Online Player in the Game of Politics

ONLINE PLAYER IN THE GAME OF POLITICS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
People in the elections business often say that the most powerful form of endorsement, next to meeting and being actually impressed by a candidate, is the recommendation of a trusted friend. In this election, YouTube, with its extant social networks and the ability to forward a video clip and a comment with a flick of the mouse, has become a source of viral work-of-mouth. As a result, a disruptive technology that was supposed to upend a half-century-old distribution model of television is having a fairly disruptive effect on politics as well. “In politics, there is a very high signal-to-noise ratio,” said Mr. Avidor, who runs his blog in his spare time. “It gives you a megaphone and allows you to break through the clutter, and maybe capture the attention of major media. If you get the right message, it can go viral in a hurry and have a big impact.” Campaign video material, once restricted to expensive television commercials that were endlessly focus-grouped and tweaked, has performed a jailbreak. And a growing tendency on the part of people to run to the Web for current information -- an Associated Press/America Online poll found that 43 percent of likely voters get political news from the Internet -- means a universe of new opportunities and hazards for candidates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/06/business/media/06carr.html
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