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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH0jnyuJ1Tg

I don’t really think that any of Newsom’s policies are good.

But I did think that his online video announcing his gubernatorial campaign was great.   Here’s why:

1-   It was Short

For the love of God please NEVER put a video on the Internet that is longer then five minutes.  The shorter the better. 

2-   It was made specifically for the Internet

I have seen far to many candidates and politicians use their youtube channel for reposting entire news conferences, long-winded speeches and news clips. I am not objecting to this material being put up, but online video allows for so much creativity and yet I see so many campaigns just pushing what was already on TV, and what didn’t make it onto TV.     

3-It was professionally produced

Did you notice the upbeat music that fit well with the theme?   The multiple shots?   The flowing story line?   The fact that Gavin speaking was shot specifically for this online video?  The fact that this video had quick edits and was always visually interesting?   The consistent text?  The good sound quality?   

Notice how when you give an intern a $300 camera you got at Best Buy you don’t have any of these things? 

If you want your video to be good, expect to spend a little bit of money on it.  It will still be a tiny fraction of Television CPM.

4-K.I.S.S.

This video was a very simple announcement:

San Francisco is doing great under my leadership.

I’m running for governor.

I’m liberal.

Join the Campaign. 

5-It spoke to a target audience.

Every time an online video is made there should be a specific target in mind: past donors, potential donors, gun owners, the media, young voters ect.

The target for this video was elite voters (voters that are informed and who’s political opinions are valued by their friends, family and neighbors) of the Democratic party, who will defiantly vote in the primary.

What did the video say to this very liberal group?

-I have little regard for the English language.

-Extremist government environmental policies create jobs.

-Government health care is wonderful and affordable because of me.

-Minorities like me.

-Government creates jobs that pay a “living wage”.

These are all things that the target audience wanted to hear.

6-It was used to in conjunction with the media.

The media talked about his video.  The story was about how he is cutting edge, and high tech.  As opposed to the story being about his problems: the failure of prop 8, his personal issues, ect.  He created the frame as opposed to letting the media frame him.

7-It was used in conjunction with the rest of his campaign.

The video promoted campaign stops he was going to be making up and down California.  And it asked people to “Join” his campaign (donate or volunteer).  

8-It was used in conjunction with other Internet properties.

Gavin twittered the video (where he has over 421,000 followers), put it on his facebook (where he has 50,000 supporters), his website (which gets more then 7 times the traffic of all his gubernatorial competitors combined), and he put it on the Huffington Post (where he is a regular contributor).

Online video must work hand in hand with every e-platform you have at your disposable to ensure proper distribution.

9-Awesome subliminal messaging!

“Stop looking back and start looking for solutions.”

“We can’t afford to keep returning to the same old tired ideas and expect a different result.”

“We need new ideas and bold fresh innovative solutions.”

=

Jerry Brown is older then dirt.

Bryan Barton is a political consultant based in Sacramento specializing in online video.

You can email him at bb@iStardom.com.

Or check out his videos he has made for Congressman Tom McClintock, The San Diego County GOP, and the Tea Parties at www.youtube.com/bryanbarton

Tennessee Democrat Bob Clement served in Congress from 1988 to 2003. Historians will decide what legacy he achieved during that time, but here’s a new video to help them.

It is the first episode in “Porkbusters On Patrol,” the kind of project made for pork-hating Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin. It is a networked journalism series announced by Eyeblast.tv and the bipartisan Porkbusters coalition this summer. Subscribe to our Porkbusters channel for future episodes.

We’re still looking for Porkbusters across the country to produce video reports. Search the 2008 “Pig Book” of Citizens Against Government Waste for ideas from your area, and send your e-mail pitches to me: dglover-at-eyeblast-dot-tv.

If you want to join our army of citizen reporters but don’t have a camera, you can get one free in exchange for your work. Just request a Flip video camera when you e-mail your story ideas.
 

