Can video (YouTube/Vimeo and the like) be used to foster political movement/debate

Darragh

Hey all

I've been invited to be part of a talk at the EU Commission on Saturday around the whole area of viral video making and distribution. More details on http://www.euireland.ie/darklight

They've asked me to think about how online video can be used to foster debate.

So I'm asking the great brain that is Boards.ie, with specific relevance to politics - can video be used to foster debate beyond You Tube comments? Can you think of specific videos, cases and/or news stories that might help inform me and the people there?

I'd appreciate any help you could give!

Cheers

Darragh

Mario007

i think it can. but the video needs to be provocative enough to spur such a discussion...in fact it needs to be more provocative than a simple text post, because one is more inclined to read the text than watch a video. plus a video can be easily used as a reference for your arguments, i think.

and of course here on boards you need to give your opinion on the video as well...

Red Sleeping Beauty

Maybe it can't maybe it can't. It's powerful when there's "ground zero" amateur footage from the likes of your G20/London demos. But your Gordan Browns and Brian Cowens just come across as looking like pixelated morons who listened to some bad advice.

I'm assuming you know which videos I'm referencing there .

Sand

I think its an extremely powerful tool to foster a debate along particular lines. People tend to more uncritically accept what they see. Seeing is believing, right? But political messages or videos for a political purpose can be heavily edited to control what you see, what you hear and ultimately what you think happened.

Even politicians caught in cringe inducing moments on camera ( I am thinking of the recent video on the RTE reporter in the Fianna Fail ard Fheis surrounded by an assembly of village idiots with the deliverance theme song playing) are often victims of particular editing that tries to remove context for their action, give you 30 seconds to form an opinion on a person and make that 30 seconds being a politician standing awkwardly waiting for his cue, wiping their nose when they think theyre off camera or even being caught making a face.

So if someone goes to the bother of making a political video its usually because they want to control your view on the matter. Some are more even handed than others, but most have a viewpoint and relentlessly aim to have you agree with them by the end of it. I am not sure thats conducive to a even debate, but it will certainly get reaction and comment.

Text articles are written for the same purpose of course, but I would doubt humans respond as unquestioningly to them because they more easily question the writers account, whereas with a video...well, its right there in front of them so its harder to question if its true.

Victor

Its a tool, not a panacea.

Just like a video of goofy stuff that a cat is doing needs to be entertaining, then so does a political ad - after all thats all it is video on demand advertising.

Now, I don't watch much TV and to be honest, am not into the likes of youtube, unless I have a specific reason to look at something.

oscarBravo

Hi Darragh - it's probably worth factoring in the fact that we have a specific rule on this forum against using video in lieu of reasoned debate. The charter states that posting videos isn't allowed unless you're prepared to summarise the content of the video, and discuss that content.

We felt the need to introduce the rule specifically to counter the whole "look at this video, it will answer all your questions" approach to discussion. In the context of this forum, it was felt that the posting of videos was stifling debate rather than fostering it.

It's entirely possible that that's just because of the nature of this forum as a text-based discussion board, but the nature of video is that it's a one-way medium - a broadcast - which is in some ways the antithesis of debate.