After two months of YouTube doing its part in giving voters access to their political representatives through its Town Hall initiative, videos from more than 50 members of Congress have been seen more 1.3 million times, with Republicans garnering the most views: 1 million.
The Official YouTube Blog revealed these and other findings in a post with an infographic Tuesday. Town Hall, which allows users to post questions to members of Congress and then vote on their answers, focuses "on the value of the idea rather than the party of the speaker" since party affiliations are not shown until after a user submits a vote.
The most viewed videos included those from former presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), who took first place with an answer to a question on which sectors are most important for American economic growth.
Here are some other highlights:
- The five topics foremost on American minds were, in this order: the economy, energy, Afghanistan, education and the budget.
- Democrats' videos received the most votes from Town Hall visitors: 129,095.
In its analysis of the language members of each party uses, YouTube found:
On the topic of Afghanistan, Republicans talked about progress, withdrawal, and success, whereas their Democratic counterparts talked about war, mission, and security. On education, Democrats mentioned technology and students, while Republicans talked about performance and college.
Social media has increasingly become a part of the political landscape, with Twitter also conducting its own town hall, with the president no less, in July.
More stories:
- Got questions for Obama? Tweet 'em now
- Weiner's troubles dampen Congressional tweeting
- 71 percent using video-sharing sites: Pew report
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