President Barack Obama has a Follow Friday suggestion for all you Twitter users out there: environmental/bird appreciation group The Audubon Society.
#FF: @audubonsociety— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 31, 2013
What's up with this #FF? It's a playful response to a recent slideshow from satirical news outlet The Onion, "19 Tweets From The Audubon Society/Barack Obama Twitter Feud" (warning: language).
OK, the @BarackObama account isn't really the president anymore. Rather, it's controlled by Organizing for Action (OFA), a grassroots organization set up to support Obama's legislative goals. While that sounds like semantics, it's actually an important distinction for a couple of reasons.
During last year's elections, @BarackObama was considered a "campaign account" -- it wasn't (and still isn't) used for communicating official White House policy, and only tweets signed "-BO" are from the president himself. The Obama administration argues that OFA/White House firewall is still in place, explaining the difference in messaging and tone between @BarackObama and @WhiteHouse.
Second, official presidential tweets must be archived under the Presidential Records Act, which was passed following the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Tweets from @BarackObama that aren't signed "-BO" don't count. Mashable explained this in more detail when Michelle Obama opened a second Twitter account.
So, a hat tip to whoever at OFA thought it would be funny to get in on The Onion's joke -- but it's important to remember that OFA, not Obama, is at the helm of @BarackObama.
Funny tweet or does it fall flat? Share your thoughts in the comments.