YouTube is our reality

If you tuned in to the recent Democratic Presidential Debate (or like me caught the outtakes on the news) you noticed something very different this year compared to eight years ago. Enter 2007: A world driven by new media—blogs, podcasts, YouTube—all in an effort to keep us connected. My applause goes to CNN for what was dubbed as “an experiment” and “something never done before”—taking video questions from 39 ordinary citizens. With 2.6 million viewers according to the Nielsen ratings, it was the second most watched debate of the campaign season.

Even more interesting was that for the first time in history this debate had the highest 18 to 30 year old viewers. This is one more example of the power that new media has to reach this niche (and quite important) target audience.

The Republican Debate will be in our backyard on September 17 in St. Petersburg, FL, and you still have time to submit your questions on YouTube. In a political world with way too much hot air, the winner here is YouTube for adding some flavor and humor, and maybe even coming up with the summer’s hottest reality show.