Choose the questions for the GOP candidates in the FOX News/Google Debate

Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog and the Public Sector Blog.

If you’ve been watching the 2012 Republican presidential race from the sidelines, now is your chance to get involved: Google and FOX News will present a GOP primary debate in Orlando, Florida on September 22, and you can drive the conversation by submitting and voting on questions for the candidates. The Fox News/Google Debate will combine the questions you submit on YouTube with maps, facts and information to enrich and guide the discussion. You can vote thumbs up or down on the questions using Google Moderator, and many of the top-voted will be put straight to the candidates to answer. The result—an informative dialogue about the future of our country centered on the issues you care most about.

 

You can submit your questions starting today, in video or in text, at www.youtube.com/foxnews. The debate will be live streamed on YouTube as well as broadcast on the FOX News Channel at 9pm ET on Thursday, September 22. Throughout the evening, we’ll use Google’s public data and search trends on air to give greater context to the questions, and help you make a more informed decision at the polls come November 2012. We hope you’ll join us—submit your question now and let your voice be heard.

Steve Grove, Head of YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Ask the GOP Candidates.”

Reflections on September 11 - Share Your Story

The worst terrorist attack ever on U.S. soil took place ten years ago next month. The tragic events of September 11, 2001 affected the lives of millions of people, not only in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, but around the world.



Working with The New York Times, we’re marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with a dedicated YouTube channel, featuring special content from the New York Times, archived news broadcasts from September 2001, and your own personal stories and tributes. We hope this channel will provide an enduring record of what took place on that day.



We’re asking you to share with us:

• Your strongest memory of that day or that time period
• How 9/11 changed you, and how you believe it changed America
• What you lost — or gained -- because of 9/11

Make a video answering any of these questions and submit it to youtube.com/September11. A selection of your videos will be featured on the The New York Times website and YouTube homepage on September 11 this year.



Through telling and sharing stories, we can all hope to make sense of an event that, for many of us, was one of the defining moments of our lives. Thank you for sharing yours.



Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics Manager, recently watched “Portraits Redrawn: Alissa Torres”

YouTube in the Palestinian Territories

There are few areas in the world where the ubiquity of the web means more than in the Palestinian territories. In a place where conflict is a part of daily life, and land disputes prevent the kind of geographical freedom most of us take for granted, it’s platforms like YouTube that are allowing people to broadcast their ideas to the rest of the world—and to tell stories that aren’t being told by other media outlets.

A few weeks ago, as part of our efforts to broaden YouTube’s news content partnerships, I spent a week with some other Googlers in Gaza and the West Bank. I met with news organizations, bloggers, local officials, and young people—all of whom were eager to tell their stories on video. In the last month, over 16,000 videos have been uploaded to YouTube from the Palestinian territories, despite low access to 3G networks and broadband Internet. And of the more than 75,000 videos uploaded from the territories this year, 5,000+ were tagged as news and politics videos:

Sleepless in Gaza is an innovative 90-part (!) reality show on YouTube featuring six women who travel in the Palestinian territories and document their experiences. It drew such a following on YouTube that it’s now being optioned for TV series in the U.S.

• The Maan News Agency, the top online Palestinian news site, has begun uploading its video reports to YouTube to share with the world.
• Videos covering the March 15 demonstrations (which were held to demand unity between competing Palestinian political parties, Hamas and Fatah) saw many views on YouTube as conflict broke out between demonstrators and Hamas.
• The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has a YouTube channel they use to tell the stories of Gazans they work with in schools and other projects.
• The Global Citizen Corps, a group of young bloggers organized by the international NGO Mercy Corps to do community service and media training, has a robust YouTube channel with videos made by young people telling the story of Gaza through their eyes.
• The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, once the state media outlet of President Abbas’ Fatah, has recently decided to hire an independent board of directors and produce content outside the influence of the government (on a model that might end up quite like PBS).

