I very rarely delve into the world of politics on PCMech, but when the world of technology so tightly integrates with it, I pay attention. And that is what happened the other night when CNN and Youtube.com ran the Republican debate down here in sunny Florida (St. Petersburg, to be exact).
By all indications, it went well. The debate had the highest ratings of any debate so far (which probably isn’t saying too much). There certainly were some interesting questions asked, which no doubt led to the curiosity.
What is most notable to me is how the internet community and the blogopshere particularly are increasing their role in politics. Bloggers are members of the media. The only difference is that bloggers are at least obvious with their bias whereas the mainstream media tries to act objective when, in many cases, they are not. But, that is where things are going. The internet is breaking down the barrier and politicians are seeing that. This is why blogs and sites like Youtube has now evolved in the political realm from minor annoyance of loudmouths to a force that runs an entire political debate.
Obviously, when bloggers and Youtubers run a debate, you get some interesting stuff. We had questions from regular folks, space aliens and even left-wingers who were trying to lob "gotchas" at the GOP candidates, On the surface, it can look rather foolish. But, at the same time, it was still a lot more real. We didn’t have the canned approach, where professional blow-hards ask questions. We had real people doing it. And all the while, bloggers were roaming all around the debate doing interviews, looking at the media itself and interviewing them, and publishing it all on the web. If that isn’t what the media is SUPPOSED to me, I don’t know what is.
It is also a great policing mechanism on the candidates. Perhaps the most closed up and controlled candidate on the entire scene is Hillary Clinton. Clinton has a reputation for being very press UNfriendly. Every interview is controlled and scripted, and she barely talks with anybody in the press who isn’t going to play ball with her campaign. It took literally only minutes for the blogosphere to point out a potential Hillary campaign planted question at the Youtube debate. This is the kind of thing that would never see the light of day in the traditional media. The fact that we know just how scripted Hillary is today is due to bloggers and people who report on the reporters. This is valuable stuff.
On the contrary, Ron Paul has been very open to the internet and bloggers and he has risen in the ranks primarily because of the internet.
So, what do you think about the Youtube debate? I am not interested AT ALL in a person’s choice of candidates. I am only interested in your view on the cross of bloggers/Youtube with the realm of politics and what impact it may have. Is it good or bad? Does it matter?
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