President Obama is set to be the first sitting president to appear on Facebook Live, the social network’s interactive video show. He’s scheduled to appear live from the Facebook HQ in Palo Alto, California on Wednesday at 1:45 p.m. PT. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg will host the stream.
This is the biggest “get” so far for Facebook Live, an often low-tech production that takes questions from Facebook users. Often hosted by Randi Zuckerberg, guests have included former President G.W. Bush, Bill Gates and top celebs like Katy Perry and Vin Diesel.
Obama promoted the event with a short YouTube video. “I hope you’ll take a break from either friending or de-friending each other to RSVP at Facebook.com/WhiteHouse,” he said.
Live streams, outside of breaking news, rarely drive big audiences. But tomorrow’s event — timed when most people are at work — could draw a respectable crowd. Obama has nearly 20 million Facebook fans of his own, and tomorrow’s event has over 20,000 RSVPs. The live stream will also appear on WhiteHouse.gov, and after the event, Facebook will share the clip for later viewing (powered by Livestream).
As election season gets underway, candidates have already shown that they enjoy platforms where they can deliver their messages directly — without the filter of the press. It will be interesting to see the role Facebook Live plays leading into 2012.