Obama gets his own @POTUS account, joins Twitter age

FILE - In a Thursday, May 14, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference after meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and delegations at Camp David in Maryland. In a surprise announcement on Monday, May 18, 2015, coming nine months after police in riot gear dispelled racially charged protests, President Obama is banning the federal government from providing some military-style equipment to local departments and putting stricter controls on other weapons and gear distributed to law enforcement. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) FILE - In a Thursday, May 14, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference after meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and delegations at Camp David in Maryland. In a surprise announcement on Monday, May 18, 2015, coming nine months after police in riot gear dispelled racially charged protests, President Obama is banning the federal government from providing some military-style equipment to local departments and putting stricter controls on other weapons and gear distributed to law enforcement. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

By Associated Press May 18, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama is embracing short-form communication. Twitter has a new @POTUS account.

For years, White House officials have used Twitter to communicate White House policy and occasional personal observations.

But Obama himself pretty much stayed out of the social media fray.

No longer.

With a frugal 92-character message – 48 short of maximum permitted – Obama on Monday declared: “Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.”