President Obama: PSYOPer-in Chief

I have to give credit where credit is due. The President is a PSYOPer par excellence. He and his people understand the incredibly complex world of Social networking and how to harness the power of a system in transmit messages.

This is not a political endorsement, but rather an opinion based on the following story.

I smoke cigars and I like them. I subscribe to Cigar Aficionado magazine. The editorial page asked that interested parties sign a petition at the White House concerning premium cigars. (Check out: http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/16503). The White House website of course asks that you registered and provide a valid e-mail address in order to electronically sign the petition. All of which seems reasonable under the circumstances – so I do and think nothing of it.

Yesterday, 1 May 2012 I’m working on the computer and an e-mail pops up inviting me to watch the President’s speech live from Afghanistan:

Frankly, I’m speechless at this point so when 1630 rolls around I click on the link and whammo – there’s the President!

Now it’s clear to me that the President understands the power of persuasion, makes me wonder why the administration doesn’t have as a cohesive a US information engagement strategy as the President seems to have for his personal communications.