I just saw the Health care reform bill signed by Obama live on….Facebook. That’s right, not Fox, Sky, the BBC, the ABC, but Facebook. While live streaming through facebook isn’t brand new, it’s extremely interesting to see that the White House is using it as a major means of communicating, but then again, why not? Health care reform in the US effects millions, so it’s important that people are offered the news through as many different channels as possible, which is going to include the countries biggest social network.

As you can see from the screen grab – it’s a very simple and straight forward application, but another nice touch is the use of Facebook Connect next to it, letting you see the reactions of others. The most interesting thing about this is the history behind it. Countless US politicians have fought for this over the years, but it wasn’t until Obama that the job got done. What else would we expect from an administration that has utilised social media so effectively in today’s media landscape?  That’s right, you heard it first…..through Facebook.