The next presidential dialogue for the MySpace/MTV crowd is set. It's October 29th in Cedar Rapids. Information here at the Flektor-Blog. Why is this important?
The inaugural MySpace / MTV Presidential Dialogue, with former Senator John Edwards, reached a wide audience on-air, online and on mobile phones. Held September 27 at the University of New Hampshire, the event was broadcast live on MySpace and www.ChooseorLose.com, and since its online premiere, has been streamed approximately 350,000 times. The on-air broadcast (7-8 pm ET) was the #1 program for viewers aged 18-24 across all of cable for the time period, and was seen by a total of nearly two million viewers overall (all ages). Nearly 2,300 questions were submitted for Senator Edwards by online viewers during the course of the one hour Dialogue. Adding to its historical significance, the Dialogue with John Edwards was the first-ever Presidential forum to be broadcast live on mobile phones, via MTV Mobile.
That's a lot of young voters, and Edwards and Obama are getting first crack at them. There are Republicans that will be a part of the process, but it's clearly not as big of a deal. Republican candidates should be clamoring to get in front of this audience, and they're not.
Some of us may think it's because MTV is so liberal. Well, the liberals think MySpace is dominated by Murdoch rightwingers, and it's not stopping them. It's a space we need to be more active in, and if you any influence on a candidate, now is the time to be speaking up.
Flektor's polling tool has been a good story, and there's more to come after the event. Full disclosure: Flektor is a client of mine, but in this case, I'm posting not to push Flektor, but to let conservatives know there are tools and events out there we should be taking advantage of.
An excellent example is Doug Ross's Journal, and his post on Unintended Consequences, which discussed the wiretapping law and the holdup by the Democrats. I took his post and made it into a video, complete with music from Chopin and some slick transitions. Took me thirty minutes. If you are struggling to come up with online content - check out Flektor. It's free, and easy to use and embed on your site.
And for Obama's event. Here's a chance to hear him speak in an hour long format. It's a lot of information, and gives you a much better sense of what you're up against. Edwards event was a real eye-opener. It wasn't all soundbites and set piece speeches, which itself is extraordinary in presidential campaigns.
Comments
To be honest...
I don't really want to listen to Barack Obama for 30-seconds let alone 60 minutes. We know what we're up against and it isn't Edwards or him. It's her.
I will promise to watch one of these MTV/MySpace debates when they actually get a Republican to participate.
You should listen - no seriously
Yes, we assume it's her, but knowing what the other primary candidates is saying can be effective, and believe it or not - the Democrats are talking about issues that resonate with voters
In healthcare, for example, though the rest of his plan was socialist, Edwards did stress preventative care. In his plan, it's a magic wand that saves money, but in all seriousness, healthcare reform that includes heavy doses of preventative care, especially at the SCHIP, Medicare, and Medicaid levels, can save hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more.
And it's an effective attack against Republicans, because we're not talking about it.
As for Republicans - it would be nice to see one. Who do you think is standing on the hose? MySpace and MTV, or the Republican presidential primary campaigns.
Check out those numbers again. It's a big chunk of the electorate we fail to address as a party, and it takes so little to get involved. 82,000 votes? Are you telling me our candidates couldn't change the mind of or fire up 82,000 votes?
It's another example of campaigns that are fundamentally running yesterday's campaigns. I have more for you offline, David.
Jim Durbin
http://www.24thstate.com
http://www.durbinmedia.com
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