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Hillary Clinton just announced plans to run for the Democratic nomination for President with the formation of an exploratory committee.

Like fellow senator Barack Obama, she disclosed her plans by posting a video to her Web site.  It went live this morning. 

Unlike Obama’s video which provides both an embed code and web address so it can be published on other blogs and web sites, the Clinton video (also in Flash) is not shareable.  There is no embed code, "e-mail" button or even a distinct web address for the clip.

The Clinton clip is downloadable as Quicktime file, which is cool, but that’s not a viable viral video strategy, in our opinion.

It will be very interesting to see how viral video is used in the presidential election.  It’s inevitable that candidates will communicate directly with the electorate with video.  I think the most successful use of campaign video will be clips that can be shared easily. 

In the election battle for the smartest use of online video, Obama wins this first one over Clinton.

—  Andy Plesser

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