Meeting with bloggers in Ramallah

Meeting with bloggers in Gaza

It’s in Gaza (the part of the Palestinian territories that are run by Hamas) where media freedoms have a ways to go. Journalists told us they’d been jailed for writing articles critical of Hamas, and one news organization had their office broken into and computers stolen when their pages held criticism of the government. And, after growing to 1,200 members, the Global Citizen Corps caught the attention of the government and was disbanded by the organizers for a while to protect members.

But the people of the Palestinian territories want desperately to tell a story of the region that gets beyond stereotypes. The images we see in Western media, of a place fraught with conflict and despair, doesn’t tell the real story of the territories, they told us. Some Palestinian entrepreneurs even created a new travel website, highlighting the best there is to see in the region.

It’s been said before, but it’s true: it’s the young people in the Middle East who will make change. Seventy percent of the people in Gaza are under 30. In Israel, 30 percent of the population is under 14. Several bloggers told us they had relationships with Israeli youth on the Internet; their hope is that YouTube and other platforms will help them communicate beyond the seemingly intractable political battles between their leaders and start conversations that will lead to new opportunities for peace.

Steve Grove, Head of YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Sleepless in Gaza, part 1.”

John Legend talks charter schools, Glee’s influence on education and more in YouTube World View interview

We know he has a superb voice but in our latest YouTube World View interview, John Legend shows he also has serious heart as he talks about his major passion — education for all.

In this 30-minute interview, YouTube partner Josh Sundquist asks your top-voted, and pretty difficult, questions, including those about whether charter schools really work, how to recruit college grads into teaching positions rather than corporate gigs and how to balance the importance of work and school in lower-income families. Watch the full interview here:



Legend also opens up about some lighter subjects like his greatest musical influences, what kept him up until 2 am the previous night and why he thinks Glee is having a positive impact on the state of education.

For more information about how you can get involved with John’s own “Show Me Campaign,” visit www.showmecampaign.org, and for great educational content year-round, from guitar lessons to astronomy lectures, check out YouTube EDU.

Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched “2011 Commencement Address by Denzel Washington."

John Legend takes your education questions in next World View interview

In the past five months, YouTube World View has challenged leaders to talk about some of the most pressing issues facing the world today. Until today, these leaders have resided squarely in the government space, however, our next World View subject has a slightly different background.

Starting today, you can ask questions of philanthropist and soulful crooner John Legend. In addition to being a nine-time Grammy Award winner (!) and one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, John is the founder of the Show Me Campaign, an effort to use education to break the cycle of poverty.

John wants to hear your questions about education, whether they’re about raising the standard of education around the world, improving the quality of teachers, or the work he is doing with the Show Me Campaign. You can head over to www.youtube.com/worldview to submit your questions now. He’ll answer the top-voted questions in a special interview that will be released on June 8.

Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched “John Legend in Ghana”

World View heads to Africa: Rwandan President Kagame takes your questions

YouTube World View has traveled to North America, Europe and the Middle East to offer you the chance to interview the most powerful leaders in the world. Today, we’re introducing our first World View interview with an African leader, Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Starting now, you can submit questions to President Kagame on any topic, like Rwanda’s economy, technology policy, how the country has grown over the 17 years since the genocide or the issue of regional integration. You can also ask questions as wide ranging as issues related to the future of Africa and its young people. Go to www.youtube.com/worldview to submit your question via video or text, as well as vote on your favorites. You can also tweet in your question - make sure to use hashtag #askkagame in your tweet, and it will automatically be added to the World View queue.

On May 5th, the President will sit down for a special interview with Khaya Dlanga, a YouTube partner and one of South Africa’s leading video bloggers. During the interview, President Kagame will answer a range of the most popular questions submitted by you. The deadline to submit your question is May 3 and the final interview will be available on May 7.

Ory Okolloh, Google Africa Policy and Government Relations Manager, and Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager, recently watched “Karim Massimov: A Question for World Leaders”

Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero is next in World View lineup; takes your questions

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, currently serving his second term as the Prime Minister of Spain, has made some bold choices during his time in office, like removing Spanish troops from the war in Iraq and legalizing same-sex marriage.

