2008 Presidential Hopefuls Use You Tube Accounts to Reach Voters

You Tube was created in February 2005 as a service for users to upload, view and share videos online. The site quickly gained popularity among 12 to 17 year olds and was named Time magazine's 2006 "Invention of the Year". In October 2006, Google acquired You Tube. This year, 2008 Presidential hopefuls are joining You Tube as part of their campaign strategies. John Edwards was the first to join You Tube a year ago, followed by Hillary Clinton 10 months ago. Barack Obama and Mike Gravel quickly followed suit a month later. Currently 17 candidates have You Tube accounts, uploading videos that even non-registered users can view.

Some government officials succumb to lobbying pressure from wealthy big name Internet players trying to mopolize Internet access and control the Internet environment. Small Internet radio shows are being priced out of the free market by costly government regulations. Many of these stations are controversial talk shows presenting the kind of news the government does not approve for mainstream media. By embracing and using sites like You Tube and My Space the 2008 Presedential hopefuls exhibit hope for citizens weary of big government that seems to want to control every aspect of citizens lives. Is it simply trendy and low cost campaigning, or can You Tube accounts help Presidential hopefuls garner votes?

It is reported that 100 million video clips are viewed daily and 65,000 new videos are uploaded every day. According to Nielsen/Net Ratings, You Tube receives 20 million visitors every month. 56% of those visitors are males, 44% females and the 12 to 17 year age group still accounts for most of the activity. The kids can not vote. Perhaps Senator Obama uses the demographic in his favor. In "Barack Obama YouTube Spotlight" video, he asks our youth to share their stories about what they are doing on a local level to help make the world a better place.