The Power of Video

The article that stood out the most to me in this weeks readings was the article from the Wall Street Journal on video spoofing. The use the example of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." The article discusses Youtube and other internet video sites, but what interested me is the way they described how internet videos influence the watchers but in ways that they don't even realize. Sites like Youtube have millions of viewers each day and with spoofs like this one, people are watching videos that contain false information and this information influences the way in which people view certain matters, especially in politics and public policy. It is hard to say who creates these videos, but as the article goes on to explain, they are created to harden the views of those who already view certain issues negatively. I think there is something to be said for advertisements that pop up on search engines when people type in words related to a particular video. There is an art to micro-targeting your audience and making them pay attention to your message. Along with the other readings, internet videos are just one way to get a message out to a mass audience. Public spheres communicate information and points of view to many people and are quite affective. In Poster's article, videos were used to convince the Congress of health-care reform by purchasing ads. Not all of the information in public spheres is completely accurate, just as any opinion, but that voice without limitations can be just as much of a weakness as it is a strength.

Here's the link to the video if you haven't watched it: "Al Gore's Penguin Army"