The power to humanize and add a sense of candor and honesty that hitherto seemed missing in corporate and political videos/ads. Check out the recent interviews of Bill Gates and John Edwards by Robert Scoble at Podtech.

Jeremiah alerted us about Podtech’s new flash based video plug-in (a la YouTube), which I’ve used to bring you those videos (see below). Two of the three videos are rather long, however it’s definitely worth a view. Check it out:

1. Interview w/ Bill Gates at CES 2007 (~ 40 minutes)

Great video. You can see a few of the interviewers starry eyed but it was like watching Bill Gates seated at your dinner table, answering questions that you and I would have on the future of technology.
[podtech content=http://media.podtech.net/media/2007/01/PID_001733/Podtech_bill_gates_ces_2007.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/scobleshow/technology/1309/exclusive-lunch-with-ces-bloggers-and-bill-gates&totalTime=2537000&breadcrumb=3F34K2L1]

2. Interview w/ John Edwards (~ 9 minutes)

I wasn’t particularly a fan of Edwards but kudos to him on patiently answering questions asked by a citizen marketer such as Scoble. As Jeremiah pointed out, particularly the moment, where Scoble asks Edwards who he is. Priceless. I admire Scoble for asking really honest questions that you’d normally NOT ask a presidential nominee. This is definitely worth viewing since it’s just 9 minutes:

[podtech content=http://media.podtech.net/media/2007/01/PID_001691/Podtech_senator_john_edwards.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/scobleshow/technology/1295/exclusive-john-edwards-interview-talking-about-social-media-and-its-role-in-running-for-president&totalTime=539000&breadcrumb=3F34K2L1]

3. Interview w/ Om Malik (~ 30 minutes)

This is another long interview, but it was great hearing from Om Malik (whose blog I used to read regularly — as long as he was the sole blogger), what are two of the most important pre-requisites to be a blogger: (1) show up and (2) respect your audiences’ time. Having said that, let me sign off for today.

[podtech content=http://media.podtech.net/media/2007/01/PID_001723/Podtech_om_malik.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/scobleshow/technology/1306/gigaom-up-close-and-personal&totalTime=2042000&breadcrumb=3F34K2L1]

Watch video 2 first, and then schedule 1 and 3 for later, depending on your schedule. How can I also forget Jeremiah’s podcast on how to implement a corporate social media strategy.

Do you think these videos cast Gates and Edwards in new light?