This ad was not the first citizen ad, and it will not be the last. The game has changed.
This is the last line of today's "I did it" post by Phil deVellis. As he told the world today, he created the "Vote Different" campaign mashup ad that's been all over the internet the past couple of weeks. Here's another excerpt from deVellis' post, explaining his motivation:
I made the "Vote Different" ad because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process. There are thousands of other people who could have made this ad, and I guarantee that more ads like it--by people of all political persuasions--will follow.
This shows that the future of American politics rests in the hands of ordinary citizens.
The power of a citizen's voice through an ad like this might come as a bit of a shock to old school politicians and campaigners. But it can't be a surprise to anyone who has ever knocked around for a while on YouTube or who knows the term Web 2.0. Anyone with a bit of tech savvy can communicate a political opinion and create a forum, just like any "ordinary citizen" can become a famous "actor," thanks to YouTube (or a movie reviewer with a following, thanks to Spout).
And Phil deVellis is right: His "citizen ad" will not be the last. The issue with these political ads, just as with everything else in the Long Tail, will become how to sort through all of them to find the few quality ones worth your time.
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