Citizen-generated campaigns
Jan. 30th, 2008 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jducoeurI have to say, one of the most interesting things about this year's presidential campaigns is how out-of-control they're getting. I don't mean the carefully stage-managed stuff that some of the campaigns are doing, with outside proxies saying what they want -- I mean the stuff that, as far as I can tell, *really* is out of the control of the campaigns.
The Ron Paul campaign has tended to be the example here, but I'm fascinated by today's addition: YouBama. It's pretty much what it sounds like: a specialized YouTube variation, specifically for populace-generated Obama support material. The site claims, plausibly, to have nothing to do with the official campaign -- it's a couple of students playing with participatory democracy. But it's a fine and timely idea: an unofficial place where supporters can put their words and videos, and vote for which ones work best.
Neat stuff. I wonder how long before backers of the other candidates catch on? It's not surprising that Obama supporters did this first (indeed, the TechCrunch article that I got the pointer from reminds us they they're endorsing Obama precisely because he seems to be the most tech-enclued of the candidates), but it would be pretty easy to copy...
The Ron Paul campaign has tended to be the example here, but I'm fascinated by today's addition: YouBama. It's pretty much what it sounds like: a specialized YouTube variation, specifically for populace-generated Obama support material. The site claims, plausibly, to have nothing to do with the official campaign -- it's a couple of students playing with participatory democracy. But it's a fine and timely idea: an unofficial place where supporters can put their words and videos, and vote for which ones work best.
Neat stuff. I wonder how long before backers of the other candidates catch on? It's not surprising that Obama supporters did this first (indeed, the TechCrunch article that I got the pointer from reminds us they they're endorsing Obama precisely because he seems to be the most tech-enclued of the candidates), but it would be pretty easy to copy...