One of the best panels I sat in on was Viral Videos and Social Networks: How Campaigning has Changed Forever, moderated by Fred Goldring, executive producer of the Yes We Can video and former Chairman of Rock the Vote. Will.I.Am himself was there to talk about the genesis of Yes we Can project along with Facebook’s Chris Kelly, Marc Morgenstern, Executive Director of Declare Yourself, and Max Berstein from Common Sense NMS Political Director.

Read the rest of this entry »

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is now here to give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! If you worry about missing your favorite bloggers’ posts as they push their way down the page each and every week - Never Fear! Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Woody Guthrie: This Grammy Is Your Grammy / This Grammy Is My Grammy

Rambo Fights for Burma’s Freedom + 5 Steps You Can Take To Help Burma In 5 Minutes

* * *
Nicole:

“Yes We Can” Obama Music Video a Unique Celebrity Endorsement

Top 10 US Grant, Scholarship and Fellowship Awarding Foundations

* * *
Giulia:

Ba-Da-Bling Commercials Pulled in New York

“Safe Sex or No Sex” Shirts Get Teens Suspended

* * *
Gina:

10 Internet Videos Featuring Celebrities Advocating For A Cause

Close Up: An Introduction to Iranian Cinema and Cinematic Rainbows

* * *
Kerry:

Sheryl Crow’s Apocalyptic Peak-Oil Song

Solar Powered Soldiers Wear Uniforms with Built-In Batteries

The “Yes We Can” pro-Obama music video released last Friday is a unique celebrity endorsement of the Democratic presidential candidate. Star-studded videos have been produced to support a number of causes, from world famine to opposing apartheid in South Africa, but it’s unusual for them to be inspired by a particular candidate. Yet high-profile personalities like Scarlett Johansen and Kareem Abdul Jabbar have come out in numbers in their hopes to win over your hearts and votes for Obama.

Will.i.am of the musical group The Black Eyed Peas, and Jesse Dylan, son of Bob Dylan, produced and directed the video. Will.i.am said in an interview that he was inspired by Martin Luther King, and the video has a decidedly “I Have A Dream” feel to it, with its black and white overlay of imagines and words taken from Obama’s post-New Hampshire primary speech set to song. The filmmakers said that they did not coordinate the production or release of the video with the Obama campaign, nor did they know if he was aware of the video. With the publicity it’s been receiving over the weekend, I think it would be safe to say that he is.

If you haven’t seen the video yet, check it out below. You can also by visiting Amnesty International’s Music For Human Rights website to see what your favorite musicians are doing to promote human rights around the globe.