Royal Families play on YouTube

I was surprised to read that a few days ago, the news of Swedish crown princess Victoria's engagement to entrepreneur Daniel Westling was broadcast over YouTube by the Royal Family.

I've already blogged about the Obama campaign's level of sophistication with social media tools and our ability to watch Obama's weekly address on YouTube, but after reading about the Swedish Royal Family, I decided to take a look at the Brits. Sure enough, they have their own YouTube channel, The Royal Channel.

The channel has 26,409 subscribers today and more than two million views. It was started in October 2007. Talk about being ahead of the game! The British monarchy has long been the center of gossip and tabloids in the UK, but to actually launch their own channel is really quite open and progressive. You can check out royal visits to various schools, interviews with different royal family members and historic looks at the nation's treasures.

By contrast, the White House YouTube channel seems to verge on a new form of propaganda as it's almost 100% focused on matters of state, with a presidential spin. It's drier. For example, I was surprised this week's Stevie Wonder concert at the White House wasn't available through the White House channel. I guess the fundamental difference in public image as conveyed "officially" through YouTube might hinge on the fact that the British Royal Family is more often the subject of celebrity gossip rather than governance.

In a recent interview, Macon Phillips, the White House's new media director and the man behind WhiteHouse.gov, admitted he has spent more time managing the daily flow of news from the White House during a challenging economic environment than considering the big picture of how to build the administration's new media message since Obama's inauguration on January 20.

Still, the Obama administration's emphasis on interactivity and transparency is much more advanced than what we would have seen from the competition. Speaking of interactivity, here's this week's address from President Obama:

Obama Delivers Weekly Address on YouTube

During the presidential race, I blogged about McCain and Obama's use of social media tools. Now that Obama is President-elect, he's continuing to leverage social media with his transition website: Change.gov.

For example, Obama delivered the Democratic weekly address from his transition office in Chicago for the first time ever via YouTube (video embedded below). He hopes to continue when in the White House, though all weekly speeches will also be broadcast on the radio.

CNET reported yesterday that the Obama campaign uploaded more than 1,800 videos to its YouTube channel.

The Obama campaign relied heavily on reaching out and inciting people to get involved – particularly online. Obama's transition office continues to invite widespread participation by asking Americans to share both their personal stories and their hopes for America online.

I haven't owned a radio since I went to college so, for me, watching Obama address Americans each week will be a much more convenient way of digesting his agenda. I'm guessing millions of Americans – Obama fan or not – will tune in online from home, from work, from public libraries and from their mobile phones. Will you?

Presidential Race Leverages Social Media

During tonight's presidential debate, I paused my DVR to check out live blog coverage as well as each candidate's website. I've been curious to learn how social media tools are leveraged by both presidential candidates.

Obama's website with the heading "The Change We Need" features on the homepage both Barack TV and the latest Obama Blog post. Visitors can also access state-specific Obama sites, make a donation, register to vote and volunteer to support the campaign.

Right hand widgets welcome Hillary Clinton supporters and allow visitors to create a password-protected account to personalize their experience. Visitors can also sign up for mobile updates and join the Obama conversation on various social networks. News updates, an interactive map and apparel store complete the home page.

McCain's website implores visitors to donate today, join an online phone bank and "speak out" on the debate. Another feature allows campaign volunteers to earn points when they join the McCain team, contribute time or money and recruit friends. There are "Photos of the Week," news updates and upcoming events listed as well.

My favorite feature is the Debate Central component. If you click through, there are already YouTube videos, or "Debate Moments," featuring McCain's best sound bytes from tonight's debate. You'll also find quotes supporting McCain from various bloggers who covered tonight's debate live.

Overall, I prefer Obama's home page to McCain's. If I had more time to scour through, I might reach a different verdict. The wow factor at www.barackobama.com was Barack TV and the Obama Blog featured on the home page. Aside from that, mobile updates, the interactive map and the call to create a personal page were icing and a cherry on top. The site is warm and welcoming.

By contrast, I think McCain's Debate Central is pretty clever. Monitoring the blogosphere and posting snippets from nine prominent blogs in real-time – that's impressive. I also like McCain's Volunteer HQ "Campaign Action Center" enticing volunteers to earn points by supporting McCain, but the strong call to donate and recruit others started to verge on cult behavior.

No matter what political party you're backing this year, it's worth monitoring what tools each candidate is using to interface with constituents. After all, with our country's future at stake, couldn't we all afford to tune in?