Yesterday, MySpace and MTV kicked off the first in a series of Presidential Candidate Dialogues at the University of New Hampshire with John Edwards. In the first-of-its-kind online and in-person discussion, Edwards was asked questions submitted by online viewers live, via MySpaceIM, MTV's www.ChooseorLose.com, and from the live audience on youth-oriented topics ranging from urban violence, stem cell research, the environment, the war in Iraq, college funding and arts education. In total, nearly 2,300 questions were posted by online viewers in just one hour's time. The discussion, which was webcast live on MySpace (www.myspace.com/election2008) and www.ChooseorLose.com, was the opening in a series of one-on-one Presidential Candidate Dialogues hosted by MySpace and MTV that will take place over the coming months with leading presidential candidates. The intimate dialogue included 300 students from the University of New Hampshire, was translated live into Spanish for online viewers, simulcast in English on MTV Radio and XM Radio, and was the first-ever Presidential forum to be broadcast live on mobile phones, via MTV Mobile.

For the first time in history, online viewers were able to immediately respond and give their feedback to the answers Edwards provided with a new online polling tool powered by Flektor. Online viewers used the simple ratings meter to indicate their approval or disapproval of Edwards' responses. Throughout the entire event, the "popular vote" function let viewers compare their opinions against those of the entire viewing community.

Options for approval ratings included:
-- Answered question(s)
-- Understands reality
-- Good idea

Options for disapproval ratings include:
-- Dodged question(s)
-- Out of touch
--Wrong ideas

"This is the beginning of a new generation of democratic participation," said Jeff Berman, SVP of public affairs at MySpace. "We proved that presidential town-hall discussions can now take place in America's living rooms, classrooms and dorm rooms."

"[Yesterday], America's youth were introduced to an unprecedented level of access to a top Presidential candidate," said Ian Rowe, VP of public affairs and strategic partnerships, MTV. "We've indelibly changed how candidates and voters interact, and we're excited to work with MySpace to facilitate more of these groundbreaking dialogues -- which offer young people an amazing way to decide who our next President should be."

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Photo by Mike Murphy. GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or later. KW