Citizens Armed With YouTube Create New Election Frenzy
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Written By Kate Zimmermann | November 7, 2006 | Share This
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This month, Time Magazine voted YouTube the 2006 Invention of the Year. Says Time, “YouTube created a new way for millions of people to entertain, educate, shock, rock and grok one another on a scale we’ve never seen before.” Time attributes the rise of YouTube to three intersecting revolutions: simple video-making technology, social media and consumer impatience.
For politicians, YouTube presents both a campaign opportunity and a publicity threat. Hitwise released a data set showing a direct correlation between YouTube’s popularity and the amount of traffic sent to political websites. In the past week, “YouTube generated 63% more US visits to Politics websites compared to the week ending October 7, 2006.” Incidentally, over half of YouTube’s top ten videos this week are related to US politics.
Beyond the thousands of Macaca videos and Fox News clips, however, one particular project is attempting to use YouTube to shed light on the most important personality of this year’s election - the voter. Video the Vote is a massive user-created campaign that will tape voters, rather than politicians, from seven states with a history of voting controversy. Over 600 amateur videographers have signed up to tape local polling stations, to look for any evidence of voter intimidation, misalocation, or malfunctioning equipment. All documented problems will then be uploaded to YouTube and popularized through blogs and partner websites.
Video the Vote may not capture anything more than long lines and rainy weather, but their mere presence in polling stations will likely act as a deterrent to misconduct. Their success could potentially spur a new trend in citizen monitoring of government activities. What’s more, today YouTube and Verizon are rumored to be on the cusp of a major content deal - meaning that not only will people be able to search YouTube from their mobile phones, but that they could potentially shoot and upload videos as well. Think about the impact this could have on the 2008 elections, when analysts expect mobile video to be a $5 billion market and over 80% of the US population to carry a 3G mobile phone. The mobilization (no pun intended) of American citizens through YouTube will on one hand hold politicians to higher behavioral standards, and on the other, create a new breed of political paparazzi. Either way, there’s a reason that 2008 is already being called the YouTube Election.
Topics: Social Media |