverse
By Melony Roy
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS) -- President Obama has finally gotten his own Twitter account, complete with that little blue checkmark that indicates it's a "verified" account.
The president's first tweet from his new @POTUS (President Of The United States) account read, "Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account."
The White House says the new account will serve as a new way for the president "to engage directly with the American people, with tweets coming exclusively from him."
Previously, those looking for Pres. Obama on Twitter would have to turn to @WhiteHouse, the official account for the administration, or @BarackObama, an account run by Organizing for Action, the nonprofit group that evolved from Obama's presidential campaign.
When either of those accounts tweeted a message directly from the president, it would end with his signature, "-BO."
The new @POTUS account already has hundreds of thousands of followers. @POTUS is also following more than 50 other accounts, including the universities he attended, Chicago sports teams, and members of his administration as well as former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and first lady Michelle Obama.