You are alone. I love it. It signifies change and the passing of generations - Francine Hardaway from IM

Obama was great on YouTube during the campaign. The new bit? Not even good enough for radio. - Michael Markman

Francine - the videos belong on change.org or the whitehouse site - not youtube - Allen Stern

It's not like he's lip-syncing and dancing around like an idiot ... he's using it like past Presidents used radio or TV addresses. But now they are archived, embed-able and something people can interact with. How's that bad? - Clay Newton

The videos are on the change.gov site. The bonus of them using YouTube is it is the only video site I can think of that is accessible to everyone. - Anika

The videos are also on Change.gov - Francine Hardaway

I think Allen's peeved that YouTube's getting an apparent content exclusive. But the video would end up on YT _anyway_, and get more views there _anyway_, so the point's kinda moot. And since he's not President yet, it has no business on the White House site, either, imo. Put your message where the audience is. Online, you'd be stupid to ignore or pass over YouTube, for better or worse. - abacab

Depends on why you hate it. I admit it makes me uncomfortable, for the same reason I didn't like that Eric Schmidt was on his team of economic advisers. I don't think we'd think it was cool if the chairman of Exxon-Mobil was on his board, and I see Google the same way -- a bigco that would love to have an in with the president-elect (and does). Youtube is part of Google. So it makes me queasy to see the guy I backed get into bed with a bigco. - Dave Winer

I'd like to see him on blip.tv -- helping out one of Google's competitors. Now *that* would be cooool! Right? Wouldn't you think that Obama really got it if he supported diversity and competition? - Dave Winer

You're probably not alone, but I'm not with you and don't know who is. - MiniMage

I don't know if it's true of a "transition team" - but *as President* every video he makes would be public domain by default, which means they'd wind up on YouTube anyway. And there's nothing to stop anyone from putting it on another site or hosting it themselves. This just streamlines it a bit. - Eric P

David, that's just being nitpicky. The Obama campaign was using YouTube throughout the entire campaign. This isn't some new idea that just popped into someone's head there. Two years of using the service, they probably just thought, "Well let's roll the admin. stuff over to there too." - Anika

Can't say you're alone, but... I think it's awesome. :) At least we'll have some semblance of a two-way dialogue. - Ⓒⓗⓡⓘⓢ Ⓟⓘⓡⓘⓛⓛⓞ

The more you guys are willing to give the market to YouTube the more it makes me want the government to disrupt that. Monopolies are totally un-Internet-like. Suppose the government had decided the Internet should belong to AT&T. Could have happened that way. Wouldn't have worked out very well, I'm sure of that. Instead we got all kinds of new stuff because it wasn't owned by anyone. - Dave Winer

@Dave, but in reality is that's the largest and most widely distributed video network at the moment. It's like the NBC, CBS, etc. of the web for video. Probably has plenty to do with Eric Schmidt also - so see it as giving to Google, really. Everybody seems to love Google. I think Obama could have married the audience to his own platform, but isn't it your/my/our web peers that say we need to free content, bring it to the user, etc.? :) It's cheaper this way, and it's un-internet-like to have the web cost money....at least by many's mindset.... - Patricia

I think we should all be grateful we now have a president who understands technology, who is willing to use the internet as the communications platform we all see it as, who is at least giving the perception that he is interested in two-way dialogue. When has this ever happened in our short history? While it may suck the he opted to use YouTube, did you honestly expect him to use Vimeo, Justin.tv or some other similar site? YT is *the* video sharing site. What are you suggesting Obama use in place of YT? - Scott Jarkoff

Patricia why do you think this move has anything to do with Schmidt? Keeping in mind, as I noted above, that the Obama campaign was using YouTube since last year. - Anika

I don't mind he's on YouTube....I just dislike what he has to say. - Curt Mercadante

That Obma is doing Video, I LOVE. That it's on the GooTube, not so much. - tehKenny

@Anika, it can and may have zero sinister motive to it. It's been widely reported that the two are in cahoots, whatever. It may have been Schmidt who suggested it. Who knows. People need to stop seeing the web as a website, and start seeing it like broadcast TV or their phone. To the government, and I mean this, it's not about YouTube, Facebook, social media, power of the people or any of that noise. It's about reaching people with information like biz and govt has done with radio, Tv etc before it. - Patricia

when the country can't revive because the socialism life support that we are under is repressing it... you might be surprised to see how many people saw your post... but were afraid right now to say anything about it. When the global situation Balkanizes and the borders fall in good intentions... and mass holocaust hits everyone... just remember that post. ...and remember how you thought the important issue was youtube or not... or that the color of a person's skin was the reason you elected that jerk - NoahDavidSimon

Davidson, Chill. It's just another channel of communications. Deep breathely. - Phil Boiarski

I think it's the shit - sofarsoShawn

ps, @scott - i used to write the letters that made people think the congressman in my city was active and involved. it was never him, always me, but people were sure he was painstakingly typing those notes. so it's not "obama" but the adminstration. nothing wrong with it, but know it isn't all him but many adopting to the new platform. it's a good thing. - Patricia

It would surprise me if Obama presidential web-vids remain exclusive to YouTube. The ads were also on Brightcove. - Michael Markman

wow lot of comments - allow me to clarify a few things... 1. i haven't watched his message - my comment had nothing to do with what he said or will say 2. it has to do with what Winer said - it's about fair competition, discovery and diversity. Aren't there rules and laws in place to protect this sort of thing? 3. if you think this will be a two-way dialogue, you are sadly mistaken. - Allen Stern

It makes sense to continue reaching out to his supporters the same way he did before. - Aram Zucker-Scharff

Once he's in office, the videos will be public property. At this point, who knows what their status is. Not sure anyone has thought about it. - Dave Winer

I'm sure Mike Huddack and Blip.TV can do just fine without Dave Winer and the rest of the America hating Politburo. Besides Blip.TV isn't allowed to be seen in China because of censorship. My question is will you put federal money into a failed YouTube that can't make money off of advertising and create your own propoganda for Obama now or later? - NoahDavidSimon

I like that he's going where the people are. True, he should send this to more than just one network, and centralize on change.gov, but it is nice that he's trying to go where the people are. - Jesse Stay

Love it. Youtube or anywhere else - it's good to have a pres. that speaks to the people. - BEX

Smart president! - Igor Poltavskiy

woodrow - you can't compare hulu and youtube - they are completely different - it's really interesting to read the comments here, really, really interesting - Allen Stern

the question is not if youtube is a monopoly, but will we federalize BIG MEDIA when it fails? Advertising revenue is down! - NoahDavidSimon

I would really like it if he posted to multiple sites, thereby not favoring one company (especially one with poor video quality) - Justin Yost

Gee, I wonder where he should post, since he has been using the internet all along. Be thankful he is including us! - Rod Davis

I'm all for it, YouTube is the ultimate video community, and they try the hardest to empower and compensate everyday video bloggers. Don't hate, emulate. - David A. Fenton

wait, what is change.gov ? Is the fascist in power already? isn't that illegal? he is not the government yet! - NoahDavidSimon

While I agree that an official Whitehouse player would be better it's a smart PR move to distribute via YouTube and other video community sites. That's where the eyeballs are. You can say it's exclusive but on the other hand it's inclusive. At least he has dumped old media for new. Good argument though, because it does look like an endorsement of with the YouTube player embedded on http://change.gov/newsroo... - Larry Kless

Allen... you are not BIG MEDIA. you are the little media guy that Obama will SQUISH with government. - NoahDavidSimon