When it comes to the type of political videos watched, 27 percent have viewed a news story about a campaign or candidate online, while 14 percent have watched a candidate interview and the same number a political speech. Only 11 percent watched a political advertisement and 10 percent a campaign video.

Breaking it down by party, Democrats are more likely than Republicans or Independents (40% versus 35% and 33%) to have watched a political video online. Democrats are more likely to have watched each of the types of political videos than Republicans.

More than half (56%) who have watched a political video say they did so to help decide which candidates to support, 50 percent have watched videos for candidates they already support and 35 percent have watched videos for candidates they knew they would not support. Democrats are more likely then Republicans to watch videos to help them decide who to support (59% versus 46%). Republicans are more likely to watch videos for candidates they knew they would not support (39% versus 31%).

Just 7 percent say they would watch a lot more of political speeches if more were available on the Internet, while 17 percent say they would watch a little more. Thirty-six percent would not watch more political speeches if more were available online. Even fewer would watch campaign ads if there were more online. Forty-one percent would not watch anymore while four percent would watch a lot more campaign ads and 10 percent a little more.

The poll concludes, "While YouTube may be taking over the Internet, it looks like campaign themed videos may not yet be ‘must see’ viewing. Campaigns probably don’t want to avoid going online, but they should ensure that they do not focus online on this medium – as a struggling campaign with insufficient funds may be wont to do."
 

Obama Leading All Candidates Online

Nielsen//NetRatings says, BarackObama.com had the most unique visitors in July, with 717,000. Democrat Hillary Clinton trailed with 437,000 unique visitors, followed John Edwards with 348,000 unique visitors.

Among Republican presidential hopefuls, Fred Thompson’s ImWithFred.com drew the most unique visitors in July, with 381,000 even though at the time he had yet to announce his candidacy. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani ranked No. 2 among Republicans online, with 124,000 unique visitors. Ron Paul followed with 113,000 unique visitors to his Web site and John McCain had 104,000 unique visitors to his campaign Web site.

"Consensus has been that Republicans have been slower to take advantage of the Web in their presidential campaigns, but Fred Thompson may be taking a cue from his Democratic counterparts," said Carolyn Creekmore, senior director of media analytics, Nielsen//NetRatings.

"Rather than shying away from buzz, the Thompson campaign is actively engaging in an online conversation. Thompson’s online announcement is reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s."

According to Nielsen BuzzMetrics BlogPulse, blog buzz around the keyword "Fred Thompson" has been increasing in the days leading up to his announcement to run for president.

On YouTube, Democrats are leading in popularity of their politically-related video content, with 475,000 unique visitors in July, compared to the Republican’s 275,000. Visitors to the Republican videos are staying longer, with an average visit of over 3.5 minutes compared to an average visit of less than 1.5 minutes to the Democratic content.

John McCain continued to lead online advertising among presidential candidates in July, with a total of 7.7 million online ad impressions. Mitt Romney had the No.2 spot with 4.7 million impressions and Dennis Kucinich was third with 820,000 impressions.

The application is available for free for distribution to any user’s Web site. It features an interactive display designed for participation, offers a look at election news and allows users to customize by candidate or by issue.

Users can select a candidate and view issues related to that candidate, choose an issue and view where a candidate stands on the issue, expand or limit the coverage timetable, and customize the application to default to a particular candidate.

"As a leader in political news, it was important for us to offer an innovative program that would allow our users to easily understand what’s being discussed by the field of ’08 presidential candidates. And we made it portable so users can take it with them to their blogs or social networking sites," said Jim Brady, Executive Editor, washingtonpost.com.

"This tool makes it really easy to get a quick look or dive in deep thanks to our partner Daylife, who built a comprehensive service that yields up-to-the-minute results."

The Washington Post says it has plans to launch an "Election Tracker", which pulls information from washingtonpost.com events, financial and news databases.

Under the terms of the agreement, CBSNews.com and the washingtonpoast.com will share political content throughout the 2008 Presidential campaign. The washingpost.com will carry video coverage from CBS News correspondents, producers and off air reporters. CBSNews.com will feature news, analysis and commentary from the Washington Post’s political reporters. Each site will link to the other’s political coverage.

"This partnership of two great news organizations that have been and continue to be leaders in political coverage will give online readers a deep, rich and insightful source of reporting and commentary," said Michael Sims, Vice President, Editorial, CBSNews.com.

"Our goal is to be the premier political information destination and to bring the best of the web to our readers, including the likes of Bob Schieffer, Jeff Greenfield and others."

The partnership will offer readers the chance to communicate with each news organization’s reporters and correspondents, who will jointly participate in live chats and other online activities.  The news agencies are planning other joint projects as the campaign season develops.

"The partnership between CBSNews.com and washingtonpost.com ensures that the public reaps the significant benefits of our combined multimedia and interactive resources throughout the 2008 campaign," said Jim Brady, Executive Editor of washingtonpost.com.

"The history and strength of both organizations’ political reporting offers the unique opportunity for the Washington Post’s renowned reporters and columnists to collaborate with colleagues from CBS News to further enhance the unparalleled coverage that our audiences expect."

The Spartan Internet Political Performance (SIPP) Index employs 650 quantitative factors focused on finding out the level of interest a candidate is generating online. Each factor comes from numeric values on the Internet such as social network outreach, Web site traffic, blog presence and search engine utilization. The score for each candidate indicates their overall ability to reach people online and connect on issues.

"This can be compared to counting the number of digital yard signs and bumper stickers posted for each candidate on the Web," said Ryan Vartoogian, President of Spartan Internet Consulting.

The index was created because of the growing influence of the Internet in the political process. According to a July study from iCrossing.com, 42 percent of voters will turn to the Internet for information on the 2008 presidential candidates.

"In the 2008 presidential election and beyond, the Internet will play a dramatic role in shaping the decision support mechanism for voters," said Vartoogian

Weekly updates of the index will be published every Thursday online, with charts comparing the position of each candidate.

YouTube has become increasingly active in the political realm as of late. Last month they launched Citizen Tube, designed to attract people to express their views on political topics.

In addition they also launched YouChoose, a presidential channel focused on the major presidential candidates.

"The idea of using the technology of YouTube and marrying it with traditional television could be really interesting" such as giving viewers new ways to comment on the debate and follow-up and ask questions of the candidates, said Bob Boorstin, director of policy communications for Google in Washington, D.C.

It could be interesting or it could be a total failure. By the time the serious meat of the 2008 election rolls around people may be so burned out from hearing the candidates say the same thing over and over that it could easily become meaningless.

Google and CNN are also working with the GOP candidates to plan a similar debate. The DNC is active in organizing debates for its candidates, while the Republican National Committee is not organizing debates for its candidates.