[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM7GXJcbBnQ[/youtube]

Since YouTube’s inception nearly three years ago, it has transformed the Internet and the way in which we use multimedia.  The elections process is just one particular aspect of that, but the impact has been immeasurable.

From “Macaca moments” that can sink campaigns to video-moderated, YouTube sponsored debates, the Website has quite literally altered the entire concept of campaigning.  And tonight they will change the way we vote by airing first-hand, user-generated content and providing “an up-close and personal perspective” as it happens in Iowa for the first voting in the 2008 presidential election.

Tonight when Iowans gather in living rooms and high school gyms to take the first step in selecting our U.S. Presidential nominees, Google and YouTube will give you a front row seat.

We’re working together with local Iowan media organizations and political parties to bring you real time results and citizen-generated videos from the caucuses –- an up-close and personal perspective in the process to elect the next President.

Iowa caucus goers and out-of-state political pundits alike can upload videos of the Iowa Caucus to YouTube, giving you a direct view into this vibrant political scene. These Iowa Caucus videos can be found at the Des Moines Register’s YouTube Channel and span a variety of perspectives from predictions and personal reflections to interviews and candidate analysis.

And starting tonight (approx. 8-10 pm CST), you can use Google Maps to view real-time caucus results by county. The political parties in Iowa will be working with us to publish these results to our Iowa Caucus map as soon as they come in, so that everyone can access results online when Iowans finish caucusing. [Google's blog]

It will be fascinating to see if this catches on — which I’m sure it will — and what this means for the future of elections.  In the short term, I hope they will do this in South Carolina.

Again, you can check out this coverage at www.youtube.com/user/iowacaucuses.