MySpace is becoming more involved in the political process and today announced plans to hold their own Presidential primary. The social networking giant will hold virtual elections on January 1 and 2, 2008.
MySpace To Hold Presidential Primary
The MySpace elections will take place before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries and will be open to all U.S. members of the site.
“The MySpace community will give America its first Presidential primary winner in 2008,” said Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace.
“Iowa and New Hampshire may be selecting delegates, but the MySpace vote will be the first test of where candidates stand in the election year,” added Tom Anderson, President of MySpace.
MySpace will invite every user in their community to participate in voting for the Presidential candidate of their choice the first two days of January.
According to comScore Media Metrics MySpace has 65 million American visitors every month and 85 percent of them are of voting age. In addition Nielsen//NetRatings indicates that MySpace users 18 and older have a high level of efficacy and are three times more likely to interact online with a public official or candidate.
They also found that MySpace users are 42 percent more likely to watch online video relating to politics, 35 percent more likely to research politics online and 44 percent more likely to listen to online audio having to do with politics.
If MySpace has a high level of participation in their virtual primary and their numbers indicate they should, will their Presidential primary become a credible predicator as to the outcome of the election?
They are in a unique position to experiment and with a dozen Presidential candidates signed on to MySpace politicians clearly believe that social networking and politics do mix.
“MySpace is establishing itself as a powerful player in the political engagement arena by giving power to its users — giving them the tools to register, vote and actively participate in their democracy,” said Cherie Simon, President of Declare Yourself.
“When MySpace’s massive reach is fueled by its strong commitment to empower its users, it will drive millions of young people to actively engage in their democracy by registering to vote.”
