September
19 MySpace Face on the Race

YouTube had its debate; Yahoo and HuffingtonPost had its mash up. Now MySpace is staking its claim to the presidential race.

Its twist: Instant polling results, on-screen, as the candidates respond to questions.

John Edwards will be the first candidate up to bat in the first of MySpace's and MTV's "Presidential Candidate Dialogues" on Sept. 27.

MTV correspondents SuChin Pak and Gideon Yago and WashingtonPost.com's Chris Cillizza will moderate the forum, with pollsters John McLaughlin and Geoffrey Garin collecting real-time data.

Here's how it works: Questions can be submitted, in real time, to Edwards via MySpaceIM and MTV.com, so viewers will be able to address candidates if they feel questions haven't been answered.

Meanwhile, Flektor is powering an "online polling widget," right, where viewers can indicate their approval or disapproval as they watch Edwards' responses, with instant results displayed on the screen. (Example: Options for disapproval include "I disagree," "full of bull," "scripted/ canned," or "all of the above.")

In a statement, MySpace's Chris DeWolfe said that the format will add "a new dimension of rapid response and at-home engagement --- we can't wait to see it all happen live and unfiltered."

No word on whether the candidates can see the measurement too, and adjust their answers/responses/pandering accordingly.

Future events are planned with Sam Brownback, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Barack Obama, Ron Paul, Bill Richardson and Mitt Romney.

The event takes place at Noon EST on the University of New Hampshire campus, and will be webcast on MySpace TV and MTV.com. It will be shown later in the day on MTV and MTVu.