Political sites have seen a HUGE surge in traffic leading up to the 2008 Presidential Election. Those numbers can’t possibly sustain themselves once it’s back to politics as usual. How are sites and personalities that have thrived in this ultramarathon race to the White House going to maintain their high level of relevancy come next week?
Earlier this year, I asked Amber Lee Ettinger about her post-election plans:
Granted it was a few months back, but like a skilled politician, Ettinger didn’t really answer the question. So, I went higher up the ticket to the viral video
mastermind behind Obama Girl and Barely Political, Ben Relles.Tilzy.TV: What are Barely Political and Obama Girl going to do after the election?
Ben Relles: I suppose it depends on what happens. I think most hard-working Americans would not be able to live with a Barack Obama presidency if there weren’t an Obama Girl in the world – so she’ll be around. If John McCain wins, Obama Girl will be part of the recount efforts.
Barely Political itself will also continue to create political comedy videos. It will be our same creative team – me, Rusty Ward, Mark Douglas, Michael Stevens and Tom Small. I think we’re all looking forward to not being quite so election focused. Some of our most successful videos have not been about the election (e.g. Bill O’Reilly spoof, the Bear Market Video). That said – here’s our latest election jam:
Oh snap! (Ed note: Sweet job on the Auto-Tune effects!)
Tilzy.TV: Can all the politically oriented sites that launched in the past 18 months attract the same number of viewers when it’s back to normal, everyday politics?
Ben: I’m sure plenty of political sites will see a dip in audience, particularly the ones that are more news oriented. But the internet has had a profound impact on elections, and the 2012 campaign basically starts in a week or two.
I THINK Ben was joking about that 2012 comment, but maybe not. Stay tuned to BarelyPolitical.com in the coming weeks to see how political satire is handled when there’s no race to riff.
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