Presidential Candidates and YouTube

With the 2008 election fast approaching, candidates are trying to find ways to reach constituents, especially the enormous amount of influential young voters.

In an unexpected move, candidates have decided to use social networking services to promote their campaign, a new and unfamiliar medium for most of them. According to a recent Media Post article, YouTube has launched a new online hub showcasing 2008 presidential runners, and bringing together each candidate's individual video channels.

However, the hub is much different than the standard videos YouTube usually features. Every candidate has veto power over what appears on his or her channel, eliminating the chance of any embarrassing or incriminating recordings being revealed. Because of this, the channels mostly feature professionally produced videos or televised speeches. Michah Sifry, executive editor of Personal Democracy Forum, noted that candidates still don't understand the concept of video online and "treat it like television on a smaller screen."

Unless candidates are willing to let their guard down and display a sense of informality on theses channels, they might as well not even have them. The reason social networking users prefer this medium is to avoid the formality and that the usual campaigning methods enforce. If users wanted to view the videos candidates pre-approved they could do so by watching television.

Although candidates use of YouTube may be a step in the right direction, they still have a long way to go before they will truly understand how to reach this new demographic.