Tweets on Election ‘08 became my favorite part of this year’s presidential race. As Americans got excited for change, the tweets kept on coming. The power of Twitter provided passionate people (even complete strangers) with a place to engage in a conversation about politics and to form a mini Twitter community.
Stuck at the reference desk during the showdown debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, I was glued to the Twitter Election feed to stay up to date with what both candidates had to say. Tweets from Twitter users from both parties appeared so fast it was hard to keep up. After that evening, I was hooked—a loyal Twitter user.
Sadly, the election is over; and I’ve lost my “I Voted” sticker, the only tangible reminder of my participation in the political process. While it is not the same as that silly sticker, my TwitVote will remain in my feed.
TwitVote, a mock opinion poll, counted Twitter users’ votes and provided them with the option to tweet about their presidential choice.
The final result echoed the real election results (with a slightly larger majority):
- Obama: 20967 tweets.
- McCain: 3427 tweets.
A simple outlet for many users to share their ideas and concerns, let’s hope for more unofficial Twitter polls in the future.
