Michelle Obama joined Twitter on Thursday, but so far she isn't following her husband, who just happens to be the president of the United States.
The first lady announced her presence on the microblogging website around 11:30 a.m., using the handle @FLOTUS. She had accumulated 9,000 followers within an hour, and she has a blue verified icon, indicating that Twitter recognizes the account as official.
The profile photo is of her and the family dog, Bo, while her cover photo is of her hugging a gray-haired woman, with Vice President Joe Biden's wife Jill and another senior citizen in the background smiling.
Michelle Obama follows 15 accounts, including the Obama Inauguration, the White House's official account, the account for her Let's Move campaign, the office of Vice President Joe Biden, as well as the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, and Coast Guard. The elephant in the room, though, is she isn't following @BarackObama.
The handle's first tweet announced the big news and that Michelle Obama turns 49 today. It also said tweets are on behalf of the office of the first lady, and when it's Michelle Obama, she will sign it.
"The @FLOTUS Office is now on @twitter & will post updates & pics. When it's her, she'll sign -mo. PS: RT to wish Mrs. Obama a #HappyBirthday," the tweet said.
The first lady has used social media to increase her presence before. In June she joined Pinterest, where she has accumulated nearly 50,000 followers, and she has had a Facebook fan page for a while that has 9.2 million "Likes."
Second Lady Jill Biden is not on Twitter but has an official Facebook page.
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