You know an online social networking community has gone mainstream when the politicians start to catch on.
I have not yet come across a British politician with their own MySpace page, but a number of them have joined the blogosphere with varying degrees of credibility.
The latest trend in the UK is for politicians to post their own short films on YouTube. Their message can be delivered via a new medium directly to the online audience without the filter of the media, and they are not subject to the same strict rules that apply to traditional broadcasting.
The openly gay Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams is the latest MP to jump on the YouTube bandwagon with a short broadcast on his campaign to tackle homophobic bullying in schools.
The 1282 viewings so far would not suggest that it has set the world alight but it is still a very positive step in terms of building support for this type of campaign among the web-based social networking audience.
There is clearly an opportunity for gay advocacy groups to bypass traditional news sources, particularly in countries where the media may be hostile, to reach the public making use of sites such as YouTube.
Similarly corporations looking to reach the gay consumers, who according to numerous surveys are early adopters of technology and use the internet to network and communicate more than the rest of the population, should consider harnessing this type of technology.
This technology offers a new opportunity for brands to target niche audiences, such as the gay market, without using the traditional media. There are far more gay users of YouTube than readers of any gay magazine.
At the same time it is important to remember that the typical user does not fit the stereotype often portrayed in the media. According to Nielsen/NetRatings nearly 55% of YouTube’s US visitors in May 2006 were between 35 to 64, with an additional 19% in the 25- to-34 bracket.
The key for brands, as for politicians and activists, looking to use this type of marketing is to do so with credibility and imagination, and not simply assume that YouTube offers a ready-made receptive audience of (gay or straight) Generation Y users.
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