What Will Barack, Michelle Obama Do After White House? Follow Them On Social Media To Keep Track

Months before his time in the White House would end, outgoing President Barack Obama was already planning what he would do once he leaves office.

"I'll go back to doing the kinds of work that I was doing before, just trying to find ways to help people. Help young people get educations, and help people get jobs, and try to bring businesses into neighborhoods that don't have enough businesses. That's the kind of work that I really love to do," he reportedly said in July 2016.

At 55 years old, he is just a year older than Bill Clinton was when he left the White House. He is still relatively popular and has a lot more time on his hands to complete all the things he said he wants to do. But he will also be the first president in many decades who will stay in Washington, D.C., for another year or two even after leaving office, which may keep him in the headlines for some time to come.

As his online activity, including innumerous tweets, blog posts, and other content produced over the past eight years, moves from official to personal accounts, the White House has indicated where people can follow both him and outgoing first lady Michelle Obama after Jan. 20.

In order to keep a track of the former president, his first lady and their everyday lives you will have to keep up with the following:

• Barack Obama is still the fourth most followed person on Twitter. He will still be available on Twitter and to know about him you'll need to follow @BarackObama on Twitter, facebook.com/BarackObama and instagram.com/BarackObama. Similarly, Michelle Obama will be posting with the @MichelleObama handle on Twitter and Snapchat, facebook.com/MichelleObama and Instagram.com/MichelleObama.
• The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will keep the current version of the White House intact at ObamaWhiteHouse.gov. The tweets, articles and photos released by Obama and his team over the last eight years will also be stored in a new set of social media accounts that will be managed by this agency.
• Obama's thoughts and posts under @POTUS will be preserved at @POTUS44, while his Facebook posts will be stored at facebook.com/POTUS44. Official tweets by Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be archived at @FLOTUS44 and @VP44.
• The official White House handles including @WhiteHouse, @POTUS, @VP and @FLOTUS on Twitter, Facebook.com/WhiteHouse and Instagram.com/WhiteHouse will be passed over to the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Understanding how the Obama administration and his family accepted and used social media between 2009 and 2017 to their advantage is vital for future politicians, historians and interested citizens. It is also important to preserve the digital legacy of the former president, his wife and the rest of his team.