
Let’s see who we can catch with their hands in the cookie jar
via NY Times
SAN FRANCISCO — YouTube is aiming to raise its profile in American politics by helping deliver a glimpse of life on Capitol Hill to its large online audience.
On Monday, YouTube, in collaboration with Congress, will unveil two new Web pages, one for the House and one for the Senate, where every lawmaker will be able to create a video channel on the site. The pages will include a map of the United States that will allow users to easily navigate to the channel of their elected officials.
Already several members of Congress have channels on YouTube. But by creating a central hub for all senators and representatives, YouTube is hoping to encourage more members to create their own channels, not only as a place to promote their agendas but also as a forum for interacting with citizens.
“People out there don’t really know what senators and congressmen do on a daily basis,” said Steve Grove, head of news and politics at YouTube. “This will give them a sense of what they are doing.”
During the election season, political campaigns made heavy use of YouTube and other online tools, including social networks like MySpace and Facebook, as well as blogs and “microblogging” services like Twitter, to communicate with voters. But until last fall, so-called franking rules largely limited the use of online tools by members of Congress to official House and Senate Web sites. Continue reading →