MANILA, Philippines – The upcoming US State of the Union Address promises to be an interesting one, if only because the White House is actively trying to make the process interactive and community-based.

A post on the White House blog announced a number of initiatives planned for greater visibility and interactivity during and after the proceedings.

Aside from a live stream of the address on Wednesday, February 13 (Manila time), the White House will offer “an enhanced version of the speech that offers charts, facts and other info as the President speaks.”

A new collaborative annotation tool, called Citizen Response, will also let readers highlight a passage from the State of the Union Address, then write about your connection to a particular issue brought and share the now-annotated passage with others.

After the address, the White House will keep engaging the community at large through a panel discussion. As their post explains, the discussion “will be broadcast immediately after the speech on WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU, and you can ask your questions using #WHChat or posting to our Google+ page.”

There’s also more lined up beyond Tuesday, as President Obama will participate in a “Fireside Hangout” on Google on February 14 at 4:30pm ET and answer questions from Americans about the issues and policies he discussed during the State of the Union Address.

Hangouts with other members of the White House staff will also occur from Wednesday to Friday in the US. – Rappler.com