World leaders have historically telephoned each other to offer congratulations following electoral victories. These days, they take to Twitter to do it, in an even more public fashion.
Before President Barack Obama had delivered his victory speech, he’d already been tweeted at by some of the other leaders of the free world.
Among them, UK Prime Minister David Cameron:
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard:
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy:
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso:
Some other ordinary Twitter users made note of the new protocol:
And Obama is undoubtedly on board with the Twitter approach–he himself tweeted thanks to supporters once the projections made clear re-election was assured.