October 15, 2006
US Political race gets dirty via YouTube
Political campaigns for the November 7 congressional elections have sent out mass e-mails with links to videos of opponents in unscripted, often embarrassing, situations, reports Yahoo News.
"Some campaigns have even dispatched young staffers known as "trackers" armed with video cameras. Their sole job is to track a rival candidate's every move and make sure their cameras are rolling in case the politician makes a gaffe - and uploading them to YouTube.
... Internet experts call the trend of sending around unscripted video clips a "macaca" and predict new media such as YouTube will have a great impact on campaigns.
"The Internet and new technology are radically changing every part of our lives, and politics is no different," said Phil Noble, the head of PoliticsOnline a political Internet site. "It's happening in a big way and it's going to be many, many, many times bigger than it has been so far. It's going to radically change everything."
... Experts predict that video-sharing and "social networking" sites like MySpace.com and Facebook.com, which are just starting to be used by politicians, will play an even bigger role in the 2008 presidential election.
"If you've got a brain you've got to" use the sites, Noble said. "There are always people who ignore the technology, and if they ignore it long enough they'll get beat."
Related: - Politicians Try Out MySpace
Above capture from YouTube of U.S. Senator Conrad Burns taking a nap in the middle of Senate business.
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