This Wednesday, at 9pm EST, president Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union speech.

This year will be extra special as the followup to Obama’s speech viewers will have the opportunity to submit questions (and vote on other users’ questions) in response to the speech on youtube.com/CitizenTube. Next week, Obama will answer some of the questions in an online event delivered live from the White House. From the YouTube blog:

“Presidents have long used new technology to share their message directly with the American people. Calvin Coolidge was the first president to broadcast the State of the Union over the radio in 1923, and President Truman made history in 1947 when he became the first to deliver his address to a live television audience.

This year’s State of the Union speech will also make history. It will be the first time that citizens will have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions during the speech — and to hear the president’s response to those questions.”

Currently, the exact timing of the followup event is unknown.