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by enrihrts

Enrique turns a critical eye to web video trends.

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The Politics of Video Blogging

December 03, 2008

Categories: Web Video Trends

Tags: blog blogging election enrique huertas politics video

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Not too long ago, politicians were still allowed to have a dark side. In those days, secret trips to the all-nude revue full-friction gentleman's club and the occasional midnight cockfight were just another Friday night for some elected officials. As long as whatever depravity or off-color behavior was not covered by the mainstream media, everything would be cool. People weren't afraid of being caught on a camera phone enjoying a Tijuana donkey s*x show, as many of us have.

Flash forward to 2008 and, in a horrible turn of events for public officials and a hilarious turn of events for the rest of us, those days seem to be over. Thanks to video-sharing websites & fact-checking websites, every single one of us has the ability to become a journalist. The DIY generation is in full effect this year and making its presence felt. We no longer have to rely on mainstream media to show us the entire picture; we can fill in the blanks ourselves.

Rocking the Hate at the "The McCain-Palin Mob in Strongsville, Ohio"

In my opinion, video blogging has had a huge effect on this election year. If it weren't for video bloggers, how would we know about the angry racial tone of the McCain/Palin rallies? A website worth mentioning is www.bloggerinterrupted.com They released a video called "The McCain-Palin Mob in Strongsville, Ohio," where you can see & hear many racist, hateful, misinformed people; among the comments, you hear a small child yell "You Need Gloves to Touch Him" ("him" being Obama). The video spread through the Internet like wildfire, creating outrage and effectively forcing the media to take a serious look at the problem. McCain and Palin have never recovered from the bad press generated from this video and others like it.

Of the two candidates, only Obama seems to understand that every one of his moves and comments is being recorded, uploaded and fact-checked by one person or another 24 hours a day. McCain does not have a good grasp of this concept. He's running a 2000-style presidential campaign in 2008, with no regard for the Internet and its far-reaching influence. So what's the lesson here? Either get with the times or fade into history.

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