Now, he’s taking your questions, about these issues and others, as the first Spanish-speaking participant in the YouTube World View interview series. On April 27, Zapatero will sit down to answer the top-voted questions submitted by citizens from around the world in an interview streaming on YouTube.

The questions are already coming in. For example, Curiso in Madrid, asks, "After the disaster of Fukushima, do you support the closure of nuclear plants in Spain? What are the energy alternatives?" while Juan is curious whether the state will “come to the rescue of thousands of families who have no means to pay their mortgages?"

What are your questions for the Spanish prime minister? Submit them in text or video to www.youtube.com/worldview before April 22 and they could be asked.

Manuel Román , Spain Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Pregunta”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answers your questions live on YouTube

Two weeks ago, YouTube and Israel’s Channel 2 News asked you to submit your questions for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Thousands of you responded, from more than 90 countries, and while a large portion of questions were submitted from users across the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, many also from farther corners like Japan, Pakistan, Canada, Nepal, and Venezuela.

Today, at 11:10 am PST, Prime Minister Netanyahu will answer the top-voted questions from around the world, and you can watch the interview live at www.youtube.com/worldview.

One topic which attracted hundreds of questions by users worldwide was the the fate of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. People also posted about about negotiations and chances for peace with the Palestinians, the recent upheavals in the Middle East, and housing and gas prices in Israel.

To see which questions Netanyahu will answer, and how he’ll respond, please visit the World View channel at 11:10 am or check back later today to see it in its uploaded form.


Alon Chen, Israel Product Marketing Manager, and Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched, “Two Questions for PM Netanyahu”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu open for questions on Israeli democracy, Middle East uprisings and peace with the Palestinians

As the situation in the Middle East continues to unfold, YouTube World View invites you to submit your questions for one of the most influential leaders in the region - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The interview, which is presented in partnership with Channel 2 News, will be 100% comprised of your top-voted questions.


Whether you want to know about the popular upheavals in neighboring Middle East countries, the potential consequences of Iran getting nuclear weapons, peace talks with the Palestinians, or prospects for Israel’s hi-tech industry, ask your question at www.youtube.com/worldview, in either English or Hebrew (half of the interview will be conducted in each language). You can also submit your question via Twitter - just make sure to use hashtag #askNetanyahu.




On Wednesday, March 30, Prime Minister Netanyahu will sit down for a live interview and answer a range of the most popular questions submitted and voted on by you. The interview will be the first event in Israel ever to be streamed live on YouTube.The deadline to submit your question is Monday, March 28th at midnight GMT. As well as his interview with the YouTube community, Mr. Netanyahu will also answer the same “Big Three” questions posed to Prime Minister David Cameron and a host of other well-known personalities, so stay tuned to find out which world leader Mr. Netanyahu would most like to pose a question to.


Alon Chen, Israel Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Eatliz - Lose This Child (HD Version)”

Your interview with Speaker of the House John Boehner

As Democrats and Republicans duel over the federal budget this week in Washington, we sat down for the first-ever YouTube interview with Speaker of the House John Boehner. It’s clear that Americans are still feeling the weight of the recession -- a large majority of the questions submitted for Speaker Boehner were on the topics of jobs, the economy, and spending in Washington. The Speaker also played a YouTube speed round of, “Keep it or Cut it?” in which he reacted to your suggestions on budget cuts.

Watch the full interview here:



Speaker Boehner also addressed questions on immigration, education, and healthcare. A unique question from a man in New Jersey about whether the Speaker would ever consider a Works Progress Administration similar to the one FDR created during the Depression may surprise you.

You can see more videos from the Speaker’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/johnboehner.

Steve Grove, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched "Boehner Highlights Vote to Cut Spending, Help Create Better Environment for Job Creation"

U.K. P.M. David Cameron answers your questions on Libya, budget cuts and more, in YouTube interview

Last week we asked you to submit your questions for U.K. Prime Minister, David Cameron, and you responded with 10,000 questions across topics like the violence in the Middle East, global arms trade, and tuition fees for U.K. students.

