YouTube becomes Speaker’s Corner

So much of the web is built on the idea that anyone can say anything, and it’s up to the viewer and the collecitve media to promote or dismiss it. Which has made for a very interesting political discourse on the web, ranging from mainstream to fringe, and a lot of very effective communities like Daily Kos. Video immediately made the overall pie fight that much more fun, but I hadn’t realized how much of a platform YouTube has become for overt political expression and dialogue.

Then i read about a controversial video campaigning against Harold Ford, Jr., who was a classmate and friend of mine at Penn. The article didn’t have a link, but a search on YouTube revealed the original (linked above) and plenty of others.

It’s a virtual town square out there - both a great way for candidates and their supporters to get their messages out, and a fantastic platform for creative ways of messaging (both good and bad). As always, buyer beware!