You Choose

TR Exclusive: YouTube's You Choose To Get Major Upgrade [UPDATE]

Posted by David All
Wed, 2007-08-08 15:19

According to a source close to YouTube's You Choose operation --- Ok, it's our friend Steve Grove --- the page is about to get a major upgrade:

Later today we're revamping You Choose to include issue navigation, so that users can see candidate videos based on issues.

The campaigns have designated which videos they want to represent them (from their channel) on each issue, which you'll see on various issue pages.

You'll still be able to get to candidate channels, but we wanted to add this issue functionality so that users could compare and contrast and engage candidates on the issues in this election.

Steve said to look for the changes at the YouTube You Choose site later today.

UPDATE Aug. 9, 8:06 AM: The changes have been implemented.

As Steve had mentioned, each candidate has a video which represents an "introduction" to that candidate. Clicking through all of the videos, I find that only one candidate, Sam Brownback, wisely made a video specifically for this purpose:


Of course, his production team should have noticed that the YouTube logo isn't "YOUTube," but who else would notice that little detail?

Every other candidate simply dusted off their four-minute bio video, or picked another video which they believe represent them. I wonder if these are the most accurate/honest representations of the candidates?

When we're talking about issues, the You Choose page only gives us six: Education, Energy, Healthcare, Immigration, Iraq, and The Economy. I hope to see more issues added in the very near future so that we can get past the stump speech answers but this is certainly a start to helping find out where these guys at least say they are on the issues.

All in all, the You Choose page is a step in the right direction to helping provide voters with more information. As Ali pointed out in the comments below, another resource which highlights candidate YouTube videos via issue is ExpertVoter.org.


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