This post was updated on Jan. 31.
(Note: The video above begins at 25:45.)
It's been a big week for President Barack Obama, and he punctuated it by hanging out.
Obama answered questions submitted by Americans about his State of the Union address in a Google+ Hangout at 2 p.m. ET on Friday. The president's staff dubbed the event a "virtual road trip" and said it's a chance for citizens to get involved in the conversation about policy.
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"We’re always looking for ways to engage with citizens online," Kori Schulman, the White House director of online engagement, wrote in a White House blog post.
Users submitted questions for Obama by uploading short videos to YouTube or Google+ with the hashtag #AskObama2014. People had submitted questions even ahead of Obama's speech on Tuesday night; Dana Barringer, a 17-year-old from Georgia, asked Obama about his plans for the education budget.
Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian also submitted a question for Obama about the net neutrality debate, referencing a Reddit AMA that Obama held in August 2012 during which the president expressed support for Internet freedom.
This is not the first time Obama has used Hangouts to interact with the public. He participated in similar events following previous State of the Union speeches.
This year, Obama's staff is getting in on the action, too. Administration officials used social media to answer questions about the State of the Union Address on Wednesday for the first virtual Big Block of Cheese Day. People posted questions on various social networks using the hashtag #AsktheWH.
View Obama's Hangout in the video embedded at the top of this post. Skip to 25:45 for the start of the video.
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