[Infowarrior] - Congress follows Obama to YouTube

[Richard Forno]

Congress follows Obama to YouTube
RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday January 13, 2009

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Congress_follows_Obama_to_YouTube_0113.html

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate and House of Representatives have  
launched YouTube channels following a presidential election in which  
the video-sharing website played an influential role.

Steve Grove, head of news and politics at Google-owned YouTube,  
announced the creation of the channels, youtube.com/senatehub, and  
youtube.com/househub, in a post on the YouTube blog on Monday that  
also featured appearances in a YouTube video by the Democratic and  
Republican leaders of the chambers.

Grove said members of the US Congress would be "posting videos direct  
from their Washington offices, as well as clips of floor speeches and  
committee hearings alongside additional behind-the-scenes footage from  
Capitol Hill."

"The House Hub and Senate Hub are the digital equivalents of a  
backstage pass to your government," Grove said.

Both Democratic president-elect Barack Obama and his Republican rival  
John McCain made heavy use of YouTube during the presidential race,  
posting official campaign videos on the site and encouraging its use  
by supporters.

Since his November 4 election victory, Obama has also been putting his  
weekly addresses to the nation on YouTube.

The Senate and House hubs on YouTube each provide a map of the United  
States which links to a congressional representative's individual  
YouTube channel, if they have one.

YouTube viewers can subscribe to a particular channel, post videos on  
the site or ask their legislator questions.

"Find your Senator and Representative on YouTube and make a  
connection ... and if your elected representative doesn't have a  
YouTube channel yet, give them a call or an email and encourage them  
to get started," Grove said.

"These YouTube channels have the potential to make Congress more  
transparent and accessible than ever before -- but only if you  
continue to connect and engage with your government on the site," he  
added.