Well here in the States, 2008 will be another big year: presidential election year. However, we get to “prepare” for it now.

This post is not political. Neither is this blog. However, there are some interesting things going on with the ‘08 campaign already that we as ministers of the gospel should pay attention to.

For example, did you realize that at least three candidates announced they are in the running via internet video?

As Jollyblogger points out regarding Hilary Clinton’s announcement:

…as someone who has a calling to communicate a message, these things cause me to pause and notice - they show what the best minds in communication think communicates best to people today.

They chose not only to use the internet, but to use video on the internet. I think this points to a few, perhaps obvious, points:

• Of all media available, video is great because you can see and hear the communicator
• In this TV/movie culture, we take the time for video
• Technology has caught up enough in the US for a very important announcement to be made online

With sites like YouTube that allow you to upload videos and embed them on other websites and the easy to use Podcasting subscriptions in iTunes, the viral effect of videos is quite effective.

A couple of weeks ago, the Vodcast “Rocketboom” did a spot on these political annoucements via video. I don’t find the value in the political assessments, but in the fact that this process of the social media deconstructing and evaluating these videos I find fascinating!