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The question all politicians mull over is how do you reach as many voters as possible?

Talking to them directly sounded a good tactic - well !

Tweeting could work - but how do you gather enough followers?

Television appearances can be good - but not if the interviewer asks the questions you'd rather not answer.

But there's also another medium I've just discovered online.

It's called l, and our political candidates are being invited to .

This is something the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ did consider doing for this election.

They were going to be called minute manifestos.

But because of our need to be fair and comprehensive we were going to have to get videos of every candidate in every constituency.

So even though we liked the idea, the logistical nightmare of chasing up every candidate and checking their posting just proved too complicated.

Winkball though are not bound by such concerns. Instead it's down to the politicians to decide whether they want to use it or not.

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Now it would be stretching a point to say they're visual feasts - many seem to have their backs to the wall - or occasionally a hedge (I'm talking literally rather than metaphorically).

We're also not talking slick delivery, so don't go there if you want memorable soundbites.

But it is unmediated, unedited and definitively their message, so you can get some idea of who you might be voting for.

There are some interesting moments too. Greens battling with the force of the wind on the microphone and their leaflets seems strangely apt.

One UKIP candidate in our patch appears with her two dogs in a tunnel and in a rather distracting and unusual manner.

Indeed judging by the numbers on there it seems the smaller parties are particularly keen on it. Understandably given they do get less airtime and column inches in the conventional media.

But it's not all people you may never have heard of.

William Hague is on there, in handheld mobile phone quality.

And there is some interactivity as you can send the candidate a message.

I don't think it's a gamechanger, and probably not a replacement for doorknocking at this stage, but it's intriguing and more evidence of the growing importance of the web in wooing people.

After Bigotgate, it might just a safer way for some politicians to talk to the voters!

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