Facebook Impacting 2008 Election Coverage?

Like a middle-aged guy shopping for the newest hip-hop CD, it seems ABC News is completely out of its element. In a recent announcement, it will join with Facebook in an attempt to lure the young social community into a Web 2.0 twist on the 2008 presidential election.

The new application -- which will stand next to "Booze Mail", "LOLcats", and "Simpsons Quotes" on people's app lists -- will be called "U.S. Politics". Although the name sounds like a bad (or 'bird') first year university course, it will be constructed using ABC News editorial content. (Source: news.com)

According to David Westin, president of ABC News, Facebook users can even impact the ABC News coverage of the election. I'm not sure how, but David Westin is saying there will be some sort of influence.

As for "U.S. Politics" itself, the Facebook page will boast fresh news stories from the campaign trail along with journalist blogs and a plethora of photographs. As expected, a section will be devoted to allowing fervent armchair politicians to argue their faces off in a side application called "Debate Groups".

Dan Rose, Facebook vice president of business development, believes the new initiative will bring life and interaction to sometimes sterile elections. "The goal is to extend the debate from being a one-hour session that happens on television to a dialogue that can take place before, after and now during the debate with voters," Rose said.

Like any other web page dedicated to an election, U.S. Politics will have a series of polls dedicated to gauging the interests of 2008 voters.

TechCrunch blogger Erick Schoenfeld has already thrown his support behind ABC News' move. "ABC News would be smart to use Facebook to develop a consensus around which issues are most important to people, and to sharpen those questions before they are submitted to the candidates," he said. (Source: computerworld.com)

Granted, taking advantage of Facebook will garner the interest of younger political pundits...but will any more jump on board here than the average, partisan forum?