Martin O'Malley's new fundraising vehicle: YouTube
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat who's weighing a presidential bid in 2016, is making use of a new feature on YouTube to raise money for his political action committee.
The new "cards" feature on YouTube allows someone uploading a video to include an informative tag onscreen as the video is playing. Previously, YouTube viewers have been able to use a card to skip an advertisement playing before a video after waiting five seconds. Now, cards can direct viewers to supplemental material like additional videos, photos, and outside links.
In a video uploaded Monday to O'Malley's YouTube account, as the former governor is shown talking to voters in Iowa, a small card appears in the top right corner of the screen labeled "Donate." If you click on the card, it expands, providing a link to www.martinomalley.com, the website for O'Malley's "O Say Can You See" leadership PAC.
A spokesperson for Google, which acquired YouTube in 2006, told the New York Times O'Malley's political operation was one of the first to use the card feature as a fundraising ploy.
O'Malley, who left office earlier this year, has not declared a bid, but he trails Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by enormous margins in early primary polls. Clinton announced her own candidacy last Sunday.