There are many forms of media publishing, dear readers, and the field has since grown and expanded in the past decade. A few examples of new forms of media publishing are moblogs, vlogs, Youtube, and alternative online newspapers, among others. However, I will only be discussing in-depth about Youtube.
I'm sure all, if not most of you readers are familiar with Youtube? If you aren't, let me enlighten you. It is referred to as a Web 2.0 site because it alters how Internet users participate on the Web. Instead of absorbing content posted by a single person, users are able to post their own and comment on others (Gill et al., 2007). Youtube is the largest video sharing website on the Internet, and it is responsible for sixty percent of the videos watched on the internet. Due to these statistics and the absolute ease of uploading a video, it has gained popularity among businessmen and even politicians!
Youtube is now a big part of internet-driven innovations in politics. Several US political figures used it for various reasons, for example in John McCain's online fundraising campaign in the year 2000 (Cornfield & Rainie, 2006). Brand new President-elect Barack Obama also used Youtube in his electoral campaign, having his own Youtube Channel. Youtube videos could also sway the public's decision in elections because every action is captured on video and the public can be easily influenced. For example, in this video, during the 2nd Presidential Debate this year, Senator John McCain referred to now President-elect Barack Obama as "that one" out loud. In the comments to the video, viewers questioned Senator John McCain's lack of respect for then Senator Barack Obama and some even said that due to this incident, they would be voting for Obama.
Better watch your words, politicians! Youtube's out to get you.
Resources:
Cornfield, M & Rainie, L 2006, 'The Impact Of The Internet On Politics', PEW Internet And American Life Project, viewed 4 November 2008, http://www.pewinternet.org/ppt/pip_internet_and_politics.pdf
Gill, P, Arlitt, M, Li, Z & Mahanti, A 2007, 'Youtube Traffic Characterisation: A View From The Edge', viewed 5 November 2008, http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1298306.1298310
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