The use of official White House Twitter accounts linked to an individual staffer’s persona dates to early 2010, when then-deputy press secretary Bill Burton started using @billburton44 (he’d created the account the previous summer) to tweet about press briefings and presidential travel. Then-press secretary Robert Gibbs soon joined him, telling POLITICO “it was fascinating to see what people are thinking, writing, doing in real time” in response to Burton’s tweets.

That’s part of the appeal for the White House — getting to be part of fast-moving and around-the-clock conversations, rather than observing them from on high.

“These days, by the time you write, edit, vet and format a press release or statement, and story can reach millions of people,” said Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08), a former NSC spokesman who has posted more than 2,000 tweets since leaving the White House earlier this year. “Twitter lets you respond in real time.”

Twitter allows for a certain level of “transparency” for the White House, Lehrich said, as users get to follow conversations between White House spokespeople and their counterparts on Capitol Hill, or with reporters.

The platform also makes it possible for Americans to ask questions of senior officials who would otherwise be hard to reach.