By Ryan G. Murphy, Digital Media Editor

With 2.6 million followers, President Barack Obama (@BarackObama) has one of the most popular accounts on Twitter. If you followed his presidential campaign in 2008, you probably remember the emphasis placed on technology. Both Obama and McCain had YouTube channels and social media accounts, but it was the Obama campaign that did more than go through the motions.

Obama appeared to understand and embrace the interactivity that social networking and a strong online outreach could provide. He solicited user feedback and small donations (that added up to a lot) online. For those of us working in news, we remember how much technology was part of the 2008 election and how much coverage the Obama camp got for riding that wave.

If we fast forward to now, a little over a year since Obama’s election, we find our president in China, speaking to a group of students against Chinese Internet censorship while also admitting that he himself has never used Twitter.

It’s unfair to expect Obama to be Twittering while he’s supposed to be leading the free world and it’s certainly a bit naive to expect that he’s the one who led the Tweeting effort during his campaign and beyond, but as a Digital Media Editor for an organization that preaches the value of an intimate, digital outreach, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that he’s NEVER used Twitter.

“I have never used Twitter, but I’m an advocate of technology and not restricting Internet access," Obama said during a town hall in Shanghai. "My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone."

My disappointment isn’t politically based. It’s digitally based. Of course, there are security concerns to consider if Obama actually was the man behind the Tweets, so we can’t come down on him too hard here, but it appears that some Obama followers have been disappointed as well to find that our president, initially presented as tech-savvy, may not be so.

As the Los Angeles Times reported: " ‘I have never used’ was a trending topic on Twitter this week (meaning many people tweeted messages with the phrase) as users reacted to the news.”

When “Obama” tweeted “This is history.” on election night, the thought was that the president was personally connecting with his followers, just as we try to do everyday with our news audience. We realize now that this wasn’t the case.

Reading “Humbled.” on his account after Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize also carries a little less weight now. Inquiring minds want to know: “who was actually humbled then?”

No matter who is Tweeting for the president, he’s got 2.6 million followers, more than we could ever hope for at our news organizations. Someone in the Obama camp is doing it right and for that we should tip our caps, but I think it’s OK to view his future Tweets with a dash of skepticism, understanding that we’re not getting the ultra-personal connection we once thought.

Does Obama's "I have never used Twitter" comment disappoint you? We'd like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the section below.