YouTube Now a Tool of Local Elections as Well.

No longer the providence of the American political machine that is currently rampaging througout the states for Mid-term elections, it seems that politicos of all stripes, no matter how big or small you are, no matter where you are, are also embracing YouTube.Â A piece in the Toronto Star discusses how the run for the mayorship of Toronto has all three leading candidates using YouTube:

Mayor Miller’s posting on YouTube looks and sounds like a slick TV commercial. It was actually produced for and screened at his campaign launch in the spring, and one of his staffers later suggested posting the item on YouTube, a website that had 19 million visitors in August. As of last night, Miller’s campaign video had been played 1,933 times

Mark Evans, however, makes a great point:Â

The key questions are whether these videos raise the profile of elections toÂ affect turnout, and whether these clips resonate with young people, who are showing less faith in politicians and little interest in voting. I would argue technology is just one piece of the puzzle.

Tony Hung

Tony Hung is the editor of the BlogHerald. He is also a physician finishing his last year of residency in General Internal Medicine, and blogs at Deep Jive Interests , where he rants, occasionally, on new media topics.