In an unorthodox effort to take transparency to a new level, the federal government has teamed up with YouTube to create a network of user-friendly channels designed to engage citizens in the political process.This online invasion is hardly surprising. Unless your head was under a rock for the past year, you’ll remember quite well the tech-savvy nature of President Barack Obama’s campaign and how it revamped American politics. YouTube served him well during his campaign — who could forget the Obama Girl? — so there’s no reason why it shouldn’t now.Love the new president’s policies or not, this brand of progress is something we should all embrace. It’s long overdue, especially considering the American population is, by and large, politically uninitiated.Embracing YouTube is hardly the only thing the new administration has done. Obama and his staff had to untangle landlines and update 6-year-old computer software upon entering the White House.  Afterwards, Obama appointed the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century.That was just the first step taken to bring the administration out of the technological Dark Ages.Congress made its debut on YouTube with a video featuring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.Pelosi, who was the first staff member to use YouTube in 2006, acknowledged “the importance of using technology to communicate with constituents” as the reason for creating channels for the House and Senate — named househub and senatehub, respectively.The format of househub and senatehub is user-friendly and features a Google map interface which allows citizens to browse representatives by state.From there, you can navigate to your lawmakers’ personal channels, where they post “videos direct from their Washington offices, as well as clips of floor speeches and committee hearings alongside additional behind-the-scenes footage from Capitol Hill”, according to the official blog.In addition to the congressional channels, a separate channel is dedicated to the White House. It includes events, announcements and weekly addresses from Obama and his staff.Essentially, YouTube is now the digital equivalent of a backstage pass to the federal government.”These YouTube channels have the potential to make Congress more transparent and accessible than ever before,” YouTube’s head of news and political content, Steve Grove, wrote in his blog post, “but only if you continue to connect and engage with your government on the site.”This interaction factor is one of the many things that make utilizing YouTube superior to simply watching C-SPAN.The accessibility of the videos allows for easy viewing and commentary. Instead of calling into C-SPAN and hoping that you get put through, you can comment, blog, rate, post a video response and e-mail your representative. The chances of your voice being heard are increased exponentially.As an added bonus, there are several behind the scenes videos to be found for those willing to browse.One excellent example is Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s series called “Dr. Paul’s Walls”. His series addresses important issues including the possible reinstatement of the draft, the causes and consequences of hyperinflation and his thoughts on TARP funds.   A less enlightening one is Nancy Pelosi’s Rick-roll video prank cleverly disguised as a documentary of her pet cats.Well, they can’t all be winners.Regardless of the content, these channels are sure to become centerpieces for political praise, group lynching, thoughtful discourse, meme spamming and other forms of sophisticated Internet interaction.  Welcome to YouTube, Congress.——Contact Linnie Leavines at [email protected]