User-video Impacts U.S. election

It certainly sounds like hyperbole to say that YouTube decided the November 7 election and caused the control of Congress to change -- but that might not be all that much of an exaggeration...

While the U.S is almost always portrayed as harshly polarized into 'red' and 'blue' states, the truth is that the country is 'purple:' elections [especially the last two presidential ones] are close calls in most states: the coasts and the South are not Democratic strongholds, nor is everyone in the Midwest or the 'heartland' a staunch Republican.

This near 50/50 mix means that media is more important than ever in swaying middle-ground and undecided voters to cast a ballot one way or the other.

But while TV has long been a major [and expensive] factor in political campaigns, now the power of video is in the hands of just about everyone -- affordably.

This last election was particularly close: but while the long-out-of-power Democrats won a decisive majority in the House of Representatives, the race to control the Senate was too close to call for days after the polls closed.

Finally it came down to the undecided Senate race in Virginia, and the office held by U.S. Sen. George Allen... the man most famous of late for calling a campaign worker for his opponent a "Macaca" -- while that man was video-taping him.
How many people watched the video on YouTube? Nearly 400,000, reports the Boston Herald.
Of course those weren't all Virginians -- but the Senator lost his office to Democrat Jim Webb by about 7,000 votes, out more than 2.3 million ballots. [Webb is a former Republican and Navy secretary under President Reagan, showing again how closely the country is divided...]

The Republicans made use of YouTube as well, of course: the Herald reports that more than 1 million viewers downloaded well-produced clips of Sen. John Kerry's infamous botched "joke."

Another example of the growth of User video is the group-blog company Pajamas Media, which outfitted its contributors covering the election with 8MP Canon PowerShot A630s [$256 on Amazon], using the still camera's video capabilities to capture dozens of clips that were then streamed via YouTube.

We've long promoted the importance of non-professional video captured with ubiquitous camcorders, cameras, and phones -- and now that the capture is coupled with Web-based distribution and access, it is really a paradigm change [pardon the now-trite phrase].
Most recently at our 6Sight conference we hosted the session on "The Global Video Revolution."
The saying "the revolution will be televised" has become a cliché; but in this case web-based video was a prime factor in a "revolution" wherein leadership over the House and Senate shifted from the party in power for 12 years to it opponents.

That such dramatic change is done peacefully is the strength of democracy -- and now video is an even stronger influence on how the voters in that democracy exercise their franchise.
--From my Future Image Weekly Briefing

Comments

[Seven Star Hand]

Hello Paul and all,

Eleven Roars Loudly

Here's some background information behind recent watershed events (Macaca, Foley, Ted Haggart, David Kuo, the US election, etc., etc.) that should prove enlightening. I want you to pay very close attention to the fact that my birthday was August 11th, the day of Mr. Allen's "Macaca" gaffe. His defeat during month 11, along with many of his ilk, was an apt belated birthday present for me. Also notice that my last name is Page, matching the so-called "page" scandal associated with Mr. Foley. Furthermore, I have been writing and exposing religious deception and hypocrisy and Ted Haggart's downfall and David Kuo's book, along with a string of other events, served to prove my earlier assertions in stunning fashion. Inspect my photo in my Free Ebook... to see the hat I'm wearing and you'll better appreciate the full scope and import of these recent events.

Read More...
http://sevenstarhand.blogspot.com/

Peace...