Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Election 2.1: Dorm room as campaign stop
posted by Andy Leff 
Breaking news: Key primaries for 2008 will be held in New Hampshire, Iowa, California, and the YouTube nation.
That's because blogging apparently isn't enough for current candidates. Their social media outreach is extending further -- and their influence, wider -- thanks to Georgetown student James Kotecki.
Armed with a video camera, a blog, and pictures on pencils, James interviews politicians right in his dorm room, and posts the segments online. He also critiques and analyzes the use of online video as part of campaign strategies.
James' meteoric rise as political commentator makes him a great outlet for candidates to get in front of, and dialogue with, a wired generation. (Check out Dennis Kucinich's video response.)
But beyond politics, James exemplifies the power of social media optimization. He embeds videos on his blog, posts his media hits, invites comments, and links to his MySpace and Facebook pages -- all in a single, clean, readable site.
It's cross-pollination at its best, maintaining a single unified message across all media platforms. Politicians -- and businesses -- would do well to go back to school themselves, and learn a thing or two from the kid with the pencil puppets. He's doing the right thing, the right way, and enjoying phenomenal results.
That's because blogging apparently isn't enough for current candidates. Their social media outreach is extending further -- and their influence, wider -- thanks to Georgetown student James Kotecki.
Armed with a video camera, a blog, and pictures on pencils, James interviews politicians right in his dorm room, and posts the segments online. He also critiques and analyzes the use of online video as part of campaign strategies.
James' meteoric rise as political commentator makes him a great outlet for candidates to get in front of, and dialogue with, a wired generation. (Check out Dennis Kucinich's video response.)
But beyond politics, James exemplifies the power of social media optimization. He embeds videos on his blog, posts his media hits, invites comments, and links to his MySpace and Facebook pages -- all in a single, clean, readable site.
It's cross-pollination at its best, maintaining a single unified message across all media platforms. Politicians -- and businesses -- would do well to go back to school themselves, and learn a thing or two from the kid with the pencil puppets. He's doing the right thing, the right way, and enjoying phenomenal results.
Labels: James Kotecki, Politics, YouTube
