Youtube and Politics

In visiting the Youtube sites for Barack Obama and John McCain, I found most of the videos to be endorsements or speeches the candidate had given. While these appear to be organic in nature, we can not forget the contrived aspect of actually posting the videos. The celebrity endorsements found on Barack Obama's page were simply there to advertise another person's vote, in order to hopefully obtain yours. I certainly don't care who Justin Timberlake wants to vote for, nor to I condone a celebrity using their status to influence votes one way or another. There were also videos that involved attempts to discredit the other candidate’s credibility or ideals. These were most definitely advertising. While they are definitely polished there is nothing organic about either candidate’s video postings.

The user generated posts seemed to have a common trend. They were always showing a specific candidate in good light, while either depicting the other candidate negatively or even not at all. The posts were either actual clips from a TV segment, or a person relaying their political views to us directly (like in this video). I particularly found this video interesting in that it had vies from both sides. This video was intriguing, maybe because it evoked some emotion. Personally I do not agree with any video that directly and incorrectly attacks a candidate.

Millennials....

Winograd and Hais believe that Millennials "are more positive than older generations," something that I believe is important in understanding my generation. America is an extremely independent nation, and having a generation that puts the needs of others before the needs of the self is currently what our country needs. While the impact our unique generation will have on the election is yet to be seen, I do agree with Winograd and Hais that the Millennial generation supports an "activist approach by government to societal and economic issues."

While I wish I could come up with some clever generational name other then Millennials, it proves quite difficult after having the name Millennials in front of me. I would hope to find a word that encompasses the ideas of: empathy; technologically savvy; politically aware; and socially inclined. Some cultural touchstones that I believe are useful in understanding my generation would be the show Friends, or any one of the many reality TV shows.

The arguments made by Winograd and Hais are very interesting and fundamental correct in regards to my generation. It would be interesting to see the mark that my generation will on our nation. Until then, I fully agree that the Millennial generation will have a very big impact in this, as well as future, elections.