“It’s democracy in the internet age, baby!”
This guy is fascinating, and he just may be single-handedly changing the political process. James Kotecki is a senior at Georgetown who posts short videos on his YouTube site that rate how the presidential candidates are using YouTube and the rest of the internet in their campaigns. He’s smart, hilarious, and really insightful, and he’s pushing the campaigns to be more responsive to individuals. It’s an antidote to the slick, spun, focus-grouped juggernauts campaigns have become. A couple politicians have even come to his dorm room to make videos. It’s all very low-tech high-tech.
To see an extension of Kotecki’s concept, check out CommunityCounts.us where people post video reponses to candidates’ videos, and try to get the candidates to answer their questions. Highly participatory.
For an oldster like me, to watch Kotecki’s videos is to wonder if I’m seeing the future. It’s the first time I’ve understood the power of sites like YouTube. It makes me wonder how we in the youth service field could be harnessing this technology to make a difference.
Ideas, anyone? Let’s brainstorm together…