Obama: the Digital Lame Duck President

Barack Obama is the country's first digital lame duck President. Normally, lame duck Presidents get to 'do what they want' on their way out of office. Since they no longer have to toe the party line, an outgoing President can push their relatively progressive vision on the country through expedited policy and rarely utilized executive power. There is nothing left to achieve, other than being bold enough to make changes without the repercussions of managing/damaging a personal or political image.

The same line of thinking applies to a digital lame duck President, who is free to lend his personal brand to the media outlet or digital platform of his choosing. This explains Barack Obama appearance on WTFPod with Marc Maron. In 'the media,' the free flowing conversation itself was condensed into a blurbable bit where the President created discussion about the n-word. However, the idea of an acting President appearing on a chill bro podcast reminded internet thought leaders of the early blogosphere, back when 'independent' outlets were used to gain authenticity for candidates, brands, and mainstream figures. Is there really a reason for Obama to appear on anything anymore?

It's hard to imagine another President or politician using ''independent web platforms' to break through the noise of the traditional media. By the end of the next President's term, the web will be a massive mainstream blob--however, the upcoming Presidential cycle will see more candidates than ever trying to collaborate with digital influencers that may or may not still influence. Barack Obama might be the last President who 'authentically' used digital media to #resonate with his #tribe.

As a digital lame duck, Barack Obama can not only strengthen his own digital & irl brand, but also make moves as a digital media mogul. What other strategic moves can Obama make during his exit from office? Here are four progressive things that Barack Obama can do to seal his legacy as the President of the United States AND also retain all of the work he has done to be a viral controller.

1. Pardon Edward Snowden at SXSW

If you want to generate authentic buzz, it is a MUST to have a presence at SXSW. The world's thoughtfluencers all convene on SXSW in order to get their brand 'out there,' hoping to win over the hearts and minds of investors and pointless early adopters. Obama can easily use his executive power to create a highly #trendable moment at the interactive portion of the festival by pardoning Edward Snowden.

In a beautiful moment of national forgiveness, he can turn Snowden from a villain into a necessary talking point, in front of people who are looking to be the genesis of talking points and cultural shifts. We've seen live demonstrations of apps, bands, keynotes, and even celebrities at SXSW. However, a pardon would probably change the game, creating a SXSW that may never be topped. SXSW 2016 will be Obama's last chance to make a Presidential splash at the buzzworthy festival of everything.

2. Leak potentially controversial footage and/or data to Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen

In order to reach the the masses who rely on late night/mid-afternoon television to feel connected to light-hearted culture, President Obama can try to make touchy topics like digital surveillance, drones, leaks and isolated/covert acts war seem more light-hearted. Perhaps he can orchestrate a viral moment that chills out the country. Maybe our data/privacy isn't as important to us as we think.

Release controversial drone strike videos, HDGoPro footage of the Osama Bin Laden assassination, data that we thought was private, or even some sort of alien footage to one of these outlets. Beyond the 'fun' singing and dancing memes that are often generated on these shows, the somewhat controversial footage can work its way to the masses. If the same content were #leaked by Wikileaks, few people would consume the content, but instead take away the feeling that 'the government' was hiding something from them. This is Obama's opportunity to collaborate with light-hearted thought leaders to change the discussion.

This will be Obama's way of using digital gatekeepers in order to craft a new narrative about surveillance and conspiracy. Democrats, Republicans, and iluminati groups will be happy with the results.

3. Use his Facebook account to launch a content farm.

President Obama's campaign for President began in 2012, back when social media was still on the rise and not completely bottlenecked for the sake of monetization. But what's going to happen to that precious digital real estate now? Something lame like endorsing another Democratic candidate might completely tank the brand. There are just too many followers to not transition the social media reach to content farms that spread Obama-wave messages.

Building a standalone website or content farm like ObamaFeed, similar to Lance Armstrong's content farm LIVESTRONG.com. Much like LIVESTRONG.com provides vague health and fitness advice [via WedMD], Obama can be an Answers.com meets Yahoo answers content farm. It will create millions of indexed pages that interns writing in the voice of President Obama can answer. The site's advertising zones could be sold at a premium rate, grossing well over the President's $400,000/year salary.

4. Participate in at least 100 viral videos on various platforms

Whether it's popping into the video of a popular YouTuber, a Portlandia skit that encourages millennial voting, a zany SNL pop-in, or a reflective chat on Comedians in Cars with Coffee, this is Obama's time to go on a massive self-promotional tour. This is his last chance to work his way into the hearts and minds of viewers as 'ultimately being a chill President.' While we may not remember what he did exactly, we can look back and smile as we think about him collaborating with digital personalities. He also gave the executive order to kill Osama Bin Laden.

Since there is so much video content on the internet, he'll really have to appear on an ambitious amount of videos, podcasts, and daily Reddit AMAs. Of course, he can sow the seeds for his own digital content farm by proving himself as a content creator with a significant audience. This will make him valuable to media companies that are hellbent on hiring digital talent to establish themselves as a viable cable television network [via Al Gore's Current TV].

Barack Obama's appearance on Marc Maron's WTFPod only reflects the beginning of his capabilities as a digital lame duck president. We've already seen Barry go on Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis to promote health insurance, but he's capable of so much more in his last stretch as the ruler of the internet free world. Appearing on a podcast with a comedian gave the President an opportunity to participate in the long-winded humorous-yet-meaningful reflective conversation. There's so much more digital collaboration to perform before it's too late.

When you are a digital lame duck like Barack Obama, you shouldn't just enact progressive policy. You should also manage your digital strategy to build an additional future revenue stream by leveraging your digital assets and personal brand. It's what any other human with over 3 million Twitter followers/Facebook likes would try to do in some form or another.

Running for public office means that you are taking a stand to change the world, climbing within the ranks of power for the opportunity to "do good." However, being a politician means marginalizing your message to have a broad appeal, and sidestepping many of the 'hot take' issues that are actually disruptive enough to enact change. This is the exact same way to build a universal voice for a content farm/king.

YOLDO: You Only Lame Duck Once. Make it count.

Carles.Buzz is the fallen content farmer behind HIPSTER RUNOFF. Read more Life on the Content Farm here.