Politics in your Face(book)

"We're so cool on Facebook."

I never used Facebook because I graduated before it became really popular at my school. And I didn't use it during the election, but many of my friends did.

For those unfamiliar with the Facebook, it allows you to input all of your interests and connect a network of like-minded people. It was really interesting looking at a circle of my peers and seeing how many connections I really had.

Here are the highlights of Facebook:

Facebook is fun. You can joke with friends and invite them to your backyard BBQ. Or you can use the wierd "poke" feature with your friends.

Facebook is addictive. I sat down and before I knew it, I'd spent over 30 minutes making connections with friends of friends that I knew in college and at other colleges. Some of my friends were able to connect with people that they hadn't seen since elementary school!

Facebook is interactive. You can make your own groups ranging from a wide variety of interests. From music to sports to politics, it's all there. A popular one, or so I am told by my friends at UNC-Chapel Hill, is: "I Go to the real Carolina." [UNC is the real Carolina, not the University of South Carolina.] It can venture into politics as well, as students might join the "Hunger Strike for Cafeteria Workers" or "Anti-Death Penalty" groups.

The Facebook had the potential to really do something interesting, not only for social networks, but also for politics. In fact, a GWU article even mentioned the political potential of this medium as GWU students formed their own political clubs based on a particular candidate or their own apathy. Some students even formed the fake "Sam Adams for President 2008" group because they were so sick of the Kerry / Bush supporters.

Facebook can make an interesting connection to politics, however. All of the information you share with Facebook is their property. Facebook knows if you are conservative or liberal, protestant or catholic, ect... They even own your photos of the wild party you threw last weekend. Imagine a database like that for political purposes! It'd be a goldmine for a political consultant.

Forget this idea of data mining and large databases like Demzilla. The Facebook works wonders because all of the information is inputted voluntarily by the user. What if political consultants could make an interactive, fun system where people would voluntarily input information for the campaign? It could be a network that would allow you to solicit other supporters and express your opinions.

And it might be just enough to win an election.