Canada’s federal government is making some tentative moves into social media.

Last night, the Prime Minister of Canada’s Podcast popped up on iTunes’ Canadian podcast page. The files can also be accessed through a streaming player on the Prime Minister’s website, as can video files. However, the files on the PM’s site cannot be downloaded.

Without doubt, this is a medium that will enable the Prime Minister and his government to reach past the Parliamentary Press Gallery and speak directly to the citizens of Canada. However, the current presentation is nothing more than the raw audio files of the PM’s speech. This is likely to appeal only to the committed partisan or policy wonk.

To attract a larger audience, the Prime Minister’s Office should enhance the production. Definite must dos: a musical intro;  an introduction by a host to estabish the context and provide a summary of the content and maybe even a brief interview with the Prime Minister after the sound clip to provide some content that is unique to the podcast.

Bottom line: a first step by Canada’s new Prime Minister. Hopefully, there will be more.