Today, in a special interview produced by YouTube World View and Al Jazeera English, you can get to see how the Prime Minister tackles a selection of the questions you voted to the top - including his thoughts on what should be done in Libya, whether banks in the U.K. should pay increased taxes, and what Britain’s role is in Afghanistan. Watch the full interview here:



You can also see how Cameron and a host of other leaders across various disciplines answered the same “Big Three” questions -- questions like “what is the biggest problem facing the next generation and what can we do to solve it?” and “if you could ask any other leader a questions, what would it be and who would you ask it to?” --  by going to www.youtube.com/worldview and clicking on the “Big Three Questions” tab.

We’ll announce our next YouTube World View interview in the coming weeks, so check back here for more details soon.

Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, and Jayme Goldstein, U.K. Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “A Girl Like Me”

Speaker Boehner takes your questions on YouTube as U.S. budget stand-off continues

With many U.S. states facing budget crises, and the President’s recent budget proposal being met with skepticism by Republicans, the financial health of the U.S. is capturing interest around the world.

As the budget debate heats up on Capitol Hill, we invite you to submit your questions for one of the most vocal opponents to President Obama’s proposed budget plan - Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH).

Speaker Boehner will sit down for a special YouTube interview next week, in which he’ll answer your top-voted text and video questions about the budget and spending, as well as other hot topics like the economy, jobs, health care and foreign policy.

Visit www.youtube.com/speakerboehner and use the Google Moderator gadget to submit your question and vote on others. Or you can tweet in your question using the hashtag #askthespeaker and it will automatically be eligible for voting in the queue.

A few things to note when asking your question:

1. Video questions are highly preferred (though we also accept text). Videos should be about 20 seconds long and be sure to ask the question directly.
2. Speak clearly and try to film in a place with minimal background noise. Keep the camera as still as possible.
3. Feel free to be creative (use props, charts, etc.) to help your question stand out. If you have time, find an interesting backdrop that may help reinforce your message.
4. Submit your question early. The final deadline to submit is Sunday, February 27 at midnight ET.

We’ll post the final interview next Friday so stay tuned to see if the Speaker answers your question.

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager, recently watched “Movements.org”

The U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron takes your questions on the Middle East, global affairs and British domestic policy

Last month, we introduced the YouTube World View program with a citizen-powered interview with U.S. President Barack Obama. Starting today, through World View, YouTube and Al Jazeera English are bringing you another chance to engage with one of the world’s preeminent leaders in a special interview: British Prime Minister David Cameron.

In light of current events, you’re invited to submit questions to Mr Cameron about foreign policy, national security, and how he views the present situation in the Middle East. In addition, you can also submit questions about issues related to domestic policy, so if you’re curious about the economy, education, health, or the big society, just go to www.youtube.com/worldview to submit your question in either video or text. You can also tweet in your question - make sure to use hashtag #askthePM in your tweet, and it will automatically be added to the World View queue.

Next Thursday, the Prime Minister will sit down for a special interview and answer a range of the most popular questions submitted by you. The interview will be available on YouTube on Friday, February 25. The deadline to submit your question is midnight GMT on Tuesday, February 22nd.

Interviews with President Obama and the Prime Minister, David Cameron, are just the start. We’ll be announcing more World View interviews in the coming months with other top leaders, and you can be sure that each of these interviews will be completely driven by your questions and votes. Who would you like to interview next? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, and Jayme Goldstein, U.K. Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "Demonstrations in Al Bayda Libya"

Tune in tonight: The State of the Union, and your questions

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver his second State of the Union address - and for the second year in a row, you can submit your follow-up questions for him right here on YouTube. Tune in to youtube.com/askobama and be sure to submit a question for the President (video questions preferred) and vote on your favorites. On Thursday January 27, at 2:30 p.m. ET, we’ll bring a selection of your top-voted questions to the President at the White House in an exclusive, live YouTube Interview.



Just as interested in the GOP’s plan for America? Speaker of the House John Boehner will be doing a YouTube Interview within the month, so stay tuned for more announcements on when and how you can participate. You'll be able to see Rep. Ryan deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union on YouTube after the President’s address as well.

Thursday is your chance to be part of history, so when you sit down to watch the State of the Union tonight on YouTube, grab your video camera, cellphone, or webcam and record a question as the ideas strike you. This is a unique opportunity to have direct access to the President, and if you’re still not sure what to ask, check out this playlist of submitted questions for inspiration.




The deadline for your question submissions is midnight ET on Wednesday, January 26.

This YouTube Interview with President Obama is the beginning of the YouTube World View program, a series of interviews with public leaders and big thinkers who will be answering tough questions all year on YouTube.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched, “Sheila’s question, from New Brunswick, Ohio.”

Your questions, your State of the Union

It’s the biggest speech of the year, and next Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET, people across the country and around the world will sit down to watch. But as President Obama delivers the 2011 State of the Union Address, which will be streamed live on YouTube along with the Republican response, you can do more than just watch the speech: you can also submit your questions for the President for an exclusive YouTube Interview that will take place just two days later, on January 27.

In fact, you can get started today. Health care. Education. Foreign policy. What would you like to ask the President about the most important issues our country faces? Go to youtube.com/askobama to submit your question now, or watch the speech on Tuesday night with your webcam or video camera nearby so that you can record and submit your question as soon as it strikes you. This year, you'll also be able to ask your question via Twitter: just include the hashtag #askobama in your Tweet. And be sure to have your say in what should be asked by voting on questions submitted by others, too.



A few suggestions before submitting your questions:

1. Video questions are highly preferred (though we also accept text). Videos should be about 20 seconds long and be sure to ask the question directly.
2. Speak clearly and try to film in a place with minimal background noise. Keep the camera as still as possible.
3. Feel free to be creative (use props, charts, etc.) to help your question stand out. If you have time, find an interesting backdrop that may help reinforce your message.
4. Submit your question early. The final deadline is Wednesday January 26 at midnight ET.
   

President Obama’s responses to a selection of your top-voted questions will be streamed live from the White House on youtube.com/askobama at 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday January 27.

This interview is the first in a series of world leader interviews coming to YouTube in 2011 as part of YouTube World View. These interviews will give people around the world the chance to engage in conversation with their elected officials and other influential people from the world of business, philanthropy, technology, media and the arts. Check back on the channel in the next few months for more opportunities to participate.

You have until Wednesday January 25 at midnight ET to submit your question for President Obama. The YouTube community made history last year when the President answered your questions in the first ever citizen-powered interview of a United States president. If you didn’t get an opportunity to ask the President a question last year, make sure you don’t miss out this time -- get your submission in early.

Remember, after the President’s address you’ll have the opportunity to watch Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) deliver the GOP response to the State of the Union as well. And within the month, we’ll be holding a similar YouTube Interview with a prominent Republican leader - more details soon.

*Update - that should read "You have until Wednesday January 26 at midnight ET to submit your question for President Obama".*

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Submit your question for President Obama”

Election results and trends, live on YouTube tonight

It’s been a memorable campaign season on YouTube, but the time for persuasion and debate is over -- now it’s time to vote. As polling results come in from across the country, we’re partnering with CBS News to live stream election results and highlight election trends on YouTube and Google. Tune in starting at 9 p.m. ET to youtube.com/CBSNews.

Already, CBS has been highlighting election trends through data from Google and YouTube platforms. In addition to analyzing the top political videos on YouTube, they’re watching Google Trends and Insights for Search to determine what people are searching for and watching online. This approach of examining web trends adds a new level of depth to election reporting and is a model that news organizations can use for any major event or milestone. You can expect more data on tonight’s broadcast. We’ve already seen today that 9 of the top 10 searches on Google.com today are election-related -- most of them queries on where to vote.

In addition to following the election trends tonight, CBS is also asking for your election feedback and ideas on a Google Moderator series on their channel. Login now and submit your thoughts and questions. The top-voted submissions could end up on air.

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “I Remember”

The 2010 election on YouTube: By the numbers

In these 2010 midterm elections, campaigns, voters and interest groups have continued to innovate new ways to share their political opinions on YouTube. Because YouTube allows anyone to post and share videos globally, you’ve made this platform the vanguard of the political media discussion. Some of these efforts to influence the political dialog on YouTube were more successful than others. Today, we’re sharing who emerged on top of the YouTube elections heap – and we’re going strictly by the numbers.

The top 10 most-viewed videos, sourced from all videos categorized as News & Politics on YouTube, are a mixed bag of official campaign videos, user-generated content and videos from interest groups:

1. Congressman Assaults Student on Sidewalk
2. We Are Better than That



3. America Rising - An Open Letter to Democrat Politicians
4. President Obama, No One is Laughing in Arizona
5. Language
6. Brewer to Obama: Warning Signs are not Enough

7. Those Voices Don’t Speak for the Rest of Us
8. FCINO: Fiscal Conservative in Name Only
9. Governor Christie Responds to Teacher During Town Hall
10. Arizona Sing-A-Long: Read Immigration Law!


Interestingly, every video in the top 10 comes from the Republicans, which is quite a departure from 2008 when left-leaning Yes We Can topped the charts. In addition, immigration was an extremely hot topic on YouTube this year, with three of the 10 most-viewed videos about the Arizona immigration law (and two videos came from Arizona Governor Jan Brewer).

Now, let’s take a look specifically at the 450 candidates for public office who’ve registered for official Politician channels on YouTube this fall. Here’s a rundown of the top 10 most-viewed Politician channels on YouTube in the last month:

1. Christine O’Donnell 


2. Jerry Brown 


3. Rob Steele 


4. Linda McMahon 


5. Jack Conway 


6. Marco Rubio 


7. Carly Fiorina 


8. Joe Sestak 


9. Chris Coons 


10. Dino Rossi

Leading the pack is Christine O’Donnell, whose “I’m You” video inspired hundreds of thousands of views...and quite a few parodies.

YouTube Insight allows us to see where the view counts are coming for any individual video. For example, parodies of O’Donnell’s “I’m You” video (like the Gregory Brothers’ “Songify This”) received millions more views than O’Donnell’s original campaign video nationally, but Insight shows us that O’Donnell still received more views in the state of Delaware than any parody video.

Similarly, the memorable “Why” video from the No. 2 politician on the list, Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, shows that he too did an effective job of targeting voters in his state - even though the video went viral nationally.



Stay tuned tomorrow for more YouTube and Google video and trends data, during our special Election Night coverage with CBS News.

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Mourning in America”.

50 years after Nixon v. Kennedy, a new kind of political debate

It was 50 years ago today that then-Senator from Massachusetts John F. Kennedy took on then-Vice President Richard Nixon in the first-ever general election presidential debate. The debate was a turning point not only for the 1960 election, but also for U.S. politics: an estimated 80 million people tuned in, and the debate set a new precedent for the use of television as a political communications tool. To celebrate the anniversary, we’ve partnered with the Kennedy Presidential Library to post the full, unabridged Nixon/Kennedy debate to YouTube.



The web, of course, is the latest communications platform to change the way debates are run. In the last presidential election cycle, we partnered with CNN on the CNN/YouTube debates -- which gave everyone a chance to ask a question of presidential candidates -- and we’ve since launched Google Moderator, which allows citizens to submit and vote on questions presented to public officials on YouTube. For the 2010 midterm elections, we’re partnering with news agencies across the country for a series of debates. Here are a few of them that we’re launching today:

• Nevada: we’re partnering with the Nevada Broadcasters Association for a Senate debate on October 14 between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican challenger Sharron Angle. Submit your questions here.
• Iowa: we’re working with the Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television for the October 21 gubernatorial debate between Governor Chet Culver and challenger Terry Branstad. Submit your questions here.
• Colorado: we’re partnering with KUSA 9 News and the Denver Post for a gubernatorial debate between Democrat John Hickenlooper, Republican Dan Maes and American Constution Party candidate Tom Tancredo on October 13. Submit your questions here.
• Connecticut: we're teaming up with WTNH and the Day of New London for a Senate debate between Republican Linda McMahon and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, as well as a Gubernatorial debate between Tom Foley and Dan Malloy. Submit your questions for the Senate race here, and the Gubernatorial here.
• 10questions: We’ve also partnered with 10Questions.com, who used the Google Moderator API to build a platform for a web debates series across the country, in which candidates will submit their answers to the top-voted questions via YouTube videos. You’ll also see this platform in action in TV debates in both California and Georgia in the coming weeks.

More open, engaging political debates benefit voters, candidates, news agencies, and the political process. If you're a broadcaster, blogger, campaign or citizen looking to hold a debate in your city or state, check out our debate landing page for easy instructions on how to use Google Moderator to solicit and broadcast questions from voters via YouTube.

Steve Grove, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched Hardball isn’t just played at Fenway Park

Discussing innovation and democracy in 2010

Over the past few U.S. election cycles, Google and YouTube have have become catalysts for a more engaging, meaningful dialogue between citizens and government leaders. From asking questions of candidates to finding your polling place, our tools are helping to make elections and politics more personal and more democratic, and have opened up Washington, D.C. in exciting new ways.

With less than six weeks until the midterm elections, we wanted to hear from some of politics’ most creative minds about what innovation and democracy mean in 2010. So on Monday we’re joining forces with POLITICO to host an event at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., where we’ll discuss the increasing contributions of technology to democracy and the political process.

As part of the event, top strategists from both political parties—Democratic strategist David Axelrod and Republican strategist Ed Gillespie—will answer questions and offer thoughts and predictions about the upcoming elections. Arianna Huffington will then moderate a panel about innovation in media, and will be joined by Becki Donatelli, Stephen Hayes, Nate Silver and Amy Walter. We’ll also demonstrate tools built for citizens and government officials using YouTube and Google Maps, and will be joined by our friends on the politics team at Facebook.

The panelists want to hear from you, so if you’d like to submit a question for any of them, you can do so at youtube.com/citizentube. You’ll also be able to watch the entire event live on YouTube on Monday.



As we approach the election homestretch, we’ll continue to develop useful ways for voters and campaigns to engage one another around the important issues in 2010.

Ginny Hunt, Elections and Public Sector Programs, recently watched “ John Legend and The Roots.”

Bob Dudley, Chief Executive for BP Response, answers your questions about the oil spill

It’s been 71 days since the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Since then, we’ve used our platforms to make sure that people can watch and participate in real time, access all the latest information on the crisis and response and share concerns through various programs and initiatives.

Now we’re teaming up with PBS NewsHour to take you to BP headquarters in Houston for an exclusive interview with Bob Dudley, President and CEO of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. In a live session moderated by the PBS NewsHour’s Ray Suarez, Mr. Dudley will respond directly to your questions.



Now is your chance to ask BP questions on accountability, the clean-up plan, recovery efforts in the Gulf Region, environmental impact, the status of the relief well drilling, the role of the U.S. government, the future of offshore drilling and of BP as a company.

Using Google Moderator on youtube.com/citizentube, submit your questions and vote the best ones to the top. Then join us for the live interview tomorrow, Thursday, July 1, at 3:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT on CitizenTube. Portions of the interview will also be aired Thursday evening on the PBS NewsHour and available on YouTube.

Early on, we partnered with NewsHour to bring you a live stream of the oil gushing into the waters of the Gulf. On June 15, we streamed President Obama’s Oval Office address on the oil spill crisis on CitizenTube. After the President’s speech, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answered questions submitted by YouTube users, who cast nearly 200,000 votes to select the top questions from 7,000+ submitted.

We hope that these various opportunities to engage and participate in a current event help you and fellow citizens stay more informed and have your voice heard.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, and Ginny Hunt, Google Public Sector Manager