IT @ ISM Tech Think Blog

Over the last few months, the strike of the Writers Guild of America has led to a significant shift in viewership from TV to online media, as more and more people got fed up with re-runs of old series. Blogs, podcasts and video sharing sites are among the online media outlets benefitting from the TV exodus.

As reported in the Guardian,

The biggest winner, according to figures from Nielsen Online, has been Google-owned YouTube, which showed an 18% traffic surge in the two months since the writers’ strike began in November, compared to September and October.

Interestingly, the Writers Guild has been actively using YouTube to promote their message and build public support for their views.

Another example, from the ongoing US presidential campaigning currently going on:

One candidate recently paid a hefty price for a televised virtual “town hall meeting”, with audience members from 22 cities around the country. According to one campaigner, the one-hour session was witnessed by 250.000 online viewers (on the candidate’s website), and an unknown number of Hallmark viewers.

Meanwhile, a video by Will.i.am (of Black Eyed Peas fame) and a number of celeb friends was posted a week ago on YouTube in support of another candidate (competing for the same party nomination). Mixing clips from a now famous speech with music by Will.i.am, the video has become an instant hit, spawning several versions from different users, totalling more than 1 million views per day. Cost for the candidate in question: $0.

Online media are becoming very influential indeed… Arguably, much content on YouTube is inconsequential, silly or even downright offensive, but many are also actively using this tool to speak their mind, learn from each other and engage in debate. For the kids and teenagers who make up a significant portion of YouTube users today, will this one day become the natural way to engage in active democracy?