How to bring energy to online town hall meetings

Watch Obama for tips on virtual presenting

President Obama called last week’s online White House town hall meeting an “experiment,” but it’s surely one that organizations of all kinds will be undertaking this year. Online town hall meetings overcome the barriers of time, distance and accessibility. They’re also a smart way to cut costs in tough times.

It doesn’t hurt that online town hall meetings also make organizations look, well, cool. Obama’s online event is just the latest social media innovation coming from the Web 2.0 White House, and reviews of his performance were generally positive — although the media gleefully reported that one of the more popular questions was whether marijuana should be legalized to help the economy.