The CNN-YouTube Democratic debate in South Carolina was an interesting blend of citizen-submitted questions, CNN editorial control, and all of the Democratic candidates participating.

You might assume the CNN-YouTube Republican debate in September will be similar, but that might not be the case, especially if no one shows up:

Four days after the Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C,. more than 400 questions directed to the GOP presidential field have been uploaded on YouTube — targeted at Republicans scheduled to get their turn at videopopulism on Sept. 17.

But so far, only Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) have agreed to participate in the debate, co-hosted by Republican Party of Florida in St. Petersburg.

“Aside from those two candidates, we haven’t heard from anyone else,” said Sam Feist of CNN, who’s co-sponsoring the debate with the popular videosharing site.

It seems like Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani aren’t up to the challenge of answering real questions from citizens. It will be interesting to see if Fred Thompson signs up for the debate, considering his television experience, which may help him along. That is, if he ever declares his candidacy.

Likely, we will see more candidates sign up to participate as we get closer to the debate, which, incidentally, is being held in a monster swing-state called Florida. As of now, however, the hesitancy of candidates to join in this debate now shows an overall difference between Democratic candidates and Republican candidates: their proximity to the people.

Sen. Barack Obama will announce he is officially running for president tomorrow morning and has released an announcement preview video encouraging his supporters to get involved.

Among other things, Obama invites his supporters to create a profile and start their own blog on his site:

Blog for Obama! Its nice to see someone learning from Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign tactics.

Podcast Herald has a preview of Raw Voice’s Blubrry podcast network-community… right from CEO Todd Cochrane’s mouth!

If you’re a podcaster, you should check it out.

If you’re a podcast listener, you should check it out also.

Evan Williams has some great advice for people interested in creating their own web startups.

Here’s the overview of Ten Rules for Web Startups:

#1: Be Narrow
#2: Be Different
#3: Be Casual
#4: Be Picky
#5: Be User-Centric
#6: Be Self-Centered
#7: Be Greedy
#8: Be Tiny
#9: Be Agile
#10: Be Balanced

Go ahead, read the whole thing. The list is pretty spot-on.

As well it should be, considering Ev has created two very successful startups — a little thing called Blogger and a new thing called Odeo.

Grokster has agreed to cease distribution of their file-sharing software as part of a settlement in a lawsuit against them by the Recording Industry of America. But don’t think that means the online music wars are over…

Grokster Calls It Quits on Sharing Music Files:

Grokster, a developer of file-swapping software used to trade copyrighted music and movie files, said Monday that it would halt distribution of the software and cut off support for its associated network as part of a landmark settlement with the recording industry and Hollywood studios.

The pact comes four months after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Grokster could be held liable for copyright infringement by users of its software, a decision that delivered a decisive victory for entertainment companies, particularly music labels, which have blamed widespread digital piracy for a worldwide slump in sales. […]

While Grokster is disappearing in its original form, the underlying case that culminated in the Supreme Court showdown may continue. Grokster’s co-defendant in the case, Streamcast Networks, the promoter of a file-sharing network known as Morpheus, has indicated it plans to keep battling the movie studios and record labels in court.

So Grokster has given up (has anyone used Grokster to download music since 1999?), but the battle between file-sharing companies and the RIAA continues.

Of course, file-sharing has continually increased while the RIAA has been suing it’s customers and anybody else they can blame.

More broadly, the popularity of file-sharing networks shows little sign of waning in the wake of the settlement or the earlier court decision. An estimated 9.2 million people are using various so-called peer-to-peer networks at any one time, according to BigChampagne, a data service. The figure has edged up from 8.8 million in June.

So is there a point to all this, beyond scare tactics?

The RIAA has started suing file-sharing networks in Australia and South Korea and has sued over 15,000 individuals.

As we reported earlier, one person has chosen to fight back: Tanya Andersen, a 41 year old disabled single mother living in Oregon. (More on her as that case develops.)

RELATED: Do podcasts have to worry they will be sued next by the RIAA?

[Harkening back to the old days and ways of CityCynic.com, I present a new regular feature on the blog called “Today in Links,” featuring multiple interesting news stories I’ve come across. Enjoy. –Ed.]

*Engadget Labs launching October 15: Weblogs, Inc.’s Engadget, the gadget blog, will launch an NYC-based testing lab to perform CNET-style benchmark tests on all sorts of gadgets they review. The blog laboratory will also feature a podcasting studio for interviews with gadget makers.

* Flash memory prices to fall following Apple’s Nano deal: Apple got a bargain on it’s Samsung flash chips for the iPod nano, so now flash memory manufacturers will be forced to reduce the price of flash memory cards, benefitting consumers.

* Ground Zero focus turns to retail: Planners for the new World Trade Center site are turning the attention to adding retail space to Ground Zero after Pataki put the kibosh down on the International Freedom Center. Walmart seems very interested.

* Giants and Jets Agree to Build a Joint New Jersey Stadium: Acting NJ Gov. Richard Codey gets the two New York football teams to stay in New Jersey with a brand new shared $800 million football stadium at the Meadowlands. Designs for the stadium may include lighting the exterior blue or green depending on which team is playing at the time.

* MTA imposes $25 fine for drinking coffee on the subway: The MTA voted to keep a rule against drinking anything on the subway. That means you, morning coffee commuters! Check out the insane things that came out of MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow’s mouth at the meeting. At least they weren’t able to get that photo ban passed.

Blogger/Podcaster Eric Rice wrote up an excellent “How to build a 10 minute podcast” post that goes into the timing of a typical short length podcast. Eric helps produce podcasts for several of the Weblogs, Inc. blogs.

If you’re already podcasting and feel like your shows tend to ramble around or lack consistency, then Eric’s advice will probably be very helpful.

For those of you who don’t know what a podcast is, check out this Wikipedia entry to get caught up. Then you can start podcasting your own shows!