Facebook teaming up with CNN to socialize 2012 election coverage

PanARMENIAN.Net - Facebook is teaming up with CNN to socialize coverage of the 2012 election, as the social network aims to become a “second screen” for political coverage.

The new experience, “America’s Choice 2012,” will encourage Facebook’s 160 million U.S. users to share their political views through an app, buzz measurements and surveys. The two companies will aggregate users’ sentiment and CNN will incorporate the findings into its coverage.

“Each campaign cycle brings new technologies that enhance the way that important connections between citizens and their elected representatives are made,” said Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s vice president of U.S. public policy. “Though the mediums have changed, the critical linkages between candidates and voters¬ remain. Innovations like Facebook can help transform this informational experience into a social one for the American people.”

One component of the initiative, a yet to be launched “I’m Voting” Facebook app will be a platform for endorsing different candidates and issues. Once you express your support, it will appear on your timeline, news feed and your friends’ tickers. The app will also show if you’ve enlisted friends to support issues or candidates. Users’ endorsements will be displayed on a map of the U.S., broken down by state.

CNN journalists will use I’m Voting to ask Facebook users questions about the races and integrate answers into their coverage.

Online chatter occurring outside the app will be measured and integrated into CNN’s coverage as well.

The final aspect of the announced plans are CNN-crafted surveys, polling voting age Facebook users about hot topics surrounding the party conventions, presidential debates and election day. The results will be published on CNN, CNN.com and Facebook’s U.S. Politics page.