According to the transcript, President Obama said, "None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be, or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn’t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do – what America does better than anyone – is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make a living."
The buzz on social media, especially Twitter & Facebook, is gravitating toward the subject of economy and technology, which isn't a surprise. In a poll prior to the address on the U.S. Politics Facebook Page, when asked, "What is the most important theme for President Barack Obama to address during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday?" some 78% of the respondents said the “economy.”
But what caught fire on Twitter was President Obama's quote and reference to the Soviets beating America to space with the Sputnik, which became a trending topic. Obama said, "Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik¸ we had no idea how we’d beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs."
"This is our generation’s Sputnik moment," he said. This quote was referenced in thousands of tweets.
Last year's address was watched by 1.3 million people live on WhiteHouse.gov's website, and it's very likely that even more people will have watched the address live online.