Over the past month, John McCain's online shop has churned out video after video aimed at Barack Obama. Most are television ads, while others were made just for the Internet. All of them have hit their mark dead center.

Let's go to the tape for a recap:

-- July 21, "Pump": Asks who is to blame for higher gas prices and answers the question with background voices chanting "Obama! Obama!" The kicker: "Don't hope for more energy; vote for it."

-- July 26, "Troops": Criticizes Obama foreign affairs and defense policy record and blasts him for playing basketball while abroad but not visiting U.S. troops when cameras were banned. The kicker: "John McCain is always there for our troops."

-- July 30, "Celeb": Calls Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world," comparing him with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, but suggests he isn't ready to lead. The kicker: "Higher taxes, more foreign oil -- that's the real Obama."

-- Aug. 1, "The One": Internet video that mocks the messianic feel of the Obama campaign and Obama's own grandiose statements about being "a symbol of America returning to our best traditions." Moses imagery included. A sequel posted online Aug. 21 took a similar satirical approach to the Democratic convention.

-- Aug. 12, "Fan Club": A faux invitation to join the Obama fan club, with "amazing" perks that include higher taxes. The kicker: "We know he doesn't have much experience and isn't ready to lead. But that doesn't mean he isn't dreamy!"

And then came this flurry of ads over the past few days, right as Democrats gathered in Denver to nominate Obama:

-- Aug. 22, "Higher": Portrays Obama as a celebrity who doesn't understand the impact that new taxes have on the family budget. The kicker: "He's ready to raise your taxes -- but not ready to lead."

-- Aug. 22, "Joe Biden On Barack Obama": Resurrected Biden's criticisms of Obama right as word broke that Biden was Obama's pick for vice president -- and the praise that Biden bestowed on McCain. Great Obama reaction visual.

-- Aug. 22, "Passed Over": Accuses Obama of not picking Hillary Clinton as his vice president because she spoke the truth about him in the Democratic primary. The kicker: "The truth hurt, and Obama didn't like it."

-- Aug. 22, "3 AM": Borrows Clinton's much-discussed ad footage that suggests Obama lacks the experience to lead in an emergency. The kicker: "Hillary's right."

-- Aug. 22, "Debra": Loyal Clinton supporter vows to vote for McCain and tells other Democrats it's OK to do the same. The kicker: "Now [McCain's] the one with the experience and judgment."

-- Aug. 26, "Tiny": Highlights Obama's rhetoric downplaying the threat that Iran poses to the United States and Israel. The kicker: "Obama, dangerously unprepared to be president."

The latest Internet video was released yesterday. Dubbed "Remote Control," it shows scenes of dangers in the world as leading Democrats criticize Obama's foreign policy views and as Obama professes himself to be "a believer in knowing what you're doing." The ad is getting rave reviews.

Each video is powerful of its own right for different reasons -- the appeals to popular culture, the background chants of "O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma," the perfect timing, and the use of Obama's own words and those of his allies. But the videos are even more powerful as a package.

They are driving home a central theme -- that Obama isn't "ready to lead." Because he isn't ready to lead, the ads say, Americans can expect less national security, higher taxes, a continuing energy crisis, and a dangerous obsession with celebrity over substance.

The power of that message is evident in the polls: They tightened as the videos were released, and the traditional convention bounce has been slow to bounce Obama's way this week.

Obama's campaign hasn't exactly been silent as McCain's online machine churned out its videos. The Obama team, in fact, produced far more videos during the past month, and some of them have been equally good.

Obama has attacked McCain as a Washington insider, an economic ignoramus, an ally of the rich and powerful, and a yes man to President Bush. Obama has targeted narrowly focused issue ads at potential swing states. And his staff has fact-checked McCain's ads.

Like McCain, Obama also has been quick to pull the online video trigger for maximum impact. When McCain couldn't answer a reporter's question about how many homes he owns, Obama's team immediately released an ad titled "Seven" that pegs McCain as out of touch with the common man because he owns seven homes worth $13 million.

