CNN’s crush on Facebook grew larger Monday as the two companies announced a new partnership for the upcoming presidential elections.
The three-prong partnership includes a new Facebook application titled “I’m Voting,” measuring so-called “buzz” on the candidates, and fancy surveys to be administered on the social networking website. The press release stated that the bond will “take the pulse of the American electorate and amplify the voices of the social site’s users.”
Although the announcement did not state when the features will start rolling out, CNN and Facebook breathlessly used a lot of adjectives to get you excited.
The “I’m Voting” Facebook, which is deemed “interactive” and “engaging,” will let Facebook users show who they are voting for and where they stand on the issues. The results will be displayed on the user’s timeline, news feed and the ticker. We expect Facebook users to act like civilized human beings and not ignite any flame wars in the comment sections.
As for the “measuring Facebook buzz” feature, it sounds as useful and informative as watching CNN for more than five minutes. Facebook will “report the aggregate amount of discussion surrounding each candidate” and CNN will provide state-by-state analysis. Essentially, Wolf Blitzer is going to mumble through your comments and wonder what the hell Facebook is.
CNN, which once labeled Facebook a major competitor, has previously teamed up with the social website. In 2009, CNN let Facebook users post comments on a live video stream of Pres. Barack Obama’s inauguration. In 2011, the Atlanta-based news network used Facebook to solicit questions for presidential candidate debates.
If this doesn’t excite you for the elections, then we don’t know what will.
Photo via Facebook
