In YouTube Clips, a Political Edge--WaPo (Grassroots Campaigning)

[Demeter]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/09/AR2006070900895.html?referrer=email

In YouTube Clips, a Political Edge

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 10, 2006; C01



... the 60,000 videos added each day to YouTube.com, a shoot-it-yourself Web site that has exploded in popularity over the past year. And while many of the most widely viewed videos are merely intended to entertain or titillate -- rants, parodies, pet tricks, soccer brawls, singing, dancing and booty shaking -- company executives say politics is on the rise.

The site's sixth most popular group -- as measured by the number of people who click to subscribe -- is titled "Bush Sucks," with 2,018 members and 741 videos. Also near the top is "Nedheads," with 841 members signing on to a group created by activists backing Ned Lamont in his Democratic primary race against Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut.

....

If any teenager can put up a video for or against a candidate, and persuade other people to watch that video, the center of gravity could shift to masses of people with camcorders and passable computer skills. And if people increasingly distrust the mainstream media, they might be more receptive to messages created by ordinary folks.

The 18-month-old site, which makes its revenue from banner ads, is free for viewers and contributors. The company says 80 million videos are viewed every day. Each video, group or page is placed in easily searchable categories, and those who subscribe to the groups are automatically notified of new content.

SOME GOOD NEWS, AT LAST!

[DianaForRussFeingold]

1. I hope all of AVA'S clips are on You Tube

Peace Takes Courage is a project by Ava Lowery. Ava is a 15 year
old student and peace activist from Alabama. In Mid-March 2005,
she created her first animation. Since then she has made over 70
animations, many of them about the war in Iraq. http://www.peacetakescourage.com/page-about.htm :pals:

[monarch]

2. Yep

They're there as well as the CNN interview. I only learned of the site through the Lamont campaign and if I weren't addicted to certain sporting events (UConn women BB and Red Sox) I'd pitch the TV immediately. Everything I ever want to see ends up on the computer screen.

[sutz12]

3. Ava doesn't need YouTube.

She's a phenom on her own. :thumbsup:

[DianaForRussFeingold]

4. YouTube is great! Informing and Very Educational.

I watched these the other day. I love their Science videos.Superconductivity, the future of magnetic levitation;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vKrkhilXns&search=future%20car peak oil and free energy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4OAVq3VpEU&search=peak%20oil Lone Gunman;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQyYuWXp3E8&search=The%20Lone%20Gunmen They also have great music videos, Also lots of comedy and news stories. Just type in what you want to see in the search box. :yourock:

[Rose Siding]

5. Kurtz even mentions the vid of bush flipping the bird

Sanitized, of course. (He's merely "extending his middle finger") And pure Kurtz, when he mentions that Pelosi's group allows comments, he ONLY cites one - a NEGATIVE one. :eyes:

This is good, though:

Any registered user can form a group, and the site includes one called "Support George Bush," which says, "Don't be afraid of your beliefs -- most campuses nationwide have a liberal bias anyway . . . as does the media." But it doesn't crack the top 100 in terms of membership, unlike "Bush Sucks," which is designed "for everyone who hates Bush and all his Republican cronies."

[GliderGuider]

6. Google videos, too: History of Oil

Here's one of my favourites: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7374585792978336967&q=history+of+oil
"Robert Newman gets to grips with the wars and politics of the last hundred years - but rather than adhering to the history we were fed at school, the places oil centre stage as the cause of all commotion. This innovative history programme is based around Robert Newman's stand-up act and supported by resourceful archive sequences and stills with satirical impersonations of historical figures from Mayan priests to Archduke Ferdinand. Quirky details such as a bicycle powered street lamp on the stage brings home the pertinent question of just how we are going to survive when the world's oil supplies are finally exhausted."

YouTube has time limits on the clips you can post. You can get this video on YouTube but it's cut up into bite sized pieces.

[roseBudd]

7. Does anyone know if you can convert Flash animations to WMVs