The ad closes with a picture of the White House and this message: "And here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into." A companion Obama Web video, meanwhile, asked Philadelphians on the street how many homes they would have to own before they lost track.

But McCain's online videos have packed more punch, created more buzz and forced the Obama campaign to play defense with counter-attacks. Even when Obama scored points after the flap over McCain's multiple homes, McCain quickly answered with an ad that turned the conversation to Obama's wealth and ethics.

And today, McCain took the high road, releasing an ad where he congratulates Obama for becoming the first black man nominated as a presidential candidate.

"Weirdly, McCain seems to have taken a lead in the rapid-delivery YouTube department," Instapundit Glenn Reynolds concluded after McCain released his "Remote Control" video. "I wouldn't have predicted that. The Obama stuff, meanwhile remains in this vein. It's well-produced and star-studded, but it's not hitting the key points."

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Cross-posted at Video Done Right, the blog of Eyeblast.tv

To hear Barack Obama tell it, Campaign 2008 is all about change. Unfortunately, both he and John McCain today agreed to the same, tired routine of debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates for the past five presidential cycles.

Sticking to the system – this year that means three presidential debates on Sept. 26, Oct. 7 and Oct. 15, and a vice-presidential debate on Oct. 2 – makes strategic sense for Obama. While it’s true that accepting a 20-year-old debate structure runs counter to Obama’s pitch as a change agent, the reality is that speaking off-the-cuff isn’t Obama’s strong suit.

He’s gives a great speech, but Obama proved at Saturday’s Saddleback Church forum, where he and McCain answered the same questions in back-to-back appearances, that he is more professorial than presidential – and not necessarily a good professor.

But McCain should know better than to toe the debate line. He is the mirror opposite of Obama. He is lousy at giving prepared speeches but excels at connecting with voters in question-and-answer sessions. That’s true of town-hall meetings, podium-style debates and innovative forums like Saddleback.

So why is McCain settling for just three structured, predictable debates? He needs to think outside the debate hall – and do it in a way that is perfect for the Internet video era.

He should take a cue from Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican elected president and a man remembered for his anti-slavery debates with Stephen Douglas.

The seven official Lincoln-Douglas debates in Illinois’ 1858 U.S. Senate race aren’t the model McCain needs to remember, though. They are rightly remembered for their great pageantry and oratory, but they also featured plenty of mud-slinging by both candidates. Not much has changed from then until today.

The better strategy for McCain to follow is the one that Lincoln employed to force Douglas to confront the challenge face-to-face. Lincoln followed his long-time rival around the state. He was in the Chicago audience when Douglas announced his re-election bid and responded to Douglas' comments the next day. He later followed Douglas to Bloomington and Springfield.

Douglas ultimately agreed to more structured debates in order to regain some control over the confrontations and to avoid charges of political cowardice.

That tactic could be even more powerful today. Imagine McCain following Obama from city to city, answering him point for point and having staffers capture it all on video. The press would love it – and even if their infatuation with Obama keeps them from reporting on the encounters fairly, the McCain team could blast the footage across the Web.

It’s exactly the kind of thing a maverick should be doing in this new media age.

With or without House Democrats in town, the debate over energy policy will continue in Washington tomorrow. Republicans in the chamber won't have it any other way.

The first round of the revolution wasn't televised, but conservatives are planning to make sure the second round is. Good for them.

The taping doesn't have to be limited to the nation's capital, though. Everyone can get involved by taping here and taping now -- wherever here and now is for you. If your lawmaker left town without having the energy debate the nation wants to hear, hold his or her feet to the fire by asking tough questions and filming the response. Spread the news far and wide on the Internet, including through Eyeblast.tv.

The liberal media already has shown itself eager to ignore or ridicule this story as "bizarre," but this is the information age. We don't need the liberal media now. If you can't beat 'em -- and we never will as long as they buy ink by the barrel -- then bypass 'em.

This is a chance for conservatives to stake their claim in the new media frontier in a big way. Seize this moment!