In what is a major get for South by Southwest (SXSW) and a deeply embarrassing move for the Office of the President, Barack Obama will be interviewed in a “keynote conversation” during the annual vanity carnival’s opening day. All of which is to say, Obama’s about to drop an app.

The president is scheduled to sit down for a conversation “about civic engagement in the 21st century” in front of an audience of “creators, early adopters and entrepreneurs who are defining the future of our connected lives.” Yikes.

Why the President Obama feels the need to punish himself so callously remains unknown, but we do at least know what some of this self-inflicted torture will look like via SXSW’s official release:

The President will call on the audience to apply their ideas and talents to make technology work for us – especially when it comes to tackling big challenges like increasing participation in the political process and fighting climate change.

After which, Obama will be announcing the launch of his post-presidential messaging app, barack.ly.

Congratulations to President Obama on his foray into the startup world’s most pretentious display of vanity and excess. Sucks that we have to impeach him now.

[h/t Austin 360]


Contact the author at ashley@gawker.com. Image via AP.