Facebook.com gives its members a political space
The Los Angeles Times reports: The 10 million members of Facebook.com — the social networking website that's a fixture on college campuses — aren't using it just to check out potential dates or keep track of old high school buddies. They're increasingly using it, and other Internet tools, to get involved in politics.
"He ain't Kinky, he's my governor" is a Facebook group in support of Kinky Friedman, the country singer running for governor of Texas. Polls show the independent candidate in fourth place, but that doesn't discourage the group's 20,000 members, most of whom are younger than 25. Messages on the group's blog urge: "Grab friends and family and take them to the poll!" and "Wear T-shirts!"
Young people, many of whom have used computers since elementary school, are considered a particularly rich target for expanded online political outreach: Every day, nearly two-thirds of all 18- to 30-year-olds check their e-mail, and one-quarter use online communication tools such as Facebook or instant messaging, according to a Young Voter Strategies Battleground Poll conducted in May.
In September, Facebook set up "Election Pulse" — a rundown of Senate, House and governors' races. "We wanted to do something to increase the political voice of the people on Facebook, a group that tends to be on the younger side of the electorate and which is often underrepresented in Washington and state capitals," said Ezra Callahan, project manager for the site's new politics initiative. -- Web could give young voters a voice - Los Angeles Times