( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama will answer questions about the economy and jobs Wednesday during his first Twitter town hall meeting . But the president , known for his oft- lengthy responses to the shortest of questions , will not be confined to Twitter 's 140-character limit . He is verbally answering questions from Twitter users , who were urged to use the hashtag # AskObama . With the exception of questions coming from Twitter users -- known as tweeps -- the East Room town hall event will be like many the president has done before : fielding select questions conveyed via new media technologies while giving `` old-fashioned '' answers with a microphone . `` He 's just answering the questions . He 's not typing and tweeting , '' White House spokesman Jay Carney said last week . White House officials have said the so-called `` Tweetup '' is a fresh opportunity for the president to engage with Americans beyond the Beltway . The event will feature an audience of about 140 individuals who follow the White House Twitter feed and signed up for a chance to attend . The 140 is not a coincidence -- it 's the number of characters allowed in a tweet . Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will monitor the expected flood streaming in through the official # AskObama hashtag . `` Questions addressed during the town hall will be selected both in advance and in real-time during the event , '' Twitter said in a statement . Obama held a similar town hall at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto , California , in April and a YouTube town hall at the White House in February . At both events , the White House was criticized for ignoring the subject that drew by far the most queries : whether he supports legalizing marijuana . Though the president rarely tweets himself , the administration has increasingly used social media to bypass traditional media outlets and convey information directly to supporters . Several senior administration officials tweet regularly , including Carney .
Obama will not be confined to Twitter 's 140-character limit . `` He 's just answering the questions . " Comment: The president isn't limited by 140 characters, he can answer any question that comes his way in a short amount of time and with as much detail as possible. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey to monitor the expected flood of tweets .