There's no doubt that social networking and technologies like YouTube impact politics, but I'm not convinced it's for the better.

The problem is that they encourage the sort of bumper-sticker, reactive, sound-bite "boob-ocracy" that has already created a society where, according to one recent poll, about 1 American in a thousand can name the 5 rights protected in the First Amendment to the US Constitution.   At the time the US invaded Afghanistan and Iraq the majority of Americans couldn't even find them on a map!   Today the average American is quick to tell you how his tax dollars should be spent but he hasn't got a clue how big the budget is or what the top 5 or 10 line items are!   

The issues that we face as a nation, and as a world, are deep and complex, and require citizens with a longer attention span than it takes to read a 140 character message or watch a 3 minute YouTube polemic.

Everyone has noted that US politics is more polarized than in the past.   I think this is because Americans now have such short attention spans that that can only handle a few slogans before they click away.