democracy
Its a gift that keeps on giving. In case you missed it, several weeks ago, after John McCain's disastrous speech in front of a green background meant to contrast himself from Obama (and boy did it), Stephen Colbert took advantage of the campaign-provided backdrop for one of his recurring "green screen challenges" - this one: "Make McCain Exciting". Hundreds of people have accepted the challenge and submitted entries, many of which can be found on YouTube. By far the best that I have seen is "Gray Ambition," inserting McCain into Madonna's Vogue video. Others worth seeing are "He Was There", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Pulp McCain", and "Wizard of Oz". While its fun watching, its also a testament to how brilliantly shows like the Colbert Report understand and harness the power not just of viral video, but of turning the power back over to the users. Some of the results are pretty impressive and well done - ones that the show might have come up with themselves and hired effects artists and compositors to make. But instead, by throwing it out to the viewers, they acknowledge the participatory and democratic nature of the internet, giving viewers personal and emotional involvement as well as a wide variety and scale of actual results. Large return for minimum investment. And good watching too.