In My Day We Didn't Have Social Media!

Unless you have truly been living under a rock (which is impossible) there is no reason for you to not understand this year's election is crucial. For a variety of reasons I will not divulge into, the interest and excitement surrounding this election is something that hasn't been seen in many years. This is largely due to the fact of the role technology has played in the electoral process. Speeches are now posted to youtube within moments, candidates are virtually campaigning on virtual soap boxes in Second Life, and users are engaging in open dialogue by posting to a variety of social media sites such as YouBama.com and moveon.org

This is not to say that people have never voiced their opinions in politics before but for the first time a platform for every Tom, Dick, and Harry exists where users can speak, listen, and connect.

One of the more interesting applications to this approach is a recent contests put on by the aforementioned Moveon.org. Now, youtube contests are a dime a dozen these days. Anything from music video competitions to commercial contests are available for practically anybody with a camera to make a film composition and win cool prizes. The name of this contest is Obama in 30 Seconds, and it is as obvious as it sounds. It is simply a contests where users can make anytype of video (i.e. animated, still frames, comedy short) that shows why Obama should be the next president in exactly 30 seconds. It is being judged by a plethora of Hollywood stars who may or may not warrant some second guessing relevancy in their selections (Moby...seriously, Moby?????). Regardless, it is a really sweet contest that offers a plethora of pleasant prizes and is open to anyone.

What is interesting is the recognition of the power of grass roots persuasion in this upcoming election. Never before have we seen candidates recognize and acknowledge individuals who would normally would be outcast to the proverbial water-cooler. I think the more interaction and dialogue that takes place, the better off we are as a nation. So go out there and start shooting! Well not with bullets of course, that would be bad...really bad.

On an interesting side note, a similar contest was put on in 2004 by Moveon.org on why George Bush shouldn't be re-elected in 2004. And...while the winning video was extremely powerful, well we all know what happened. But history doesn't always repeat itself, so don't lose faith just yet. Here's the video: