Is John Key’s appearance on YouTube somebodies not so bright one off idea, or is it a signal that they want to play in the ecology of the web?

This is the question asked by Paul Reynolds today on his blog where he muses far more eloquently that I can on the actions of hte national Party and it’s leader, John Keys, to post a series of short diary entries on YouTube.

Paul’s blog entry complements the interview he did on National Radio where he was asked whether he thought this was a good idea.

Paul’s response is well worth a read, for two reasons:

1. he raises the question about whether the act of posting items on YouTube is seen simply as another channel for “getting their message out there”, or whether the politicians involved are consciously preparing themselves to become participants in the “ecology of Web2.0”, which may involve their material being taken and used in a variety of other forms and contexts for example.
2. Paul goes on to challenge the politicians with a range of questions at the policy and strategic level, imploring them to reveal their position on a whole range of issues such as life-long learning, digital content, and broadband access – all of which require support from the highest level if we are to succeed in offering world class digital learning pathways and opportunities for all of our citizens.

Thanks Paul for your provocative entry – let’s hope we see some response!