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MySpace pages of ten US presidential candidates will
debut on Monday when the popular social networking website goes live
with a channel devoted to politics, civic groups, and charitable
missions.
News Corporation's MySpace will launch Impact Channel at http://impact.myspace.com
to provide a place on the Internet for people worldwide to rally
around political candidates or cherished causes.
The channel will begin with a focus on contenders vying to win the
2008 US presidential election.
A preview of the Impact Channel main page revealed photo links to
profile pages of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Rudy
Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Dennis Kucinich, John McCain, Barack Obama,
Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney.
The website also featured video clips in which presidential
candidates and other politicians, including California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger, discussed issues or developments involved in
the race.
Visitors to the website are provided easy ways to copy candidates'
virtual election banners or badges to personal MySpace pages and to
become part of online fundraising networks for campaigns.
"As the country's most trafficked Website, MySpace will play a
powerful role in the upcoming election," said MySpace chief
executive Chris DeWolfe.
"Our digital candidate banners will be the yard signs of the
21st Century and our political viral videos and vlogs (video logs)
are the campaign ads of the future."
Approximately 90 million people used MySpace in February, according
to figures released by Internet market research firm comScore.
MySpace said the launch of Impact Channel is the first phase of a
plan to use the power of online social networking to generate
enthusiasm for, and involved in, politics and civic issues.
"It is, in many respects, a revolutionary step in the way
political candidates are engaging with voters," MySpace vice
president Jeff Berman told AFP.
"Users are looking for more ways to interact with candidates
for office and people doing good in the world. For candidates and
do-gooders, this is a home for their profiles and their
communities."
While the Impact Channel was launching with a focus on the US
presidential election, it will be expanded to be used globally for
political contests of all kinds as well as by non-profit
organizations, Berman said.
"It is a brand new way of engaging the community and empowering
them to make a difference," Berman said.
"It works just as well for the president of the United States
as it does for president of the student council and as well for
Habitat for Humanity as it does for the Burrito Project."
After word of Burrito Project, a small charity group that helps feed
the homeless in Los Angeles, spread on MySpace it inspired the start
of a kindred organization called Falafel Project in Damascus, Syria,
according to Berman.
"This is a way to reach a global audience and make an impact
around the world," Berman said of the new MySpace channel.
"We are thrilled that people who want to make a difference in
the world are using MySpace to do so."
Inspiration for Impact Channel came from "an enormous"
number of users seeking ways "to do good," according to
MySpace.
"The idea that we could help redemocratize politics in the 21st
Century; how could we not be excited about that?" Berman asked
rhetorically.
The Impact Channel was modeled after MySpace music and video
channels at which artists create virtual storefronts to promote and
sell their works.
The Impact Channel will enable visitors to learn about the
candidates, experience the political process online and offline, and
uncover issues and organizations, MySpace said.
"MySpace will be a powerful force in the next election,"
said Julie Barko Germany, deputy director of the Institute for
Politics Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University.
"MySpace users will have direct access to candidates and be
able to serve as digital storefronts for their campaigns, taking
netroots politics to the next level. It's part of a trend that's
revolutionizing the way politicians and the public interact."
-- AFP
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