150 Tweeps briefed by top aides and residence staff before going on holiday tour...Videos of speakers...It was an exciting day at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the 150 citizens attending Monday's first-ever White House Holiday Tweetup. In a mixture of policy and seasonal fun, the specially selected visitors, all followers of the @WhiteHouse Twitter account, mingled with top Administration officials as well as Residence staff. During a morning briefing, they heard from First Lady Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff, Tina Tchen, and Aneesh Chopra, the first federal Chief Technology Officer, and from Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses and chief florist Laura Dowling. (Above: Yosses and Dowling speaking during the Tweetup)
Armed with their personal communication devices, the Tweetup gang sent--or attempted to send--tweets and photos detailing their holiday outing in the halls of power. It was, according to attendee @Tiffany, "basically nerds w/phones tripping over each other."
"I haven't baked at home in the last three months," Yosses joked from the stage of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, as he described his crushing holiday pastry schedule, and his creation of the 400-pound White House Gingerbread House. Pie, he said, is President Obama's favorite dessert. Six kinds were served for the First Family's Thanksgiving feast.
Dowling described the many flowers and Christmas trees filling the White House, and included details of a "Floral Face-Off" among volunteers competing to make the best holiday arrangement. She also advised the visitors to look for statues of First Dog Bo during their afternoon decor tour; he is featured in almost every room in the residence. This year's theme is "Shine, Give, Share."
Engaging and marketing...The guests came from twenty states and DC, @allierose tweeted. They were "educators, social media, technologists, avg citizens," tweeted @StateOfTrey. The visit, orchestrated by the Office of Public Engagement, gave the group an inside look at White House efforts to interact with citizens. Tchen covered Mrs. Obama's Let's Move! campaign as well as the Kitchen Garden, and discussed the importance of citizens interacting with the government. (Above: A Twitter photo of Tchen during her remarks)
Or as @kedunford tweeted, "Tina Tchen talked about shining forth the glitter of the season, sharing it with others & giving back to the comm."
"The biggest surprise of the #whtweetup was the resonance of citizen engagement. Staff of the most powerful man on earth asking us for help," tweeted @marctomik.
Jon Carson, Director of the Office of Public Engagement, tweeted his own observation about efforts at connecting with citizens: "The government is not the best at marketing, but we're getting better!"
The group also heard from Brad Cooper, a former US Navy officer who is now Executive Director of the Joining Forces campaign, as well as Director of Digital Strategy Macon Phillips and his deputy, Kori Schulman, who both chaperoned the group.
Presidential M&Ms but no WiFi...Guests were gifted with the very coveted boxes of Presidential M&Ms. The red, white and blue candy is presented in a blue and white box, adorned with the Presidential seal and Mr. Obama's autograph, and got plenty of notice in the many tweets coming out of the White House. (Above: A photo of the candy, tweeted by an enthusiast)
But what the guests didn't have was access to WiFi, which was a source of consternation and surprise. Yes, it's true: The White House has no public WiFi. And cell phone reception, depending on where you are on the 18-acre campus, is often very poor, especially when inside the mansion.
"At the #whtweetup. And they have NO WIFI. For a Tweet Up. And in a room with ONE bar. #fail," wrote @KORtizzle (sic).
"Waiting in line for holiday decoration tour. Feel guilty for not tweeting as much as i can during #whtweetup but it was WH's fault: no wifi," wrote @NewsCat_in_DC (sic).
All the same, the tech issues didn't *really* spoil anyone's fun. As the day ended, the Twitter guests were tweeting their effusive thanks to the White House.
"Can't beat today's experience @whitehouse. Thanks #whtweetup," wrote @LutherLiz.
"Heading back after an amazing day! #WHtweetup Thanks to the office of public engagement @whitehouse," tweeted @Beachmom01.
The Holiday Tweetup was the sixth of the Administration, and first announced in November, and each guest selected was over the age of 18. During their visit, the guests had to pass through three different security checkpoints, and each was allowed to bring a guest. The Holiday Tweetup came on the heels of the biggest-ever White House Tweetup, held during the very soggy Arrival Ceremony for the State Visit of President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea. The first-ever tweetup for the Let's Move! campaign was in October, when the First Lady harvested the Kitchen Garden for Fall. President Obama's first Twitter Town Hall last summer began the tweetup project.
The White House videos of the briefing for the Holiday Tweeps:
*Photo of Yosses and Dowling tweeted by @HarbingerAlpha; Tchen photo tweeted by @MichelWDouglas; M&Ms photo by @eunicortiz