Writing in the Boston Globe recently Dan Gillmor states in a lenghtly piece. about using technology to save the Presenditial debates.....

"A second approach would be even more ambitious: A debate that would unfold online over the course of days, or even weeks and months. Imagine that one candidate takes a position and poses a question. The opponent would answer with a written response of some predetermined length, but with the help of staff, experts, and the general public. Then the first candidate, again with the help of anyone who wants to join the process, would dissect the response and reply with (we'd hope) a truly nuanced update. Continue this process at length - and repeat it with many other topics.

What would the site look like? What technologies would we use? I have my own ideas, and have posted them on my blog (citmedia.org/blog), but I'm just one person; we need a collective effort to figure this out, using much the same iterative process. The specific tools are less important than the willingness to deploy them."

His follow up suggestions at his blog are posted here.

As Mark mentioned yesterday, MTV and MySpace have teamed up to present real-time "Presidential Dialogues."

This is a critical group for the GOP to reach. Young voters are increasingly turning out to the polls and voting for Democrats. The Republicans need to take every opportunity to reach them. It's good to see that all of them have agreed to participate.

Anastasia Goodstein, youth marketing guru, offers a few reminders for campaigns targeting youth:

What I don't understand is why the youth voter message either relies on celebrities to tell young people voting is cool or the candidates showing how hip they are. Where are the issues? Why isn't there messaging or a campaign that's focused on issues young people care about? The cost of college is sky high and only getting higher. Most of the people serving in the Iraq war are in this demographic. The cost of buying a home or apartment in a major city is not affordable for most young people. Will there be social security when this generation retires? With this generation, context is key. We have to show them why their vote matters and how specifically it can affect change and have a direct impact on their lives. I think that the messaging has to be less about how it's cool to vote or how cool the candidates are and more about why young people should give a damn.

I echo her sentiments. Millenials are a tough group. They want to be reached through certain mediums, but only with their issues. With our glee to see the candidates use social media, it's easy to forget that young voters also care about the issues. Facebook friends are great, but does the profile or web site mention positions that matter to them? What's more important--that celebrity endorsement or the candidates' views on college costs?

This generation has been told from birth that they are special, and they're looking for a candidate who realizes this and reaches out to them. It's a challenge, but Millenials can provide the edge needed to win a close race. All they're asking for is substance wrapped up in the 2.0 package.

PBS is working with the Media Bloggers Association to credential bloggers to cover the Presidential Forum of Democratic Candidates next week at Howard University in Washington D.C. If you are a blogger and want to cover the event, click here for details. Members and non-members of the Media Bloggers Association are welcome to apply.

PBS' "ALL AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL FORUMS ON PBS" are hosted by Tavis Smiley. THe next one, June 28th, 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET at Howard University in Washington, DC., will include U.S. Senator Joe Biden, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, former U.S. Senator John Edwards, former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Senator Barack Obama and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

Here is the PBS press release and the event web site.

The MBA reports that credentialed bloggers will be with the rest of the media in the media center, watching on TV. There will be wi-fi service. After the debate, bloggers will have the same access to the candidates as any other credentialed media.

The MBA plans to have on its site an aggregator of RSS feeds from bloggers covering the event.

If you are a blogger but would prefer to cover a Republican presidential forum, don't despair - PBS will hold a forum for GOP candidates in September and the bloggers who participate in the coverage of the June event will be given priority for the September event.