Road Rage on YouTube? April 14, 2008
I'm sure that there are some videos on YouTube of people driving angrily, and there are probably some of people who are angry about their drive. In fact, I'm betting that more of the later will appear on the site soon.
The cash strapped Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) — especially after the Virginia Supreme Court stripped it of the taxing authority the governor and legislature gave it — is asking residents of the Washington, DC area to make videos of their commutes and post them to its "Piece of My Commute" campaign page.
NVTA officials hope that if state legislators see how much long commutes affect quality of life in the state through videos submitted by commuters, the legislature will provide more funding to the authority to build and improve roads within the state to alleviate traffic jams. This idea has potential since it is: (1) cheap for the NVTA to pull off, (2) got it some free media exposure, and (3) using a website that is accessible to many state residents.
I'm interested to see how this campaign performs as it can serve as a great case study on how creativity mixed with some social media savvy can help an organization cheaply accomplish a goal.
It is very important to note that NVTA doesn't want to risk drivers' safety to get more funding as it mentions on its site: "Warning! Please Don't Use Cameras While Driving. Tripods Are Prohibited In Metro Stations.Please Use Hand-Held Cameras Only On Metro." Further, I highly doubt that this gives us a license to do other multitasking while driving. While you can star in your own commuting reality show on YouTube, the NVTA likely doesn't want you to eat entire meals, apply make up, conduct entire meetings, and do other such activities while driving.
